TPS Chair’s message – December 2023

What a year 2023 has been!  We face a continuing cost of living crisis, a high level of political instability and the continuing crumbling (both literally and figuratively) of the UK’s public realm.  We’ve had a Plan for Drivers and a rowing back on government Net Zero commitments.   And greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, even as the impacts of climate change become increasingly apparent. 

With all that going on, it would be easy to feel pretty downhearted about the state of the world.   But the most important antidote to pessimism is action and some of the most important actions we need to take lie in the realm of transitioning to a sustainable, integrated, equitable and – critically – decarbonised transport system.  So it’s been an absolute privilege to have been involved in the pursuit of that goal over the past 9 months as Chair of the TPS. 

We’ve run some fantastic events, including the TPS Annual Quiz, the Future of Rail, the Buchannan Report 60 Years on, the Annual Dinner and Transport Planning Day.  Myself and other TPS Board members have represented the TPS at many other events, including the ICE Summer Lecture, the Local Transport Summit and the Transport Practitioners’ Meeting.   We’ve written an open letter to the Prime Minister expressing our concerns about revival of the narrative about the “war on motorists”.   We’ve met Transport Minister Jesse Norman MP to highlight our priorities for UK transport policy.   We’ve collaborated with lots of other organisations, including the other professional bodies and leading transport thinktanks.  We’ve contributed to a number of consultations on key transport planning and policy documents.  We’ve published several policy documents of our own, including a Transport Manifesto based on the TPS Member Survey and a ground-breaking report on parking.  And our Skills programme continues to support the professional development of transport planners, both in the UK and overseas. 

The TPS continues to punch a long way above its weight, due to the huge effort of the TPS Board, its wider membership and stakeholder members and the work of our partners in JFG and the ICE.  The TPS Board is building on our recent Strategy Day to develop a one-year Action Plan for 2024 and a longer-term Business Plan for the next 3-5 years.   This will put us in a very good position to respond to both the challenges and the opportunities that 2024 will bring. 

As 2023 draws to a close, I would like to extend the season’s greetings to the TPS membership and all our partners and supporters and to thank you for everything you do to plan and deliver sustainable transport to make the world  a better place.

See you next year!