Introduction – Urban Transport

Ladies and gentlemen.

Attractive, vibrant and sustainable cities and towns are a vital part of modern England.

They are centres for employment, culture and key services.

They are home to over 80% of the population, and some of the most diverse and vibrant urban communities in the world.

And they drive the UK economy, with the large metropolitan areas generating an estimated 40% of national income.

This Summit brings together these cities today to focus on the post-recession vision for urban economies, and I  welcome the chance to talk about how transport can contribute to that vision.

The most successful cities – in this country just as around the world – manage to ensure transport contributes to all their aims:

On one hand, providing the jobs, investment and infrastructure to boost growth and prosperity.

On the other, providing a pleasant, healthy and safe environment that enriches people’s quality of life.

These cities show how transport which supports the economy can and must also deliver against wider objectives –  to their environment; to the health of their inhabitants; to social inclusion; and to their ability to compete for business investment and tourism.

This morning, I want to talk about the critically important role of urban transport – and how it can contribute in many different ways to the success of our cities in the future.

Context

Over the past decade, many cities in Britain have been transformed for the better.

We have only to look along the waterfront here in Liverpool to see evidence of that.  And Manchester – where I am speaking at a Passenger Transport conference tomorrow – has experienced similar growth and renaissance.

Both are now vibrant and dynamic places to live and work.

But there’s still room for improvement. …..

Transport problems, like congestion, lack of integrated planning, and overcrowding on local transport…... And broader urban problems like obesity and poor health, social exclusion, and air quality.

Today, with the publication of the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit report and our short response “The Future of Urban Transport,” we can see just how transport in English cities and towns compares with other cities around the world.

Prepared by the Strategy Unit together with five Government Departments, this vital document graphically illustrates the cost to cities and urban economies of poor transport planning, and a continuing failure by some city authorities to appreciate the broader impacts of transport.

It shows how much congestion is costing your economies – but also makes clear that you are paying a similar cost for poor air quality, road accidents, and for poor health as a result of inactivity.

And it concludes that local authority leaders need to endorse a more integrated vision for urban transport – one where transport planning is at the heart of the agenda.

Devolution

Before I analyse the report in more detail, I think it’s important to summarise how urban transport policy has changed under this government.

The old, centralised, Whitehall controlled structure has gone.

And the chronic underinvestment has gone.

Instead this Government has delivered a more devolved decision-making framework - giving local people power to make their own choices, because they understand their own issues better than anyone, and they know where resources should be invested.

In London we have devolved power to an elected Mayor with extensive powers to deliver transport across the city.

In cities outside London, which currently lack city-wide authorities, we have nevertheless worked across Government to help them develop visionary City Region Strategies and Multi Area Agreements.

Local Transport Plans have focused on devolution because we recognise that transport which is right in one city is not necessarily right elsewhere. Since their inception, they have helped transform local transport planning and delivery. And they will continue to play their part.

And the Local Transport Act has the principle of devolution hardwired into it.

As well as new powers to provide bus services, the Act provides powers for Integrated Transport Authorities to lead the drive to implement a united vision for transport in our leading cities, and developing their Local Transport Plans.

Equally important are the new powers we have given cities to tackle inefficiencies and fragmentation in transport delivery to provide better services for the travelling public.

All these initiatives have been backed with record funding. In total £150 billion has been invested in our transport infrastructure over ten years.

So we have transformed both the delivery structure, and local transport investment….

Essential pre-requisites for excellent, integrated, sustainable urban transport planning, but on their own, no guarantee.

Grasping opportunities

To achieve the sort of results we want to see in every town and city across the country, we do need buy-in from city authorities.

We need to see every city authority and city region working together to grasp the opportunities that are available to them – opportunities provided by greater empowerment.

These include new powers to improve transport governance; greater flexibility and freedom to work together with other delivery partners to develop their own transport plans.

