This year’s Transport Planning Day is on Monday the 9th of November.
Led by the Transport Planning Society, Transport Planning Day celebrates the best in transport planning, highlights its benefit to communities and charts a direction for the profession.
Each year the campaign includes several events which allows transport planners to network and promote their achievements.
The campaign also looks to encourage young professionals into the industry by highlighting what an attractive and rewarding career transport planning can be.
You can sign up via the link here: Transport Planning Day 2026: Transport planning for thriving people and places
Date and Theme
The TPS’s theme for 2026 is: Transport Planning for Thriving People and Places. Our activities on and in the run up to Transport Planning Day will highlight transport’s critical role in shaping people’s everyday lives for the better. They will explore the social, economic and environmental benefits of enabling access to the opportunities, services and leisure activities that support good lives. This will include considering:
- The social and community impacts of everything we do as transport planners.
- How the transport planning profession helps deliver more inclusive places and equitable access.
- The need for early and frequent engagement with people from all walks of life to ensure our work as transport planners truly meets the needs of the diverse communities we serve.
- The importance of designing places and transport systems to support better physical and mental health and minimise transport’s negative impacts on people and the environment.
National event
A cornerstone of Transport Planning Day is our national event, which will be held in London at the Institute of Civil Engineers from 2.30 – 7pm on Monday the 9th of November.
This year’s event will see over 150 people gather to discuss Transport Planning for Thriving People and Places; with many more joining online.
Programme
Transport Planning Day 2026 will begin with addresses from our three keynote speakers, who will speak to this year’s theme before taking part in a Q&A session.
Following this, there will be a panel session featuring transport planning professionals from across the sector, each bringing their own perspective on the theme.
There will be dedicated time for networking as well as the announcement of the winners of the Transport Planner of the Year and Transport Project of the Year competitions.
Speakers
The Transport Planning Society is delighted to announce our three excellent keynote speakers for Transport Planning Day 2026.
Professor Sir Chris Whitty
Professor Sir Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England and the UK Government’s Chief Medical Adviser, will be joining us as a keynote speaker at Transport Planning Day 2026. With extensive experience at the intersection of public health, the built environment and government policy, his perspective strongly complements this year’s theme, Transport Planning for Thriving People and Places, which explores how transport planning can support healthier, more inclusive and better-connected communities.
Elsie Blundell MP
We are delighted to welcome Elsie Blundell MP, Member of Parliament for Heywood and Middleton North, to Transport Planning Day 2026. Drawing on her experience at Greater Manchester Combined Authority, her role on the Transport Select Committee, and her previous position as Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Women in Transport, Elsie brings valuable insight into the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of transport. Her experience complements this year’s theme, Transport Planning for Thriving People and Places, which highlights the importance of creating transport systems and places that work for the communities they serve.
Emma Partlow
Emma Partlow, Chief Executive Officer of the National Centre for Accessible Transport (ncat), brings extensive experience in accessible transport, policy and engagement. Her work has focused on improving understanding of the barriers faced by disabled people and ensuring lived experience helps inform decisions about transport. Her expertise strongly complements this year’s theme, Transport Planning for Thriving People and Places, which explores how transport planning can create more inclusive places and enable everyone to access the opportunities, services and connections that support everyday life.
Expert panel
For our expert panel, we are delighted to announce a range of fantastic speakers.
Rachel Rombough
With nearly 20 years’ experience, Rachel has extensive expertise in transport planning, gained through delivering and supporting a variety of projects across the UK of differing scales and land uses. At RGP, Rachel is the subject matter expert for travel planning, promoting the benefits associated with reducing reliance on the private car and assisting clients/organisations in achieving behaviour change and carbon reduction targets. Rachel is a Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, and a Member of the Transport Planning Society, where she co-chairs the Influencing Travel Behaviour policy panel group.
Dr Colin Black
Colin is a Director at transport and development planning consultancy Mayer Brown and a member of the Transport Planning Society where he leads the Development and Land Use Planning Policy Panel. He has over 30 years’ experience in transport planning across the public and private sectors, advising on transport strategy, development, sustainable mobility and infrastructure. He has a particular interest in how transport policy can support sustainable growth, better places and improved accessibility, and holds a PhD examining the behavioural dimensions of sustainable transport.
Neil Chadwick
Neil Chadwick is a Director at Steer where his work covers forecasting, appraisal, evaluation and business cases. Neil chairs the Transport Planning Society’s Governance, Appraisal, Business Case & Modelling Panel.
Rob Goodall
Rob Goodall is an Associate Director at Arup and a Chartered Transport Planner with over 20 years’ experience helping public and private sector clients deliver sustainable transport, place-making and development strategies. He specialises in active travel, behaviour change, transport policy and integrated land use and transport planning, with project experience spanning major regeneration programmes, new settlements, city centre transformation, active travel networks and national transport policy initiatives. Rob leads Arup’s Walking and Cycling Group and chairs the Transport Planning Society’s Active Travel and Micromobility Panel.
Liz Richardson
Liz Richardson is Head of Transport Planning at Jacobs. Over 25 years she has built a varied career across transport planning delivery, client leadership and business development, working with public-sector organisations and major infrastructure clients across the UK. Liz is particularly passionate about developing people and capability, connecting different parts of the profession and ensuring transport planning plays a central role in creating better, more accessible and sustainable places.
