Public transport in towns and cities

The House of Lords Built Environment Committee is carrying out an inquiry into public transport in towns and cities. I was invited to submit written evidence, which is now published.

My conclusions:

For public transport in towns and cities to be improved, the share of car travel needs to be reduced, to lessen both competition for passengers and road traffic congestion.


To reduce car use, better public transport is needed, which requires both local government to take overall charge of services and to have a sustainable source of funding beyond the farebox.


There are no new technologies that will make much difference.