The Department for Transport (DfT) has published a landmark national transport strategy, committing ministers to overhauling the Government's current appraisal, modelling and evaluation strategy (AMES) to support more integrated multi-modal journeys, with plans for contactless public transport travel in all major city-regions.

A long-term vision

In her foreword to the Better Connected strategy, transport secretary Heidi Alexander said: 'It is time to look further ahead and set out our long-term vision for a better connected future. This strategy is a call to action for everyone who works in transport in England. It brings together, in one place, our vision for a transport network that works for people and can be relied upon. Built on the three core principles of people, place and partnership, which provide the foundations for our future.

'Our multi-year £30bn transport settlement is already giving local leaders the certainty they need to invest in good transport, but it is clear that politicians in Westminster cannot truly appreciate the challenges facing Woking, Wolverhampton or Whitby.'

To support the shift to integrated transport planning, the Government has also committed to establishing a Mass Transit Taskforce. This team will 'assess the wider economic, spatial and social benefits of integrated mass transit systems, and examine the funding, governance and delivery barriers that can impede their development, in line with the recommendation of the New Towns Taskforce Report on mass transit'.

Highways announcements

While the focus of the Government's announcement was on the roll out of 'tap-and-go travel across buses, trains, and trams', there were also key commitments on highways - mainly based around new guidance, particularly on active travel. 

The Better Connected National Transport Strategy makes the following commitments:

  • Update the Network Management Duty Guidance: This will set out how local traffic authorities should manage traffic on their network and ensure that all pavements and cycle paths are treated in the same way as road infrastructure.
  • Active Travel England will develop a framework for assessing the quality and connectivity of active travel routes and cycle parking provision at stations. Active Travel England will provide support for implementing these improvements.

On the back of the strategy, DfT also told Highways that it expects to release a consultation this summer on the long-awaited update to the Safety at Street Works and Road Works A Code of Practice - also known as the Red Book, with the final guidance planned for 2027. 

The document also states that the National Parking Platform 'is exploring opportunities to integrate toll payments and other related road charges, as well as linking parking with rail tickets to make park-and-ride journeys easier'.

Contactless ticketing

The strategy document states that 'by 2030, [DfT] will make available the essential tools for major city regions to roll out integrated contactless ticketing locally in a way that suits their needs'.

This is largely based on providing long-term funding settlements and developing the required technology - primarily through Project Coral, a shared technology solution for integrated contactless PAYG.

Seven individual settlements have already been agreed with the following authorities: Greater London Authority, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, North East Combined Authority, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Specifically for mayors, the Railways Bill will ensure that mayoral strategic authorities are consulted on Great British Railways (GBR) decision-making, as well as ensuring that GBR considers local plans and priorities.

A new approach to plans and planning

The document states that its guiding principles are 'People, Place and Partnership', which underpin eight key priorities. Alongside this sits a host of commitments on spatial planning, representing the theoretical architecture to the DfT's 'vision-led' approach. These include:

  • Consider the role of the Connectivity Tool in national planning policy and guidance
  • Embed the alignment of transport and housing into local and national capital investment programmes
  • Consider how national planning policy and guidance can best support higher densities for development in highly connected locations
  • Put the alignment and integration of transport and complementary interventions at the heart of place-based business cases
  • Embed a new framework in the DfT to ensure that the rationale for change and a range of options (considering all transport modes) and resources required are considered from the outset
  • Enhance DfT's Strategic Modelling Capability
  • Publish an updated AMES that will set out an improvement plan for appraisal over the next five years, identifying where we should focus efforts.

The DfT plans to develop a Transport Evaluation Support for Trials programme to provide ‘professional evaluation support' to local authorities in trialling new delivery approaches.

The DfT revealed it is also developing a new 'measure of transport poverty' that will ‘identify places where transport issues […] risk limiting people's ability to access earning and learning opportunities and key services', as well as an Opportunity Mission Toolkit that will ‘help local decision-makers' make their own business cases.

A spokesperson told Highways that the Government is ‘committed to exploring' how it can incorporate these tools at the national level as well as supporting their use at local levels.

Accessibility and safety

To ensure that transport can be accessible nationwide, the DfT plans to work with the Law Commission to review the ‘current legal framework', as well as launch an accessible transport charter. It also pledged to publish an improvement plan to increase the data available to help those with accessibility needs plan their journeys.

Along with this, the department is ‘scoping the feasibility' of a single reporting system for passengers to use across all types of public transport to increase reporting of safety issues and ‘feelings of safety'

Responses

Dr Antoneta Horbury, MCIHT, director of policy and technical affairs for CIHT, said: ‘From CIHT's perspective, improving transport decision‑making starts with breaking down the silos that still exist between transport modes and across institutions. Too often, decisions are taken in isolation, which can limit the viability of sustainable development – for example, where highways adoption processes unintentionally prevent the delivery of effective public transport services.

‘The new appraisal, modelling and evaluation framework must also move beyond narrow economic metrics and better capture the wider social, health and environmental benefits of transport investment. This includes recognising the role of active travel and public transport in reducing health inequalities, improving access to opportunity, cutting emissions, and improving long‑term wellbeing.'

Sue Percy CBE, chief executive of CIHT, added: ‘The strategy reflects many of the priorities CIHT has consistently highlighted, including the need to simplify journeys for users, improve integration across modes, empower local leaders and ensure transport better supports economic growth, inclusion and decarbonisation.'

Other key announcements

  • The National Bus Fare Cap has been extended until ‘at least' March 2027. Originally launched at the beginning of 2023 as a £2 cap, it was increased to £3 at the end of 2024 and was later extended as part of the Spending Review.
  • The DfT plans to deliver a Transport Innovation Procurement Pathway to help authorities procure innovative solutions and technology.
  • Local authorities will be supported by £30m for Integrated Transport Digital Twins that can be used to ‘model the impact of decisions and coordinate better, more timely responses to disruption'.
  • A £10m integration innovation fund will help enable ‘a small number of local authorities' to trial and/or accelerate innovative projects to ‘improve integration across the passenger journey.'