Policy

As well as providing professional development and a meeting place for all those working in the transport sector, the Transport Planning Society takes a leading role in responding to and driving the discussion emerging policy challenges.  The TPS aims to respond to consultations on a wide variety of topics of strategic importance, to ensure that transport planners’ views are considered in policy making and transport planning.  The Policy group within TPS leads these responses.  We focus on strategic issues of national importance and we always try to reflect members’ views in our responses, drawing on the annual Members’ Survey but increasingly also welcoming contributions from a more representative cross-section of our membership.   

The Events and Policy teams work closely together to ensure there is an opportunity to debate these latest issues to inform TPS policy responses.  If you are keen to be involved in specific consultations or the Policy Group more generally, please email policy@tps.org.uk.

 Further details of our policy reports, going back to 2015 can be found on the left hand side of this page.  

State of the nation 

One of the Society’s main policy activities in the recent past has been the production in 2020 of a report on the country’s transport planning related challenges and opportunities. The State of the Nation’s 2020 report reviews travel trends and behaviours, current government policy, regional transport planning, spending and investment and transport taxes and charge, enabling the Transport Planning Society to make clear recommendations to government and the sector.

Bursaries

The Transport Planning Society’s bursary scheme aims to encourage Young Professional members of TPS to produce a piece of structured thought on a topic of current relevance to transport planning. The value of each bursary is £500.

The bursaries provide a great opportunity to expand your knowledge of your chosen topic, raise your profile within the profession, promote your career development and to benefit from your mentor’s experience and advice.

Bursaries have their own section which can be accessed through the policy menu to the left of this page or click here

Members' blogs

Another initiative to let the voice of transport planners be heard in the national policy debate is by providing the opportunity for our members to write blogs on topics within their areas of expertise and interest, and have them published on our website here. We welcome your suggestions – please send them to policy@tps.org.uk. We will team you with a Policy Group member to ensure your blog reflects our mission and strategic objective

Messages from the chair

The TPS Chairs have provided on a monthly basis their thoughts on topical issues. We have captured as many of these as possible as an inevitably incomplete set here. They paint a fascinating picture of the national transport hot topics over the years.

We welcome your interest in the TPS and the work we do as the Policy Group and encourage you get involved! We look forward to hearing from you at policy@tps.org.uk .