Transport Planner of the Year – Call For Nominations

Nominations are now open for the Transport Planning Society’s prestigious ‘Transport Planner of the Year 2026’ award!

We are looking for inspiring individuals who have made an exceptional impact on the transport planning profession. This could include:

·       🌟 Delivering an outstanding project that has made a real difference

·       💡 Pioneering an innovative approach or technique

·       🛠️ Challenging the status quo and driving positive change

·       🎤 Acting as a passionate and influential ambassador for the profession

New for 2026: we are celebrating not just a standout year, but sustained excellence and long-term contribution to the profession.

Nominations will be assessed against the following criteria:

·       📊 Evidence of impact and tangible achievements

·       🌍 Contribution to the wider profession (e.g. conferences, thought leadership)

·       🧠 Breadth of skills and expertise

·       ✨ Innovation, creativity, or a distinctive approach

👉 If this sounds like you, or someone you know, we would love to see your nomination. Put yourself or a colleague forward and help us celebrate excellence in transport planning!

All nominations should be submitted using our official nomination form. Please send your completed nomination form to our Operations Director, Lisa Martin, at opsdirector@tps.org.uk

📅 Deadline: Friday 11 September 2026

🏆 Awards ceremony: Transport Planning Day in London, Monday 9 November 2026

Eligibility and General Information

·       TPS Members only

Previous Winners

Transport Planner of the Year 2025 – David Wilson

As the chief architect of the Lambeth Kerbside Strategy, David has led a ground-breaking project that has transformed the use of public space in an iconic London borough, bringing exceptional energy to its development, adoption and implementation, and demonstrating his ability to inspire and lead a progressive shift towards a more balanced use of streets and public realm.

Transport Planner of the Year 2024 – Nicola Waight

Nicola Waight, Team Leader of Transport Planning Services at Hampshire County Council, has been recognised for her outstanding work in establishing the Fixing Transport Assessments National Working Group. She played a pivotal role in strengthening transport assessment guidance, ensuring it prioritises sustainability while remaining responsive to evolving policy. Her work, presented to the Department for Transport (DfT), has the potential to be truly transformative for the transport planning sector.

Transport Planner of the Year 2023 – Will Pedley

Will Pedley, Senior Transport Planner at Oxfordshire County Council, has been recognised for his work in developing the council’s groundbreaking “Decide & Provide” transport planning guidance, making Oxfordshire the first local authority in the UK to create and adopt this innovative approach.

Transport Planner of the Year 2022 – Jillian Anable

Jillian Anable, Professor of Transport and Energy at the Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, was recognised for her outstanding work examining the ongoing impacts of the pandemic on travel behaviour and car ownership, as well as the resulting policy implications, through her contributions to the Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions (CREDS).

Transport Planner of the Year 2021 – Stephen Bennett

Stephen Bennett, Director at Arup Consulting and past Chair of the Transport Planning Society, was recognised for his exceptional contributions during a particularly challenging period, including the significant efforts he made, largely in his own time, to sustain the Society in 2020. The award also acknowledged his wider impact, including founding Transport Planning Day and leading the development of TPS’s first industry stocktake in Great Britain, the State of the Nations report. Alongside these achievements, Stephen has continued to excel in his professional role at Arup, making notable contributions to multimodal transport studies and local transport decarbonisation, and is widely regarded as an outstanding ambassador for the profession.