And although we are all having to think hard about our priorities given the economic downturn, the Government  increases in funding streams mean that capital funding for local transport is now about three times the level it was in 1997 – a fact sometimes forgotten.

We have also provided much more scope for leaders of cities, regions, and local partnerships to decide how available funding is to be spent.

Almost all local transport funding capital is now included in regional funding allocations – so you, leaders of cities, regions, and local partnerships, can best decide where to spend it, finding the right balance between areas and between large and small projects to meet your own objectives.

Now is the time to be planning these decisions, as you develop city region strategies and prepare the third round of Local Transport Plans over the next year.

We want to see you using to the full new powers under the Local Transport Act to work with bus operators to improve services. You now have a range of powers to reform buses through provisions for bus quality contracts schemes - I will be laying the regulations for this in the next few weeks.

We have also given local traffic authorities new powers to enforce parking measures to reduce congestion, and to better manage streetworks.

Powers are also available to restructure the local governance of transport, and to enhance the alignment of transport strategy and delivery with other functions.

As you will be aware, Integrated Transport Authorities have been given sole responsibility for preparing and delivering Local Transport Plans in our largest cities outside London.

Broader benefits from transport

If authorities are to make best use of the new powers, we need to see them understanding the full range of benefits that better transport can bring to a city. And indeed to recognise the risks where transport is planned and delivered badly.

Rarely has that been more relevant than now, with every city in England competing to emerge the strongest from the economic downturn.

My message to every regional and local authority represented here today is this:

• You can’t attract new investment to your cities or resolve the economic problems you are facing without involving transport.
• You can’t find solutions to housing demand or unemployment without a clear, integrated policy on transport.
• You won’t achieve your air quality targets, or produce the better living environments for your communities without a sustainable transport strategy.
• And if you are genuinely concerned about issues like obesity and child health, and I know that you are, you need to factor in transport.

PMSU – revaluing transport

These are among the main conclusions of the Prime Ministers Strategy Unit analysis, and the short response we are publishing today - The Future of Urban Transport.

Indeed, it clearly sets out the cost to your economies, and your budgets, of poor transport planning.

There is a cost of congestion and the damage it brings to businesses and individuals.  In urban areas with a population of more than 10,000, the cost of congestion is thought to be around £10.9 billion a year.

Of course, tackling congestion must remain a central objective for every city.  We need to look at the range of possible ways of reducing congestion, recognising that increasing road space is seldom available as an option in cities. 

But this is not the only damage which poorly planned transport may inflict on your cities.

The report shows in addition that the measurable costs of road accidents and poor air quality are also costing you about £10 billion a year each.

And the cost of physical inactivity – so closely bound with transport – is also thought to cost city economies another £10 billion a year, even before you factor in obesity.

The PMSU Report also demonstrates just how important transport design is in cities to our quality of life. Integrating transport with land use and paying attention to the needs of pedestrians and cyclists makes cities simply a better place to live.

You can see, therefore, the importance of measuring transport in both its positive and negative contributions.
And I hope you also appreciate the importance of this message today, when we have so many stakeholders together under one roof.
What’s clear is that urban transport cannot be planned on its own in isolation from other areas of planning.
It shows that you cannot plan a new housing estate, shops, business districts, and leisure facilities without transport…. and yet that’s something we still see happening.

I must say I was surprised to see that  some city regions felt able to present Multi Area Agreements which considered economic development or housing but left transport to be considered as an optional extra….. NOT, I might add, Liverpool’s which had very good coverage of transport.

I don’t believe we can afford to continue seeing transport as an add-on.  It is simply not sensible to think that you can plan housing or economic development and that the transport required will magically appear. Quite simply, development needs to reflect an integrated approach if you are to get the best value for available funds and the best results for people and business in your regions.

And I really hope that transport won’t be lost in the discussions you are having on economic issues over the next 2 days.

Support

Of course the Government will also continue to support you in more direct, individual ways. For example by working with ten of our largest cities to agree targets for reducing congestion on main arteries.

