In LTT magazine, LTT909, available for subscribers to access.

Things are moving on quickly across a number of government policy areas with significant transport impacts, but not all coming out from the Department for Transport, or seemingly clearly joined up — except within LTT! In this regard, we report and analyse important urban planning policy material emerging from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, especially relating to the planning of the proposed new towns in which the transport provision will be a crucial matter. The Department for Transport, meanwhile is itself seeking further input to its proposed Integrated National Transport Strategy, which now appears to be focused mainly on consumer-facing issues of transport provision rather than broader policy. We also report on the publication of a white paper on the future framework for the rail sector ahead of legislation to establish Great British Railways.

Meanwhile, the plans for local government reorganisation and devolution — again with major transport implications — continue to be shaped up and we publish the first part of an in-depth analysis of the proposals and their significance for transport, about which we announce that LTT will be holding a major event in April.

Another area of significance for transport is the Government’s spending plans, and we report on the latest indication of financial provision, including an admission that the previous administration’s £4.7 billion reallocation of money saved by the cancellation of the northern links of HS2 will no longer be part of its thinking. We also cover some major individual transport authority budget plans for the coming year.

Other activities and projects in our news coverage include plans for bus franchising by the individual authorities, the go-ahead for a number of local road schemes said to unlock economic growth, allocations for active travel funding, and an examination of the impact of the bus fare cap.

We continue with the new Local Transport Today Deep Thinking initiative for 2025, seeking new ways of considering transport in a world of fast-changing technology, social and economic activity and concerns about sustainability. Our contributor this issue is Professor Nick Tyler who looks at the intrinsic mobility needs of humans and how our current transport and travel behaviour can be seen as hyper-mobility with a range of unwelcome consequences. He makes a number of observations based on his work in the PEARL human factors laboratory. We would encourage all of our readers to engage in this discussion, and perhaps contribute their own thinking. Later in the year, we will hold a major event to explore and exchange ideas and perspectives.

Our regular contributing columnist in this issue is John Dales, who is concerned that the Government’s quest for increased national economic growth is overlooking the local economies that are key to people’s lives. He suggests more should be done to bring prosperity to the local level, starting with town centres and high streets.

In his Editorial Opinion, Peter Stonham looks at the significance of the 34 million cars that there are now in the UK, but when they are stationery rather than on the move, noting the evolution of the idea of ‘parking policy’, recognising in particular the pioneering work of Donald Shoup, who has just died. He wonders whether the current Government will be willing to pay suitable attention to this sensitive topic in its transport policy thinking.