The Transport Committee has launched a new inquiry
into how transport services and investment can be planned to best
meet the needs of the public.
The ‘joined-up journeys' inquiry will investigate how the
Government can achieve, and measure the benefits of, better
integration between transport services throughout the
country.
The inquiry will look at how people can make better and more
informed journey choices by positively choosing between, and
combining, different forms of transport depending on their
needs.
Joining up transport could involve ways of making journeys more
seamless by having combined tickets, coordinated timetables,
travel hubs, and tools like parking apps that aren't restricted
to one area. Better information for travellers through real-time
journey planning services like Google Maps and Citymapper is also
part of the picture.
And the cross-party Committee will examine how methodologies for
appraising the value for money of transport investment could be
better at capturing the potential benefits of integrated
transport networks, including the Government's aims such as
economic growth or reducing carbon emissions.
The Government plans to publish an ‘Integrated National Transport
Strategy' that will put the emphasis on user experience of
transport. The Committee will look at what a strategy like this
needs to cover to be successful.
MPs will also look at how making services more joined up could be
beneficial to particular groups, such as those with accessibility
needs, older or younger people, and those for whom affordability
is a barrier to using transport. The Government has said that its
future plans for making transport accessible will be covered by
the new Strategy.
Transport Committee Chair MP said:
“In this inquiry we're going to zoom out and look at the big
picture. How can the Government do a better job of joining up the
different transport options in every community so that they work
to their fullest potential for the travelling public?
“If I want to get from A to B, what are the options, and are
those options as efficient as they could be? Will a reliable bus
service take me to the railway station before the train arrives?
Can I park my bike, or hire a bike to get to the station instead?
If I have access needs and want to take my car, where will I park
without being left with a long walk on the other side? Is it
really cheaper to drive, or to use public transport? Is time, or
the ability to work en-route more important?
“The Committee's joined-up journeys inquiry will look both at
how transport integration can be achieved through better
planning, more information for travellers, and by improving the
services we already have. From planting those seeds, we want to
see how other strategic aims such as modal shift, improvements to
local economies and better quality of life, can be measured and
replicated.”
Terms of reference and call for evidence
The Transport Committee now welcomes written evidence submissions
from those with expert knowledge of the transport manufacturing
sectors. Submissions can be made via the Committee's website
until 11.59pm on 16 October.
- What are the key features that make a transport system feel
joined up to the user? How would ‘integrated' transport look
different to current services and networks?
- What stops effective integration happening now, and how can
these barriers be overcome?
- What kinds of interventions and policy decisions are needed
to provide joined-up transport, including in areas beyond
transport such as planning?
- How should transport integration and its benefits be measured
and evaluated—including the impact on economic growth,
decarbonisation and the Government's other ‘missions'?
- How should the cost of interventions needed to deliver
transport integration be assessed and appraised? Will proposed
changes to methodology in the Treasury's ‘Green Book', including
the introduction of ‘place-based business cases', change
this?
- Will integration in itself deliver other benefits such as
wider transport options in more places, and behaviour changes
such as mode shift? What other impacts could it have?
- What is needed to ensure that integration is inclusive and
meets the diverse needs of transport users? Will integration
necessarily lead to better outcomes for accessibility?
- Will the meaning of integration vary across different kinds
of areas and for different kinds of journeys? (such as rural and
suburban areas, and inter-city journeys)
- What lessons can be drawn from attempts to integrate
transport elsewhere in the UK and around the world? What examples
should the Government seek to emulate?
