The Budget has finally been unveiled.

But what does it mean for transport?

In this week’s episode, I review the budget with Sir Michael Holden, former Chairman of Directly Operated Railways.

We discuss the impact on railway economics (and whether there’s money for the fares freeze), whether the fuel duty increases will actually happen, the Government’s commitment to capital investment and - above all - the need for an overarching strategy.

The world’s moving faster than ever, and policy changes with dizzying pace.

It was only in 2021 that the Conservatives issued the most pro-bus policy document probably ever published by a British Government.

The National Bus Strategy was something of a marvel for those of us who want to see better public transport.

It promised a vision of bus lanes in every town, coordinated networks and exceptional quality - all backed up by billions of pounds of new investment.

Today, Leon Daniels and I look back in time to publication day and review how it’s gone since then.

Data City Founder Tom Forth has been told some extraordinary reasons why the North underperforms the South.

Including that it’s down to Northerners being stupid. Or drunk.

He’s even read academic papers outlining these theories.

In a fascinating episode of the podcast, we get into a discussion on the real reasons.

They go back a thousand years but transport and our hyper-centralised way of making decisions are right at the heart of it.

I really hope you enjoy listening to this conversation as much as I enjoyed having it.

Why does electrification in the UK cost so much more than in the rest of Europe?

And why does it always seem to go wrong?

In today’s episode, I talk to Managing Director (UK) of Furrer+Frey, the leading Swiss engineering company.

We delve into the root cause of the problem: the way HM Treasury makes funding decisions, which results in a feast-famine environment in which teams are trained, mobilised, demobilised and the skills lost. Repeatedly.

We also discuss whether it’s going to get any better…

𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗲𝘂𝘄 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘆𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁, and the Alderman responsible for transport and mobility policy.

He took over the portfolio and immediately set about trying to make Ghent a more beautiful, peaceful city.

As I can confirm from having visited, he really succeeded! But not without a lot of difficulty, even including death threats.

Today’s episode is a masterclass in the art of transport changemaking: the focus on experimentation, clear strategy and the need for urgency.

He also highlights the power of storytelling, the limitations of data and highlights that, despite the death threats, the Circulation Plan helped him increase his majority at the next election.

Come with me to Belgium and see just what a motivated, inspiring transport changemaker can do.

Founding a startup is hard, but it’s even harder when you’re dealing with the most painful and emotive moments in peoples’ lives.

That’s what Dan Garrett decided to do when he created Farewill, now the country’s largest “Deathtech” firm.

His business enables peoples to self-serve themselves wills, as well as offering other services including probate and even cremation.

How do you move fast when you’re dealing with something as important as death? How do you get the right balance between risk, rules and pace?

Mini Holland is the poster-child for the transformation of an urban area.

A network of congested residential streets in North East London has become peaceful and tranquil. The local high street converted from a double-parked rat-run into a desirable pedestrianised destination.

As the first Low Traffic Neighbourhood of the modern era, council reps from across Britain (and Europe) have visited to learn lessons.

Not that I needed travel far: it all happened in Walthamstow, where I live, and my kids were two of the many who benefited.

It was the vision of 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗺 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 𝗖𝗹𝘆𝗱𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀, and he tells me the full inspirational story in today’s episode.

Autonomous public transport has the potential to transform our cities.

Suburbs that are not currently served by public transport could be cost-effectively connected for the first time, while conventional bus routes could be expanded.

One city that is taking the lead in experimenting with autonomous public transport is Paris, under the leadership of James Dick at RATP.

In today’s episode, he tells me just how close he believes they are to delivering autonomous buses out on the road, driverless and at scale.

It’s a great conversation with a transport leader passionate about the future and making sure that our sector meets it head-on and with positivity.

Enjoy!

Gian-Mattia Schucan founded Fairtiq to make travelling by public transport effortless: no tickets, no gates, no stress. We talk about the journey from idea to reality, what operators really want from innovators and how to make change happen in public transport.

I’m sad to say that this is the last episode of Season 4 but, don’t worry, I’ll be back with Season 5 in September.

“It's fine when you're swinging big to have a few misses in a controlled environment” - 𝗝𝗼𝗻𝗻𝘆 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗱, 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 making it very clear that it’s fine for public sector organisations to try things and fail.

In today’s episode, I talk to Jonny about what value for money really means, why BCR is often misused and how the NAO supports innovation in the public sector.

The conversation about BCRs is also fascinating: highlighting that value-for-money rules don’t require complex decisions to be boiled down to a single number.

Do take a listen to this one!