The Mayor of Greater Manchester has urged the rail industry not to be left behind in the plan to integrate public transport. Speaking at Interchange 2024, Andy Burnham said it could be a “golden age for public transport in the North of England” if we all work together and collaborate both from a political side of things, but with industry as well.
“We are already talking about having an arrangement with the bus manufacturers in Britain where we all plan what we are going to need and we book the slots in advance so we make sure that have got an order book for the rest of the decade,” said the mayor. “Buses built in Britain running on the streets of the North of England and that is an opportunity that is coming.
“We are ready to share and we are sharing our expertise with everybody so I would say get with this revolution, it is happening, it is positive, it is going to improve public transport and reduce the cost of public transport to the travelling public.
“It is going to get behind it and I would say to the rail industry get behind it as well. The danger is if you look around our city with the tram system that we’ve got, and the yellow buses that are arriving, the danger is if rail doesn’t move more quickly in terms of reform the rail stations look like outliers in a modern city, look like they are separate from a modern integrated system and that is not a good place for the rail industry to be. I say that in the spirit of being constructive, please get with this and work with us to the same timetable.”
The event in Manchester included eight co-located events about integrating transport infrastructure and enabling friction-free movement of people and goods, covering big thinking, data, innovation, energy and place making.
Mr Burnham spoke about the work going on in the area which includes the Greater Manchester region getting new responsibilities over transport as part of a devolution deal with Government. The Trailblazer Deal includes more influence over regional rail services as part of the Bee Network vision, which aims to integrate bus, Metrolink, rail and cycle hire with improved services, simpler fares and integrated ticketing.
“There is not a doubt in my mind that we have done the right thing,” he said. “I think the Liverpool City Region will be next, West Yorkshire won’t be far after. I don’t see how you can properly integrate without having control over the fare box for all modes. You have to have that if you are to truly integrate and create that capped system like London has.
“The Bee Network is our route to clean air and we need to give our residents the incentive to use public transport. We want a low cosy public transport system here. High usage, low fare system. That is what we are working towards as Londoners have.
“We do need an ambitious vision for public transport both within our cities and between our cities because that then is an ambitious vision for the northern economy in the 21st century. You can see the ambitions we have got for our city, when are we going to get UK government to have the same ambitions for these cities, the same ambitions for the north of England as to what it can be in the 21st century? I want to see that day come when we have a government with high ambitions for the North of England.”
Interchange took place on Tuesday and Wednesday (February 27 and 28). Visit https://www.interchange-uk.com/ for more details.
Interchange 2024. Photo credit: Nigel Wordsworth
