The Infrastructure Podcast: Episode 32

Guest: Iain Stewart MP, chair of the House of Commons Transport Select Committee.

The future of transport

In this podcast we talk about the future of transport with Iain Stewart MP, chair of the House of Commons Transport Select Committee.

In January 2023 the Transport Select Committee kicked off its Our Future Transport campaign, in which the public was invited to pitch ideas on what the Committee should investigate.

Over 220 ideas were submitted on a range of topics leading to the shortlisting of 12 applicants who were then invited to pitch to the MPs in a Dragon’s Den-style process.

Two ideas made it through the grilling and in June 2023 the Transport Committee launched two major new inquiries – first was into the Future of Transport Data, based on a suggestion by the Railway Industry Association and the company Matatika to investigate the future uses of data in the transport sector to innovate and improve services.

The second was the Strategic Transport Objectives inquiry to examine how Government develops strategic objectives for its future transport policy, prompted by Martin Tugwell, chief executive of Transport for the North and Malcolm Brown of Angel Trains.

Both inquiries intend to help government form its future transport policy. Both should help guide the way the UK plans and invests in the transport systems that will be key to underpinning the nation’s vital future economic growth, social wellbeing and of course the journey towards a net zero future.

The consultation period for the inquiries finished last month in which the committee called for evidence and examples that should help MPs form future policy. In effect the hard yards start now as members of the Committee examine this evidence and put together a set of recommendations to underpin our Future Transport.

It is therefore my pleasure to welcome my guest today Iain Stewart MP, chair of the House of Commons Transport Select Committee. Iain has been deeply involved in the Our Transport Future campaign all year so I hope will give us a steer as to how he sees these two inquiries shaping the future of the UK’s transport policy.

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