Gordon Brown has announced future initiatives for public transport in the 'Building Britain's Future' document – a radical vision planning for a fairer, stronger and more prosperous society.
Rail, bus and bicycle travel were the focus of the transport sections of the report, including a National Cycling Plan. The document highlights the importance of shifting the economy and our society away from fossil fuel dependency and recognizes that transport will have to significantly change.
The Department for Transport and Department for Health are in the process of drafting a transport strategy that will be announced later this year. Strong emphasis will be placed on encouraging children and commuters to cycle more often to school and work.
The National Cycling Plan will be developed to promote cycling as a mainstream form of transport. The plan will detail an integrated approach between local authorities and employers in order to boost cycling through, for example, better bike parking and installing showers at workplaces.
Encouragingly, cycling has doubled across London since 1997, and the document states it wants to build on this success to deliver a "cycling revolution" across the UK. The plan for this "revolution" involves offering the nine largest urban areas across England (excluding London) the chance to become the first Sustainable Travel City.
Furthermore, £29 million over the next three years will be invested in at least one of England's largest cities to encourage greener travel choices. The document states that these could include plans to "support walking, cycling and initiatives to improve public transport."
Brown's plans also pledge to invest £250 million to help the UK to become a world leader in ultra-low carbon vehicle technology. This includes the take-up of low carbon buses, alongside the previously announced fuel duty subsidies for bus operators. Combined with earlier plans for a major programme of rail electrification the government strategy is to reform the next generation of public transport.
However, it is widely acknowledged that public transport needs a sustained increase in funding in order to compete more effectively with car and aeroplane travel. Stephen Joseph, executive director of the Campaign for Better Transport, said: "The government says it wants real choice in public services, but in transport that doesn't apply - too often at present people drive and fly because they have no other choice. It's time for the government to nail its colours to the mast and change funding so that people have real choice in transport too."
The Guardian, Building Britain's Future: Full Strategy Document (810KB), Report Summary (180KB)
