With the Department for Transport (DfT)’s call for evidence to support the development of an Integrated National Transport Strategy (INTS) for England having recently closed, several influential bodies in the transport sector have set out their stances on the issue.
Among the organisations to make submissions to the call for ideas were the Transport Planning Society (TPS) and the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT).
The background of the Government’s INTS call for ideas
In announcing its call for evidence – which ran from 28th November 2024 to 20th February 2025 – the DfT said it was developing a strategy that would “set the high-level direction for how transport should be designed, built, and operated in England over the next 10 years.”
The department went on to state that the INTS would comprise a “single national vision which will put people who use transport and their needs at its heart”.
To assist with its creation of the strategy, the Government said it wished to hear from anyone who uses any form of transport, as well as frontline transport personnel, and companies and organisations operating in the transport sector.
TPS says integration must mean “a huge culture change for all government departments”
The Transport Planning Society said that in its own submission to the call for evidence, it had encouraged ministers to consider how people access services and opportunities, drawing upon technology and advances in IT to help reduce long-distance travel.
Furthermore, the society urged, it was crucial to focus on the needs of the user, in addition to using data for performance monitoring and the allocation of resources, and implementing technological innovations such as unified ticketing and payment systems. The society also emphasised the importance of learning from examples of best practice around the globe.
Policy Director at TPS, Mark Frost, commented that the society had “pulled in views from across the industry as to what the INTS should seek to achieve if it’s going to be a success.”
He continued: “The message back from practitioners was clear – integration means far more than sympathetic timetabling across modes, or joined up fares. It’s nothing less than a huge culture change for all government departments and across all tiers of government.”
“Treat England’s transport networks as a system of systems”
Another influential entity to lodge a submission was CIHT, which set out a number of recommendations.
The learned society urged ministers to “deliver a sustained modal shift in line with the sustainable transport hierarchy – thus contributing to the net zero mission.” Moreover, it called for improved “resilience and access to reliable and affordable connectivity to economic opportunity for people and businesses.”
Also essential, according to the charity, was the realisation of a “safer, cleaner, and more inclusive transport network”, together with enhanced “customer choice and experience.”
In a news release outlining its stance, the organisation called for the INTS to be “vision-led”, in addition to treating transport networks in England as “a system of systems”.
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It will doubtless be fascinating for transport consultants, their clients, and other industry stakeholders to keep a close eye on how the Government approaches its design and implementation of the INTS, in light of the aforementioned bodies’ stated priorities.
In the meantime, if you are seeking out a transport consultancy that you can trust to support your projects to success, please don’t hesitate to contact Transport Planning Associates (TPA) for transport planning and infrastructure advice.
