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In this special issue of IPPR Progressive Review we bring together leading political, academic and civil society thinkers to consider transport in modern Britain and its role in delivering a healthier, greener, more prosperous and inclusive country.

The future of transport is an issue with both personal and national significance.

On an individual level, transport is how we connect to the things we need and care about – from the corner shop and local park, through to school, jobs and family. We rely on it for everything from summer holidays to hospital visits.

Rather than being designed with the full spectrum of travellers in mind, our transport system often favours those who are commuting or travelling for business. Many transport decisions have been made with the impact on these journeys in mind – with a resulting focus on reducing journey times, over widening access to transport options. Everyone’s ability to get around safely, reliability and affordably therefore depends on how our transport needs fit around that limited standard. The consequences of past transport investment decisions also have a material impact on people's experiences of getting around, with disparities mapping well-trodden inequality divides between postcodes.

Nationally, transport sits at the heart of achieving UK, devolved nations and local government priorities. Delivering inclusive growth, responding to the climate and nature crises, reducing health inequalities, making streets safer and providing equal opportunity for people to get on in life, all rely, at least in part, on changes to the transport system. It also sits at the vanguard of devolution and the goal of giving more communities power to shape their local areas.

Within government policymaking, [transport] is often siloed

Yet, very few people name transport as a key issue facing the country, and for many it only bears comment when inaccessible pavements and potholes create increased road danger, or cancelled trains and missed buses lead to frustrated travel plans. Within government policymaking, it is often siloed, and no strategy exists that sets out what a desirable transport system should look like a decade from now, or further into the future. That the Department for Transport was one of the few departments to recently see its budget cut is an example of how its contribution is not always well understood.

IPPR have long championed a new approach to transport decision making. For over 20 years, we have been writing about the need to design more liveable streets, decouple road transport from oil and create total transport authorities. Our current research addresses the links between transport emissions and inequality, the public’s views on for whom transport currently works, and the opportunity to make transport work better for those on low incomes, in both cities and rural areas.

The new UK government promises to be mission-led. This has the potential to be transformative for transport policy. For too long, public investment has been used to fund poor-value projects based on spurious predictions about the inevitably of rising vehicle traffic, while otherwise overlooking the transformative change good public transport could bring to communities across the country. A new approach should see public money aligned behind a vision for future transport and used to deliver meaningful improvements in the quality of life, local prosperity and our environment for people across the whole country.

A new approach should see public money aligned behind a vision for future transport

It is in this context, we’re pleased to present this transport issue of IPPR Progressive Review.

The authors gathered here offer diverse perspectives on how transport works today and the opportunity to do things differently. These range from practical and everyday concerns through to systemic and long-term challenges, covering everything from car financing, to designing streets for children, and transport’s impact on nature. We hope these articles provide food for thought for politicians and policymakers tasked with making mission-led government a reality, and give inspiration to others arguing the case for a more inclusive, healthy and green transport system.

This issue was edited by Becca Massey-Chase, Stephen Frost, Joshua Emden, Maya Singer Hobbs, Joseph Evans and Emma Killick.

Read the latest issue of IPPR Progressive Review

Issue contents

Editorial \ Stephen Frost, Becca Massey-Chase, Maya Singer-Hobbs and Marcus Johns
Transport’s role in creating a fairer, healthier country \ Angela Donkin, Mike Childs and Sir Michael Marmot
Why 20mph? Why not? is a better question \ Phil Jones
Decarbonisation pathways for UK transport \ Jillian Anable
A sustainable transport system needs to address inequities like transport poverty \ Mari Martiskainen
A just transition for transport \ Shavanah Taj and Nisreen Mansour
The public’s pragmatic attitude to transport and what it means for achieving net zero \ Lorraine Whitmarsh and Stephen Frost
Mobility, emotion and political will \ Filip Watteeuw
How car finance is holding back a just transition \ Tom Haines-Doran
Road traffic and the death of wild nature \ Paul Donald
“Children see streets differently” \ Alison Stenning and Sally Watson
Disabled people’s access needs in transport decarbonisation \ Harrie Larrington-Spencer
Designing for equity: A public realm that works for all \ Zoe Banks Gross