The direction of travel? What has the new Government promised?

16 December 2019

Transport played an unusually large part in the election campaign. Promises, counter-promises and some pretty radical ideas all surfaced with the backdrop of climate change and devolution spurring all on. 

We now know we will be dealing with a Government reform of the railways – implementing the findings of the Williams Rail Review. ‘Superbus’ networks are promised as is a National Bus Strategy. Investment in major roads will continue. 

It is crucial the user voice is heard in these large–scale changes and we will be doing just that. Meanwhile, users are looking forward to more reliable transport networks now – we cannot wait for strategies or plans even though they make the most long–term difference. 

The daily business of securing changes at a local level continues. Recently we, among many other wins, have: 

• secured the replacement of anti–skid and white line replacement at Raunds, Northamptonshire, on the A45 
• successfully put pressure on London Northwestern Railway (LNR) and West Midlands Railway (WMR) to offer compensation to customers on top of standard Delay Repay schemes after severe disruption 
• helped Roadchef identify where improvements would be most appreciated by customers – we hear there is now a pot of cash just for tackling issues raised through our Motorway Services User Survey 
• seen ‘on bus’ fares in Brighton frozen at 2018 levels after our Bus Passenger Survey highlighted value as an issue 
• saw improvements at roadworks on the M6 earlier in the year – after our input, we noted junction numbers clearly signed in contraflows, activity information boards and overall project progress update boards 
• been reinstated as chair of the West Midlands Bus Alliance – a role that allows my colleague Linda to continue to push on passenger priorities including congestion and value. 

 More wins will be included in our 2019-20 Workplan which will be out early next year