FoSBR’s Tina Biggs wrote an article for Rail Professional magazine’s May edition titled “Reducing car use in the West of England – can rail do the job?”.
Tina takes the opportunity to share her thoughts on proposals in the West of England Combined Authority’s Joint Local Transport Plan (JLTP4). In a well-researched evaluation, Tina looks at the balance of proposed investment in road, mass transit, rail, bus and active travel schemes. Perhaps unsurprisingly she advocates a greater focus on the potential of rail in the region!
Government’s long-term policy is for fewer people to use private motor cars. Earlier this year Grant Shapps, Seretary of State for Transport, said:
Britons need to use cars less and public transport more
…and yet JLTP4 contains over £3 billion pounds worth of investment in roads.
Coronavirus has had a dramatic effect on ridership of public transport and also potentially impacts the availability of funding for road and public transport schemes. But the lockdown has also given us an insight into how towns can improve when they are not dominated by motor cars. Tina’s article was largely written before the pandemic unfolded, but her main points remain valid.