By providing nearly £100m to encourage cycling in towns and cities.

And by our award winning Manual For Streets, which sets out guidance on street design.

But we need to recognise that while individual initiatives may be highly effective in meeting specific challenges, the real gains come from you, city leaders amongst us today taking a broader, more integrated approach towards transport practice.

The challenge for decision makers at all levels, therefore, is to achieve a “triple win” outcome – solutions that deliver economic, health and environmental benefits.

Such solutions do exist – and they do not have to be hugely expensive. Interventions that increase cycling, walking and the use of public transport in our cities have the potential not only to improve health and reduce carbon, but to contribute to local economies by leaving road space for those who will continue to need to use it.

I would hop you would agree, there are tremendous opportunities for improvement here.

A quarter of all trips in the Netherlands are by bicycle, compared to 1.5% in Britain.

Cycling and walking implementation in English cities offer huge potential rewards, and are relatively inexpensive.

So we need cities to show leadership to speed up this process, and to take advantage of the opportunities that now exist.

Opportunities such as – sustainable travel town; cycling demonstration towns; increased investment for Cycling England; launching  the cycle to work scheme and much more.

Where a city is covered by a number of planning authorities, they will need to collaborate closely to meet shared objectives.

Similarly, transport planners will need to work with land use planners to improve spatial awareness – or where key destinations are located – to reduce the need for travel, and to make travel patterns more efficient.

I know that I’ve been bombarding you with stats this morning – but let me give you another…

Although half of us own a bike, and 60% live just 15 minutes from a railway station, only 2% of train passengers travel to the station by bike.

We are woefully behind on this issue. At Leiden Station in Holland, for instance, there is supervised parking for 4,500 bikes. By contrast, all of London’s rail terminals together only have 1,200 bike spaces.

So we have boosted funding for cycling facilities at rail stations from £5m to £14m as part of a wider focus on improving door-to-door journeys.
But we need to see more joined up thinking at city level, and to bring more innovative, sustainable ideas to the heart of the delivery process.

Joined up thinking

In conclusion - there is now irrefutable evidence showing that transport strategy needs to be integrated with other strategies particularly on economic development and land use planning, including policies to reduce carbon and increase resilience to impacts of climate change. 

This Government has consistently sought to encourage integration and will continue to do so.
At regional level, regions have been free since 2005 to advise on the overall strategic balance of funding between transport, housing and economic development.
At the level of individual cities and local authorities, government departments have worked together to support the development of city region strategies.

Through guidance on Transport governance reform, Local Transport Plans, Local Area Agreements and Multi Area Agreements, we have pressed the need for authorities to work together, especially in the former metropolitan areas where different authorities are responsible for different areas of transport, land use, environment and economic development. 

Its always risky to name and praise but some cities - such as Brighton and York and also Tees Valley have already made significant gains, both in setting a vision and in collaborative working towards delivery and I congratulate and thank them for their efforts.  But we need to see much more progress elsewhere.

But we need to see much more progress elsewhere.

Ultimately, only individual cities themselves can make the decisions that are right for their areas, and can undertake the right action to meet their goals.

So delivery rightly depends on local leadership.

So today I urge you to work together to achieve a clearly articulated common vision for how transport can work to transform the success of your city.

I urge you to use the powers which have been provided to reform transport governance.

And I urge city leaders and stakeholders to work with us to overcome any further obstacles to reform. Let me know who they are so that I can help.

With the publication of today’s report, I now would like to hear what you think. I want to hear your response, and your ideas on how to take this forward.

Because the prize – better transport services; better urban environments; healthier communities; and more successful urban economies – is one that benefits everyone.

Thank you very much for listening  - I look forward to hearing your views about the future of urban transport – please do get in touch with me.  I truly belive that this agenda can have an exciting future.

(This speech represented existing departmental policy but the words may not have been the same as those used by the Minister.)