Influencing transport policy and provision

The ability to move goods and people around efficiently is essential to economic growth.

What is Yorkshire Forward’s responsibility on transport?

Yorkshire Forward has recently inherited the lead responsibility for regional transport planning from the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly and a Regional Transport Advisory Board has been created.

Our present role is to add value by working with others and influencing them to address regional priorities. As a last resort, we will consider influencing through investment to address regional transport priorities.

We are not here to pick up every transport issue, only those where there is clear strategic added value, an economic rationale, and a clear market failure. The region works well together on transport, with strong partnership between the regional bodies and others to make the regional funding allocation for transport work.  We will build on this in the future.

How does transport affect the economy?

  • By impacting on GDP. Transport can increase choice for businesses, for example in increasing the labour pool available, or by allowing a greater choice of supplier. Transport can increase productivity; for example, by reducing journey times. Also, areas with poor transport are unlikely to attract foreign direct investment
  • By supporting structural change in the economy. An efficient transport system can help the economy to respond more effectively to structural changes; for example, by helping people access new opportunities
  • By supporting a higher quality of life, partly through access to new products and opportunities
  • By supporting a low-carbon economy: the CO2 impact of transport is relatively small.

How do we influence transport policy?

  • By collecting evidence to demonstrate the need for transport interventions to support the region’s economy
  • By influencing transport providers and operators
  • By achieving consensus on transport priorities, including priorities for the use of regional funding.

What is the regional context?

  • In 2006, total government spending on transport in Yorkshire & Humber was £215 per head—the lowest of any English region (versus for example, £614 per head in London and £489 in Scotland)
  • Between 2001 and 2006, government transport spending in our region grew by 53.6%, the lowest increase of any English region. (The average increase for all English regions was 78.4% over this period, and in Scotland funding rose by 143.3%)
  • Yorkshire & Humber is therefore starting from a low investment base, and the gap is widening. There is a need for the region to continue to improve the evidence base and to clarify priorities.

Market failure on transport

‘Market failure’ in this instance means when there is inertia from normal market forces, and public-sector intervention is required:

  • Currently there are many delivery agents for transport, in both the public and private sectors. Planning and governance tend to be fragmented (the Sub-National Review contains proposals for strengthening governance)
  • The private sector operates buses, and legislation encourages competition. This means that scope for co-operation between bus operators, for example on ticket inter-availability, may be restricted. It also means that local authorities have limited powers to specify services (the government is currently looking at these issues in its draft Local Transport Bill)
  • There is also a wider market failure in terms of the threat caused by road and rail congestion. If we do not invest and plan adequately in infrastructure, this will worsen.  Action is needed to ensure that regional priorities are evidenced and addressed
  • There is an imbalance between the perceived need to support economic growth through investment in transport and current funding levels. This tends to constrain thinking and leads to a short-to-medium-term planning focus—with transport fitted to funding, rather than vice versa.

Who are we working with?

The most important people for us to influence are those in central government, which has strategic policy responsibility for transport: they control transport funding. We work closely with others including Local Government Yorkshire & Humber, the Northern Way, transport operators, passenger transport executives, and local authorities. Sometimes regional priorities are addressed by investment outside of the regional boundary.

Some of our recent successes

  • New TransPennine Express trains
  • The Yorkshire 6 project has added to rail rolling stock on the Calder Valley and Harrogate lines
  • High-occupancy vehicle lanes at the junction of the M62 and M606
  • Faster journey times between London and Sheffield from 2012
  • New trains on the East Coast Main Line from 2012
  • Opening of new third platform at Manchester Airport station
  • York Aircoach secured to Leeds Bradford International Airport
  • Bus links expanded from Robin Hood Airport
  • Improvements to allow more freight trains to access Hull and Immingham docks
  • Several car clubs set up and running in the region
  • Successful travel-for-work partnerships with local authorities are helping emplyers and job-seekers in West Yorkshire.