{"id":3502,"date":"2023-12-06T17:29:31","date_gmt":"2023-12-06T17:29:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/uk-cities-need-million-more-bus-and-rail-users\/"},"modified":"2023-12-06T17:29:31","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T17:29:31","slug":"uk-cities-need-million-more-bus-and-rail-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/uk-cities-need-million-more-bus-and-rail-users\/","title":{"rendered":"UK cities need million more bus and rail users"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 The UK\u2019s big cities outside of London are outliers and would need nearly one million (963,000) additional workers taking public transport to work to bridge the gap with other cities overseas. 16% of Manchester residents and 18% of Birmingham residents commute to work using public transport, compared to 40% in Hamburg and 33% in Lyon, two European cities of similar size.<\/p>\n In a new report published in partnership with Go-Ahead, Gear shift: International lessons for increasing public transport ridership in UK cities<\/em>, Centre for Cities says the gap is due to the smaller average transport network size and less dense residential neighbourhoods in the UK\u2019s big cities, meaning they will need help to achieve this ambition.<\/p>\n Evidence shows there are fewer car journeys done in large European cities thanks to their greater reliance on public transport compared to the big cities in the UK. For example, if Liverpool were to perform like Leipzig (a city of similar size), there would be 33,000 fewer workers commuting to work using a car or taxi, a reduction of 20%.<\/p>\n It\u2019s vital that modern, dynamic cities encourage more people onto public transport if they\u2019re to tackle congestion and pollution<\/p>\n Miguel Parras, group chief executive of Go-Ahead, said: \u201cIt\u2019s vital that modern, dynamic cities encourage more people onto public transport if they\u2019re to tackle congestion and pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n Parras continued: \u201cEasy to navigate transport hubs, bus priority measures and better planning around stations can make a big difference, as the Centre for Cities\u2019 report points out.<\/p>\n \u201cAny successful public transport system needs to blend clear thinking from a central transport authority with the entrepreneurial flair of private operators \u2013 whether that\u2019s on bus, rail or light rail. In some cities, that can mean franchising, while in others it might simply mean a close, co-operative partnership between public and private, working towards a common goal.\u201d <\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cWhat these policy recommendations are aiming for is finding that extra gear so we can bring more people into our city centres during working hours, quicker and, preferably, cheaper too,\u201d said Andrew Carter, chief executive at Centre for Cities.<\/p>\n In order to get there and find that extra gear, we need to look at different policy measures from around the world, look at how they are funded, look at where we can bring in extra revenues<\/p>\n \u201cIn order to get there and find that extra gear, we need to look at different policy measures from around the world, look at how they are funded, look at where we can bring in extra revenues, and do that in ways that also help us invest in our public transport networks for the long term.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat you see in other big cities around the world is more people take public transport and the network is serving its purpose in the regional economy: large cities can use their space more efficiently and a greater number of workers can reach the city-centre to access opportunities there.\u201d <\/p>\n Policy measures<\/strong><\/p>\n Develop the density of commercial property<\/strong> in city centres to increase the concentration of jobs in existing commercial locations. \u00a0 DON\u2019T MISS OUT \u2013 GET YOUR COPY! \u2013\u00a0click here to subscribe!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The post UK cities need million more bus and rail users<\/a> first appeared on Passenger Transport<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u200b\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Britain\u2019s big cities should significantly increase public transport commuters to catch up with European counterparts, says Centre for Cities think tank \u00a0The UK\u2019s big cities outside of London are outliers and would need nearly one million (963,000) additional workers taking public transport to work to bridge the gap with other cities overseas \u00a0 The number of people taking public transport…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-camcab"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3502"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
The UK\u2019s big cities outside of London are outliers and would need nearly one million (963,000) additional workers taking public transport to work to bridge the gap with other cities overseas<\/em><\/p>\n
\nThe number of people taking public transport to work in the UK\u2019s large cities is much lower than European counterparts and catching up will require doubling the number of regular commuters using a bus, train or tram according to the Centre for Cities think tank.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nCentre for Cities outlines several policy measures drawing evidence from London and cities overseas that have higher levels of public transport use (see below).<\/p>\n
\nImprove residential density<\/strong> and the use of Local Development Orders to create new mid-rise developments near public transport stops.
\nBring responsibilities for running a city\u2019s public transport services<\/strong> together under one body similar to Transport for London.
\nWhere existing commercial partnerships are not working, consider using new bus franchising<\/strong> powers created by recent legislation to improve the integration of services, including integrated ticketing and daily fare caps.
\nProvide cities with transport-related revenue-raising powers<\/strong> such as congestion charging or workplace parking levies that provide cross-subsidies to fund investment in transport networks.<\/p>\n
This article appears in the latest issue of\u00a0Passenger Transport<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n