Roger Flowerday
Roger Flowerday is a Senior Associate Director at Jacobs. With over 25 years’ experience as a transport and strategic planning professional, his expertise covers highways engineering, development planning, and major growth delivery. He is currently Technical Lead for Strategic Planning at Hertfordshire County Council where a key focus is working with developers and other stakeholders to create sustainable, well-connected places.
Transport Planning Day 2026 Sponsors
Transport Planning Day wouldn’t be possible without our sponsors. We are hugely grateful for the support they give us every year.
Our sponsors help us shine a spotlight on the important role Transport Planners play in improving people’s lives daily; as well as featuring positive role models to encourage future generations of transport planners.
Gold
Jacobs excels in comprehensive and integrated transport planning and mobility solutions, encompassing strategy, design, engineering, and operational support across various transport modes. They play a crucial role in the initial planning and design phases of major transport schemes, ensuring they are well-integrated and deliverable. Their services include high-level policy and strategy to detailed traffic engineering and scheme implementation, with a focus on sustainable and innovative solutions, shaping people’s everyday lives for the better.
They work across all modes of transport for a wide range of public and private sector clients around the world.
They offer a full range of services, from front-end feasibility studies and policy development to full-scale strategic modelling and scheme appraisal, to the detailed analysis of projects.
Find out more at: www.jacobs.com
Silver
Stantec is a global leader in sustainable architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting. The diverse perspectives of our partners and interested parties drive us to think beyond what’s previously been done on critical issues like climate change, digital transformation, and future-proofing our cities and infrastructure. We innovate at the intersection of community, creativity, and client relationships to advance communities everywhere, so that together we can redefine what’s possible.
Find out more at: www.stantec.com
Bronze
As one of the largest traffic data collection firms in Europe, Idaso are proud to work closely with their clients and play their part in creating a safer, more sustainable future. They specialise in providing reliable, accurate data to private and public sector customers across the UK, Ireland and Benelux regions.
Find out more at: www.idaso.co
Kestrel Surveys is a UK leader in using drone technology to conduct traffic surveys. With over 13 years of experience in traffic data collection and 6 years as a qualified drone pilot, their female-founded business – led by Stacey Dix – combines expertise and innovation to deliver accurate, efficient, and wide-ranging survey solutions for transport planners. Whilst drone technology is a large part of what they do, they also conduct a variety of other surveys, including parking surveys, manual counts, pedestrian surveys and fixed camera observations, ensuring they use the most effective method for each project’s unique requirements.
Find out more at: https://kestrelsurveys.co.uk/
A-T-R are specialists in traffic, noise, and air pollution data collection, delivering high-quality surveys for private individuals, local authorities, developers, consultants, and government agencies nationwide.
From single-site assessments to complex multi-location studies, we provide reliable, actionable data to support planning, development, and environmental management. We use advanced, precision monitoring equipment—installed and maintained by our highly trained technicians, accredited under CSCS and NRSWA standards. Our methods incorporate the latest technologies and data collection techniques, including AI-powered video analytics, Google API Data, ANPR, and mobile-based data sources, allowing us to tailor solutions to the specific needs of each project.
As a Safe Contractor-accredited business, all our procedures meet rigorous safety, quality, and environmental standards. With experience across the UK’s most demanding transport and environmental projects, we combine technical expertise with a flexible, client-focused approach to deliver accurate, dependable results.
Find out more at: www.a-t-r.co.uk
Sponsorship Opportunities 2026
Transport Planning Day 2026 – National event sponsorship opportunities
Our flagship national Transport Planning Day event celebrating the best in transport planning will be held at the Institution of Civil Engineers in London on Monday 9 November.
We are delighted to offer a range of sponsorship packages for this year’s event. This is a unique opportunity to showcase your brand to transport industry leaders and key decision-makers.
We have a limited number of sponsorship packages available, to ensure your brand stands out. We have designed each package to offer the most coverage for your investment. You will enjoy extensive brand exposure through pre, post and on the day event marketing.
Sponsorship levels and benefits are:
Gold
£3,500 plus VAT
- Panel speaking slot at the Transport Planning Day event or the opportunity to host a TPS webinar on a subject of your choosing related to this year’s theme
- Logo and 100-word profile on the TPS website
- Listed as Gold sponsor on all event communications and promotional material
- Exposure through TPS social media channels
- On the day promotion on signage and slides
- Opportunity to have two regular or one large roll-up banner on display at the networking reception
- Opportunity to exclusively sponsor the networking reception for an extra £2,500 plus VAT, including opening remarks and distribution of promotional material
Silver
£2,000 plus VAT
- Logo and 100 word profile on the TPS website
- Listed as Silver sponsor on all event communications and promotional material
- Exposure through TPS social media channels
- On the day promotion on signage and slides
- Opportunity to have one large roll-up banner on display at the networking reception
Bronze
£750 plus VAT
- Logo and 50 word profile on the TPS website
- Exposure through TPS social media channels
- On the day promotion on signage and slides
If you would like to become a sponsor for Transport Planning Day 2025 please get in touch via opsdirector@tps.org.uk.
Did you miss last year’s Transport Planning Day? Transport Planning Day 2025 can be watched here.