Public transport is good for business
I recently visited Nottingham with my colleague Norman Baker (our Director of External Affairs and former transport minister), where we were treated to a fantastic insight into work being done by the council, transport operators and businesses to transform Nottingham into a city which is fast becoming an example for others.
Norman actually signed off the extension of Nottingham’s superb tram network when was a minister, so he was delighted to see the expanded network including a trip to Queen’s Medical Centre, incredibly the only hospital in the country with a tram stop.
Local transport networks have always been integral to our work. We actually proposed the idea nearly fifty years ago of an integrated network for London with ringfenced spending powers. Transport for London, which became the capital’s transport network, now enjoys widespread public confidence, so it is just fantastic to see Nottingham blazing its own trail with the highly successful integration of tram, train, bus and bike and seamless interchange between modes.
One of the most exciting success stories for Nottingham is the outstanding impact of the Workplace Parking Levy. This scheme, the first of its kind in Europe, has recently celebrated its ten-year anniversary and has had extraordinary results, directly raising over £90 million and enabling inward investment of over £1 billion in sustainable transport for Nottingham. Moreover, a majority of businesses now say that they chose to locate themselves in Nottingham because of the quality of the transport network. Truly superb.
Walking around the city centre, hopping on and off trams, trains and buses, the quality of life is clearly much improved, with thoughtful road space allocation, vehicles of all kinds flowing smoothly and pedestrians able to walk safely. And that’s even before the exciting Broad Marsh development which will turn the city centre into a life-enhancing wonderland, bound to attract millions to the city centre.
The positive impact of public transport on the environment is relatively well known, but its benefits to businesses receive less attention. This works both ways, as while public transport brings billions of pounds into local economies and to the tax purse, congestion costs us £7 billion a year, so improving one and reducing the other makes complete sense.
In Nottingham the Workplace Parking Levy has reduced congestion growth by 47 per cent and saved the city £15 million per year, so congratulations are very much in order.
Major business groups know that better transport means better business, and we work closely with all, including the Institute of Directors, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and regional Chambers of Commerce. The FSB are telling us how important it is for the best talent to be retained, and that this is much easier for businesses where the transport networks are strong, and where quality of life is good as a direct result.
Business has boomed in London for decades, thanks in large part to its extensive and affordable public transport network. Nottingham now means business too and if other towns and cities want to follow suit, they’d do well to follow Nottingham’s example.
