Here’s to 50 more!
Last night, we rounded off our year of 50th anniversary celebrations with a gala dinner at the London Transport Museum. Against a backdrop of transport icons and nestled between the museum’s old London Routemasters, we gathered guests from across the transport industry to mark 50 years of Campaign for Better Transport.
In one of our biggest years of campaigning yet, we got together to look back at where we started and to think about where we’ll go next.
Back in 1973, when our journey began, transport was taking a dangerous direction. Campaign for Better Transport, then known as Transport 2000, was formed to oppose plans to close half of Britain’s railway network. From there we faced down a powerful car lobby, campaigning against plans to build three London ‘ringways’ that would have displaced up to 100,000 people. The organisation challenged a mentality which dictated that cars were the future and railways belonged in the past. We saw that public transport was essential to avoid a gridlocked future. Rather than shrinking, it needed to thrive.
That small group grew, its voice strengthened, and it changed transport for the better in many ways. We staved off repeated threats of rail closures, helped reform company car taxation, influenced government to create both the New Stations Fund and the Restoring Your Railways Fund, won support and investment for active travel improvements, and moved buses up the political agenda with our research on the devastating impact of bus cuts.
As if to prove just how needed our work is, our keynote speaker Laura Shoaf was delayed after being stuck at a standstill on a rail line outside London. Laura only managing to arrive after leaving her train to jump in a taxi.
When Laura did arrive, she stepped up to the podium in her role of Chief Executive of the West Midlands Combined Authority to deliver her speech.
In her role, Laura has secured the region’s Deeper Devolution Deal which will shift power from Westminster to the West Midlands which will mean greater local oversight and control of the region’s public transport services. A recognised expert who has advised on national policy, Laura secured and oversaw the delivery of a £4 billion transport investment package for the region. She was appointed by the Department for Transport as one of the UK’s first Violence Against Women and Girls Transport Champions, and is tasked with working with passenger groups to identify areas for improvement across the country.
Summing up, Laura aimed a question at our Chief Executive Paul. ‘Why did you ask me to deliver this speech?’ Because after taking the train, being delayed, getting stuck, having to leave and jump in a cab to get there, Laura is still optimistic for the future
“This is a call to arms to continue to be genuinely passionate about public transport and the people who rely on it… Transport is the public vitality of this country.”
And of course, Laura’s right. Investment in transport is key to so many of the problems our country is facing.
As the latest figures show, transport is still responsible for more co2 emissions than any other sector. We need to invest more in public transport to reduce these emissions and create a sustainable transport network. Reforming how buses are funded will help tackle the isolation and economic inequality caused by bus cuts, and making rail fares affordable and simpler will get passengers back on board and keep them there.
As our former Chief Executive of 30 years Stephen Joseph remarked in his own speech, in an ideal world Campaign for Better Transport wouldn’t need to exist. But so long as we face rampant road building, slashed services, and unfair fares, we’ll continue to campaign for everyone to have access to greener, fairer, better transport. Here’s to the next 50 years!
