TPS continuing to support members through the COVID-19 crisis

Message from the Chair:

TPS continuing to support it’s members through the COVID-19 crisis

I write to you from my home office not quite believing the situation we’re in and how things changed so rapidly.  The word unprecedented has been used a lot recently, but this is quite like nothing I have ever experienced, and I expect you will be feeling the same.

The first priority is of course the health and wellbeing of all our members and staff.  I hope that you are staying safe and well during this pandemic and if you are affected then we send our best wishes to you.

Events escalated so rapidly recently, that we were forced to confront our response to the situation without having much chance to consider our plans.  With our Board meeting and Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 19 March, and one of our best events of the year, the annual TPS Pub Quiz scheduled for 26 March, we had to change our plans at very short notice.  However, with the excellent support of the Board and our members, we held both the Board meeting and the AGM online.  This was the first time we had ever tried this, and I am pleased to say they were both successful.  A particular thanks to members who joined the AGM to make us ‘quorate’, allowing us to pass all the necessary business and to confirm the election of our new Board members – further details on all of this can be found here.  The Pub Quiz is tentatively rescheduled for 9 July and we will keep this under review, so look out for updates on that over the next few weeks.

Having got through those events, we are now considering how we can adapt our approach to events and activities this year to continue to support your professional development and to continue to provide a focus for dialogue on transport planning.  This is still under development but here are some of our initial plans:

• Our Skills team has responded rapidly to implement a series of measures which will allow the PDS to continue operation – you can read about these here.
• The 2020 Transport Planning Day campaign will continue in a different form to previous years, as a Virtual TP Day Campaign! Further details are being released now so please see our other news stories for details.
• We are rescheduling and reviewing events, so we can provide the same great TPS forums for dialogue in an online format – keep an eye on our mailings and website for further details.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused massive disruption to our transport network and systems.  The Government’s data shows just how dramatic the impact has been – see slides here.  As transport professionals I know we are all concerned about what impact this will have on the network and operators and our work going forwards.  What does this mean for our plans and projects?  How will travel demand be affected in the longer term? What will the new normal look like when this is all over?  And how can we influence the new normal to create a better transport system that meets society’s objectives on climate change, better places and social equity?

There are many questions to ask and discussions to be had.  We are planning to provide an online discussion forum for the profession to come together and share worries, concerns, issues, ideas and opportunities, so once again look out for details of that coming very soon.

At TPS we will strive in these unprecedented times to continue to support you, as our members, to provide a forum for dialogue and debate, to make sense of the situation and to support each other through the crisis.

Stay safe and well.

Stephen Bennett

Chair, Transport Planning Society