Better Transport for Better Growth
One of the Labour Government’s ‘five missions for a better Britain’ is to secure the highest sustained growth in the G7. Growth was certainly name of the game at the Government’s first investment summit which it held last week, seeking financial pledges to support various schemes including a £1.1 billion expansion to Stansted Airport. While the Government wants growth to be sustained, we’d question how sustainable it is…
Last week’s summit saw various private sector operators commit a combined £63 billion, £3 billion of which will be directed towards ‘transport infrastructure’. With little indication how much of this would be used to build essential sustainable transport infrastructure, we’re left questioning how sustainable the Government’s growth plans are. We’ve recently been highlighting the various demerits of road building; namely that it’s terrible value for money and doesn’t actually cut road congestion as many would have us believe. While roads infrastructure is undoubtedly important, we’d encourage the Government to consider how expanding sustainable transport offers potential, sustained, growth in a number different of ways.
Access to labour
The better the transport links, the larger the pool of labour for businesses to hire from. Employees also have a greater access to jobs with more organisations within a wider area. Businesses understand that location matters, and almost 60 per cent of UK firms consider transport infrastructure as a major influence on their business location. A vast majority (92 per cent) of frontline employment advisers serving rural communities reported that they had worked with at least one participant who had been unable to apply for or accept a job because of transport difficulties.
Employee wellbeing
Public transport, lift sharing, and active travel offer direct benefits for physical and mental health, in turn resulting in happier and more productive staff. Having more active employees leads to increased productivity, higher morale, and lower turnover for the employer. Actively promoting healthier travel options in the workplace reduces absenteeism by up to 20 per cent.
Journey time savings
The more people and goods that are moved by efficient, high-capacity transport modes like buses or rail freight, the more it reduces congestion. This improves journey time reliability and creates time savings for businesses, which can then fit in more jobs in a day.
Access to customers
Good public transport, walking and cycling connections also attract more customers. Many businesses, particularly high-street based retailers believe that car access and parking provision are paramount for customers. However, customers actually prioritise better road crossings and less traffic. Studies have shown that shoppers on foot can spend up to six times more than those who arrive by car.
Research shows that in the UK’s six largest cities alone, public transport generates £1.4 billion in time saving benefits for commuters from reduced congestion every year.
Growing the economy also means addressing inequality and alleviating financial stress. As public transport connectivity has worsened over time, more people have been pushed into car ownership. For those on low incomes, owning and running a car takes up a bigger proportion of their income, meaning they’re pushed into transport poverty over time. Improving public transport access would offer them a more affordable alternative.
As we move quickly towards the Autumn Budget, we’re calling on the Government to consider how much more worthwhile investing in sustainable transport is above spending on roads and airport expansions. Road investment has an average return of £2.50 for every £1, but recent major schemes have value for money as low as £1.14 for every £1. Compare that to buses (every £1 spent on improved bus services and infrastructure generates a return of £4.55), trains (every £1 of activity on the railway system £2.50 is generated elsewhere in the economy), and active travel (for every £1 spent on walking and cycling infrastructure, there is £5.62 return on investment), and it’s clear what the Government should be prioritising. Fairly taxing flying and driving would raise much-needed additional revenue to start building the kind of sustainable transport infrastructure that will generate huge economic growth for years to come. It’s long past time that sustainable transport was prioritised as a way to growing the economy, and we’ll continue to challenge the government to do so.
Read our ‘better transport is better for growth’ policy paper in full.
