On the road during Better Transport Week 2026
From Carlisle to Oxford, Cardiff to Portsmouth, and Birmingham to Leeds — via Porth, Bedlington, Portishead, Okehampton and Brighton, to name just a few — it’s been a busy and inspiring week on the road.
We’ve met amazing people and seen projects making a real difference to communities right across the country. Here are just some of the highlights…
Making buses more accessible in Brighton
In Brighton, we visited the Brighton & Hove Bus Company Community Hub to see how more people are being supported to use public transport with confidence.
Alongside tailored support and advice, the hub features a mock-up bus where people can practise getting on and off, speaking with the driver and building confidence before travelling independently.
We also had the chance to ride on one of Brighton & Hove’s new accessible electric buses, a great example of how cleaner, quieter vehicles can go hand-in-hand with better accessibility.
The standout takeaway? Disabled people and others with lived experience of barriers to travel have been central to shaping improvements across the network showing what can be achieved when accessibility is designed in from the start.
Touring reopened railway stations
We clocked up more than 1,000 miles visiting new and reopened railway stations across the country.
We kicked off the week at Pineapple Road Station on Birmingham’s Camp Hill Line, where we met local people whose lives have already been transformed by the return of rail services. We even left our own mark, contributing to a community art project creating a mosaic at the station.
From there, we travelled north to Newcastle to experience the highly successful Northumberland Line, before heading to South Wales to see the brand new electric tram-trains operating on the South Wales Metro between Treherbert and Cardiff.
Back in England, we visited Ashley Down Railway Station, the first new station on the planned Henbury Line between Bristol and Henbury, and ended our journey at Okehampton on Devon’s Dartmoor Line.
What stood out throughout the tour was the transformative power of a railway station. When a station opens, places begin to change. People gain easier access to jobs, education and healthcare. Businesses see new opportunities to grow. Journeys become simpler and more reliable, and communities feel less cut off.
Streets for people
On a walking tour of Walworth in South London, we saw first-hand how Southwark Council is putting its Streets for People vision into action. From bookable loading bays which cut congestion while supporting businesses and cleaner air, to greener, safer streets, it was a powerful reminder that streets should be designed to support journeys, communities and the local economy together – not in competition.
Plenty to inspire in Portsmouth
There was plenty to inspire in Portsmouth, from accessible, information-rich bus stops (with real-time updates at over 90 per cent of stops) to standout ‘Super Stops’ that make bus travel more attractive.
We saw first-hand the upgraded Interchange at Portsmouth Harbour, fast and affordable Park and Ride, and the excellent Pompey Link, an on-demand shared minibus service, operating in places where there aren’t other bus connections.
It wasn’t all about buses! We also saw great, accessible routes for walking, wheeling and cycling.
These are just a handful of the places we’ve been lucky enough to visit this week, where we’ve met inspiring people working to put transport at the heart of their communities. It’s been a powerful reminder of how well-integrated, green transport can transform communities and improve people’s lives.
Better Transport Week isn’t just about celebrating the transport that connects us — it’s about shining a light on great ideas and helping them spread, so every community can benefit.
