Highways UK 2022: putting road users front and centre

07 December 2022

Drivers using motorways and major ‘A’ roads have seen a number of improvements based on research we carry out each year and have done since 2015. A crucial role for Transport Focus is to work with National Highways, and others in the roads sector, who can hear about our recommendations, reach more people and make changes that road users want.

Highways UK continues to be one of the biggest roads sector conferences in the UK, and since its inception in 2015 Transport Focus has played a key part in it – not least with our popular stand.

It’s an important opportunity for us to put the road user voice front and centre of thinking. And it’s a great place to take all of our latest research, including our newly published recommendations for Road Investment Strategy 3, latest Motorway Services User Survey results and most recent cyclists pedestrians and equestrians research. With so many delegates in one place, Highways UK is a brilliant opportunity to talk about our work and articulate what our insight shows that road users want to see improved.

Our chief executive Anthony Smith took to the keynote stage, alongside the Department for Transport, National Highways and the Office for Rail and Road, setting the tone for the two-day event to keep focused on the purpose of roads – so people and goods can move about.

Later, Anthony chaired a thought leadership panel exploring barriers to electric vehicle uptake. Transport Focus’s Katherine McGowan-Downey spoke about our latest research on electric vehicles, joining speakers from the AA, the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles, National Highways and the Electric Vehicle Association UK. The debate certainly got everyone thinking about what is needed to encourage the switch to electric vehicles. And it was clear that there’s a lot more going on to build the necessary infrastructure than might be realised.

So, a busy few days in Birmingham packed with important conversations to get the road user voice heard. For anyone who wasn’t there, or was but didn’t get to speak to us, all of our road’s research from 2015 to the latest reports are available on our website and our data hub.