Rethinking the Role of the Car: Insights from the 2024 TPS Bursary Winners

A few weeks ago, we gathered at Arup’s Manchester office for an engaging evening, where our 2024 TPS bursary winners showcased the research they completed last year in response to the question:

“What is the role of the private car in society – and how can we best influence it?”

Their work explored behaviour change, equity, and how to rethink car use in cities, offering sharp insights into today’s transport challenges.

We also heard from Jonathan Mottershead, and Nicola Kane, who gave us brilliant insights on the regional challenges in Manchester, and who both reflected in the importance of investing in research and active challenge to address these.

“This is about more than just cars — it’s about how we design and influence human behaviour, how we create inclusive places, and how we balance freedom with fairness in the choices people make every day.” – Jonathan Motterhead, Arup’s North West Transport Planning Lead

“Having been part of the very first cohort of TPS bursarians (in c.2000), I can personally vouch for the value of investing in new research by early career professionals, in terms of giving recipients the opportunity to do an original piece of critical thinking, to hone their presentation skills and to build their networks.  In this year’s papers, it was great to see a focus on behaviour change initiatives and a timely reminder of how effective they can be in tackling car dependency, for relatively low levels of investment” – Nicola Kane, Director at Steer

The presentations followed by an active discussion with those attending and a space for informal networking, where much of the conversation focused on the importance of continue investing in regional events and engagement with young professionals. A challenge that us at TPS are willing to take!

About the TPS bursary competition

The TPS bursary competition is a yearly event which the society orgasises to promote research on a topic of current relevance to our sector. Each year, shortlisted candidates are paired with a senior mentor from the profession and awarded a £500 bursary to develop their ideas into a short research paper.

“It's really important that younger professionals are offered opportunities to contribute to the most pressing topics affecting transport planning in the UK. Thanks to the TPS bursary, I was given space to explore how historic cities - like Edinburgh - could better manage private car use and to look for solutions to improve equity for transport locally. I'd encourage others with an interest in supporting transformative changes in transport, from improving pedestrian safety to adapting our streets to the Climate Emergency, to apply!” – George King

Taking part in the bursary gave me the space to explore a topic of real relevance – applying my interest in spatial analysis to evaluate the impact of reclaiming space from the private car on wider school travel behaviour. It has also provided a great platform to engage with and learn from senior members within the society! – Kyle Clarkson

The 2025 Bursary Competition is now live!

Want to get involved?

1.    Read and share the 2024 TPS Bursary papers: Help us spread the word, and feel free to reach out to the authors if you see opportunities for collaboration, they’d love to connect.

-       Adelaide Tsim - 'Rural vs Urban Universities: The Role of Car Sharing in Reducing Single-Driver Dependency in Higher Education'

-       George King - 'Overcoming ‘moto-normativity’ and car addiction in Edinburgh’s historic city centre'

-       Kyle Clarkson - 'Glasgow’s Schools Streets, the Built Environment and Lessons from International Best Practice’

2.    Help shape future TPS events: Have ideas for regional activities, engaging young professionals, or supporting new research? Get in touch with James Gleave or me, we’d love to hear from you.

3.    Get involved with the 2025 competition: Applications are now open! For more details, head to this page.