TPS Chair's message January 2022

A happy new year to all our members (think I can just get away with that still...).  I hope everyone managed to have a relaxing festive break.

It seems a long time ago, but at the time of my last Chair's message back in November we were on the eve of the finale of our annual Transport Planning Day campaign. 

Transport Planning Day itself took place on 15 November and brought together a wide range of speakers to consider equality, diversity and inclusion in the sector.  We had presentations on the importance of new working practices in supporting diversity, unconscious bias, the gender dimension and an update from Emma Ward, Director General at the Department for Transport about the work in this space - particularly around improving accessibility.

We also heard back from the TPS/AECOM roundtable on EDI held earlier in the year.  This came up with a number of key areas of action that we’re looking to explore further this year, including:

• Codes of conduct. EDI must be a foremost concern of transport planners day-to-day. TPS will look into updating its code of conduct to contain explicit reference to EDI. We also encourage individual organisations to review their respective codes of conduct.  We’ll provide an update on this at our AGM in March.
• Data bias. Data bias is pervasive but difficult to detect, so it requires clear action to overcome. The industry should consider how to approach conducting a holistic review of the way we collect and use data within organisations, including promoting awareness of inherent data bias. TPS will look into updating its skills and knowledge development schemes to reflect the importance of understanding bias. We’re also scoping an event with the developers of the excellent gender equality toolkit - www.the-get-it.com.
• Public engagement. The importance of community engagement was a thread that ran throughout the roundtable. The industry should consider how it can set-out best practice in conducting community engagement and equality impact assessments, ensuring these processes meaningfully inform decision-making. We’ll continue to shine a light on these issues through our event series.
• Apprenticeships. The industry should consider how setting up apprenticeship schemes can provide new routes into the industry for people from a range of backgrounds. There is an opportunity for research to be undertaken exploring the impact apprenticeships can have on improving diversity in the transport planning workplace.

The TP Day campaign as a whole was another success. TPS organised eight events from July to November focussing on different elements of equality, diversity and inclusion in the sector, with over 1500 registrations received to attend these. I know many other businesses and organisations held their own events as well which suggests the day is becoming a firm part of the transport planning calendar. We are already into the detail of planning for our TP Day campaign for 2022, the announcement of our theme and opportunities to get involved to come shortly.

My last Chair’s message also went out just before the UK hosted COP26. 

Overall the consensus seems to be that the event did 'just enough' to keep the show on the road. For many in the sector, this picture articulated most people's response...

That also chimes with many people's reading of the UK Government’s transport decarbonisation plan, the presentation of which focussed on technological fixes and arguably underplayed the role and necessity of behaviour change. Recent strategies by Transport Scotland and the Mayor of London have shone a light on this, the scale of the change necessary becoming clearer, albeit somewhat more daunting.

A 27% reduction in car mileage in London in particular feels unprecedented in a city that already has a relatively sustainable modal mix. Transport Planners working at all levels of London government will have to use all their 'avoid/shift/improve' tools to stand any hope of achieving that. Some musings from me on that here.

We explored some of the tensions in our new year webinar in partnership with Transport for South East which considered the challenges of delivering decarbonisation and economic growth.  Key reflections here.

Finally, we've been discussing the need for more transparency in the workings of the Society. As part of that we'll be publishing my Chair’s report delivered to the board meeting for members to review. This summarises all my activity in my capacity as chair since the previous board. I always welcome comments from members on our activity so do feel free to get in touch with us on social media or via email.

Looking forward to seeing as many members as possible at our online AGM at 6pm on 10 March, followed by the Transport Planner of the Year lecture from last year’s winner of that coveted title, Stephen Bennett of Arup.

Best, 

Mark Frost
TPS Chair