National Transport Strategy

[mjr]

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... 25-to-2032

Non-city-region transport councils in the North and Midlands (pre-2010 NE, NW, YH, EM and WM regions) are to share £4.7bn crumbs from the cancellation of the £36bn HS2 phase 2 between 2025 and 2032. The headline priorities are:

• drive better connectivity within our towns, suburbs and cities
• drive better connectivity between our towns and cities
• improve everyday local journeys for people

While you might think that could include active travel, linked pages give examples of "building new roads, improving road junctions and pavements, improving bus stations, installing or expanding tram lines, or improving train stations" and "improving roads by filling in potholes and better street lighting for personal safety, improving journey times for car and bus users by tackling congestion, increasing the number of EV chargepoints". One transport mode very popular with a certain previous PM is notably not mentioned.

[Stevek76]

And of course, the concept of reallocating those crumbs is fiscal nonsense that's purely politics and not something the treasury, or any mainstream economist, recognises.

This is headline allocations that will only be spent as new borrowing should VfM be sufficiently demonstrated in schemes' respective business cases. HS2s borrowing was against its own future returns and disappears with the cancellation of it (as do the future returns which of course leaves the country worse off medium to long term)

[Jdsk]

On the day of the Budget... an analysis of the distributive effects of reducing tax on fuel and of increasing expenditure on public transport and support for EVs:
"Upcoming fuel duty freeze will cost government over £20 billion and do nothing to alleviate poverty":
https://www.smf.co.uk/commentary_podcas ... e-poverty/

Guardian coverage, including comment from Cycling UK:
"UK fuel duty cut is regressive policy that benefits the wealthy, study finds":
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... lthy-study

Jonathan

[mjr]

Were there any other transport measures in the budget?

• 5% fuel duty cut as mentioned above;
• Development Corporation in Cambridge ... over £10m invested in the coming year to unlock delivery of crucial local transport and health infrastructure. £7.2 million of this will unlock improvements to local transport connections for the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and the city, and £3 million is for Cambridge University NHS Trust to support plans for growth;
• One-off adjustment to rates of Air Passenger Duty on non-economy flights only to account for high inflation in recent years;
• Dept for Transport resource spending to fall from £8.4bn 2023-4 to £8.2bn 2024-5 to £5.7bn 2025-6, while capital spending remains about constant around £21bn/year;
• "Spring Budget confirms £4.7 billion in long-term funding settlements for places outside city regions in the North and Midlands. This is in addition to the £8.3 billion the government has announced it will be investing in local roads over the next 11 years to fill millions of potholes and resurface roads, repair bridges, and deliver vital local road upgrades across England."
• "Delivery of works on the Bletchley to Bedford section of East-West Rail will be brought forward, supported by £240 million (from existing budgets), with services operating between Oxford and Bedford by the end of the decade"

I found no mention of active travel, walking, or cycling. At least that means no cut was announced, I guess.

[Jdsk]

NAO: "Rail reform: the rail transformation programme":
https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/rail-ref ... programme/

Performance isn't good enough, progress is paused, and planning needs to be very different.

Possibly the most damning report that I can remember.

Jonathan

[Jdsk]

"Your Bus Journey": 2023 findings:
https://www.transportfocus.org.uk/news/ ... isfaction/
https://www.transportfocus.org.uk/publi ... 3-results/

Jonathan

[Jdsk]

20% reduction in use of cars and single ticketing for public transport across the country... the country being Scotland.
https://www.thenational.scot/news/24262 ... rt-system/

Jonathan

[Jdsk]

"Labour promises rail nationalisation within five years of coming to power":
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... g-to-power

Jonathan

[Pendodave]

"Labour promises rail nationalisation within five years of coming to power":
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... g-to-power

Jonathan

Hmmm.
In my experience, being a member of staff at a staff sponsored monopoly (particularly, but not exclusively, the current incumbents) is pretty rubbish. Ask NHS, teaching and similar staff how they feel their pay and conditions have fared over the years, and how their industries have been run.
I would add that, as an end user of many such organisations, things don't always go as anticipated.
Nationalisation is something that is very popular with those that are unaffected by it.
Obviously, the grotesque extraction of any value by the private sector causes much gnashing of teeth, but it would be nice if some intelligent thought was directed at the best way to run these short of industries in everyone's interest.

[Jdsk]

"Labour promises rail nationalisation within five years of coming to power":
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... g-to-power

Williams (of Williams Shapps) supports the approach:
https://www.railwaygazette.com/uk/willi ... 97.article

Jonathan

[Jdsk]

"Labour promises rail nationalisation within five years of coming to power":
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... g-to-power

Williams (of Williams Shapps) supports the approach:
https://www.railwaygazette.com/uk/willi ... 97.article

Wolmar speaks:
https://inews.co.uk/opinion/labours-rai ... st_popular

Jonathan

[Jdsk]

"Labour promises rail nationalisation within five years of coming to power":
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... g-to-power

Williams (of Williams Shapps) supports the approach:
https://www.railwaygazette.com/uk/willi ... 97.article

Wolmar speaks:
https://inews.co.uk/opinion/labours-rai ... st_popular

Public Accounts Committee:
"Rail reform: No-one in Government putting needs of passengers and taxpayers first":
https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8 ... c-reports/

Jonathan

[Stevek76]

Well lets hope they mean more business than just that. Rolling programme of electrification, sort rolling stock programme and get the full HS2/NPR programme back on track with longer term plans for additional capacity.

[Jdsk]

From the new Secretary of State:
“This will be the most public transport-committed government in Britain’s history. One of my first jobs will be to sort out the rail and bus networks across the country.
“Labour will bring rail franchises into public ownership as contracts expire and create publicly-owned Great British Railways – delivering the biggest overhaul to our railways in a generation.
“And we will massively expand franchising powers, giving every community the power to take back control of our buses."
https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/politics ... ry-4693177

Jonathan

[Pinhead]

Has the Labor party got a transport strategy that is in plain English, and about cycling.