Experts say ‘human-centred’ approach is key to transport integration

Nicola Kane, Ruth Cadbury MP, Vernon Everitt, and Andrew Summers speaking at Transport Planning Day 2025.

Transport and political leaders at the Transport Planning Society’s flagship Transport Planning Day event emphasised transport as an enabler rather than an end in itself, with people and places at the heart of transport plans. 

Speaking at the event, Ruth Cadbury MP, Chair of the Transport Select Committee, said:

“Transport planners link vision with reality, making countries, towns, cities and villages better places to live and work. 
“While good transport is an enabler; poor transport is a source of inequality. Forty per cent of people in England have no access to a car and live in areas with infrequent or unreliable public transport which hampers their ability to access jobs, education and services.

“Transport investment can promote modal shift and balance our north / south economy.  But infrastructure investment decisions should be based on overall growth benefits. You only need to look at the success of the Elizabeth line and the Northumberland line to see the wider benefits that have come from those schemes in terms of new jobs, new developments, and land values rising.”

Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester and Chair of Transport for Wales said: 

“Political devolution is at the core of driving forward transport integration and a focus on people and place. 
“Having a mayor who is the single point of accountability has been a game changer in Greater Manchester and is enabling the integration of bus, tram, rail and active travel alongside integrated fares, ticketing and customer information. 
“Bus franchising has enabled cheaper fares, increased ridership and improved frequency and reliability of services. 
"This political devolution has gone hand-in-glove with greater fiscal devolution too, enabling local decision-making and rapid progress to fully integrate all elements of transport.”

Andrew Summers, Chief Executive of Transport East said:

“The East of England region feeds the nation, powers the country and trades with the world; our people and places achieve this which is why integrating transport is so important to us.
“In May next year we will have devolution and two new mayors, and we want to be able to use their powers to unlock the East
“Fiscal devolution must follow devolution of powers, and we need certainty of long-term funding, as well as equity of funding with other regions to fully unlock integration.”

Chair of the Transport Planning Society, Nicola Kane said:

“Transport Planning Day 2025 truly captured the spirit of our theme - The Integration Imperative: connecting policy, people and places. I’d like to extend my thanks to our brilliant keynote speakers, Ruth Cadbury MP, Vernon Everitt and Andrew Summers, for sharing their insight and leadership, and to our fantastic panellists for sparking such thoughtful discussion. 
“I’d also like to highlight our brilliant programme of regional events, which brought together transport planners in Manchester, Leeds, Cardiff, Belfast, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Belfast, North-East, and New Zealand, to discuss integration and what it means for communities across the UK and beyond.
“Congratulations to all of this year’s award winners, and thank you to everyone who joined us and continues to champion the role of transport planning in creating healthier, more connected communities.”

The event held at the Institution of Civil Engineers in London on 10th November was attended by over 200 industry professionals. Transport Planning Society Chair Nicola Kane also announced award winners: Transport Planner of the Year – David Wilson and Young Transport Planner of the Year – Josef Whitfield.

Josef Whitfield receiving the Young Transport Planner of the Year Award 2025.

Ends. 

Notes to the editor:  

1.    The Transport Planning Society is the only professional body focusing entirely on transport planning in the UK and represents the views of over 1400 members and 40 stakeholder members. You can find out more about TPS here: https://tps.org.uk/ 
2.    The Transport Planning Society celebrate Transport Planning Day every year to raise awareness of the role transport planning has in changing people’s lives as well as showcasing fantastic examples of best practice from across the profession. Our theme for this year’s Transport Planning Day was ‘‘The Integration Imperative – How can we make a reality of connecting Policy, Places and People? You can find more information about the campaign here.
3.    Transport Planning Day was sponsored by: Jacobs, Tracsis, Stantec, Believ, IDASO, Velocity, Advanced Transport Research, Kestrel Surveys and Charge Surveys.
4.    For further info contact Sarah McSharry at sarah@jfgcomms.co.uk
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