Transport Planning Day 2026

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.

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.

Further announcements of our panel session participants will follow.

Did you miss last year's Transport Planning Day? Transport Planning Day 2025 can be watched here.