Transport

24 per cent of the UK population are disabled yet public transport is frequently described as ‘difficult’ and ‘inaccessible’ by disabled passengers. The Government has set out how it aims to improve this, most notably through the Inclusive Transport Strategy (2018) and the National Disability strategy (2021). Below, Brevia analyses the most frequent issues surrounding access in public transportation and the associated political debates and policies.

Labour has promised to bring the railways back into public ownership but the impact of the pandemic, underinvestment and industrial action will be challenging.

Some of the most dramatic effects of the Covid-19 outbreak and the response measures it demands have been on modes of transport. Airlines have been grounded, discretionary domestic travel is discouraged and the use of public transport is advised against.[1] Instead, the Government has promoted cycling and walking as a form of safe, socially distanced travel. With the consequences of the virus expected to persist for a ‘long period of time’[2] transport policy is shifting to keep people moving.

Following the Cabinet and ministerial reshuffle and the election of Select Committee chairs and their members, Brevia Consulting has compiled a list of the key political stakeholders in relation to transport policy.

This week, the Government stepped in to save the regional airline, Flybe, from collapse. Having won a majority by gaining votes in nearly every region of the UK, the intervention symbolises Boris Johnson’s stated desire to ‘level up’ the country.