Policy Press
Five Buses and light rail: stalled en route?
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Abstract
This chapter examines the development in the Labour government’s policy for buses and light rail in Great Britain. It explains that while the concept of an integrated transport policy had been promulgated Britain-wide in 1998, the governance landscape in relation to the formulation and delivery of transport-policy objectives and targets was fundamentally changed by devolution in 1999/2000. The chapter shows that these new governance arrangements have promoted differences in both bus and light-rail policies and suggests that the failure of the government to achieve its own targets for local buses and light rail is due to a lack of political leadership and a failure to take on the powerful vested interests of the large private bus companies.
Abstract
This chapter examines the development in the Labour government’s policy for buses and light rail in Great Britain. It explains that while the concept of an integrated transport policy had been promulgated Britain-wide in 1998, the governance landscape in relation to the formulation and delivery of transport-policy objectives and targets was fundamentally changed by devolution in 1999/2000. The chapter shows that these new governance arrangements have promoted differences in both bus and light-rail policies and suggests that the failure of the government to achieve its own targets for local buses and light rail is due to a lack of political leadership and a failure to take on the powerful vested interests of the large private bus companies.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of tables, figures and boxes vi
- Foreword viii
- Preface and acknowledgements xi
- List of acronyms xvi
- Notes on contributors xix
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Policy and politics
- New deal or no new deal? A decade of ‘sustainable’ transport in the UK 3
- Devolution and the UK’s new transport policy landscape 29
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Progress in policy implementation
- Roads and traffic: from ‘predict and provide’ to ‘making best use’ 51
- Is Labour delivering a sustainable railway? 75
- Buses and light rail: stalled en route? 97
- Walking and cycling: easy wins for a sustainable transport policy? 117
- UK air travel: taking off for growth? 139
- Economic versus environmental sustainability for ports and shipping: charting a new course? 161
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Ten years since A new deal for transport – signposts to the UK’s transport future?
- Transport for London: success despite Westminster? 183
- Mind the gap! The UK’s record in European perspective 205
- Traffic jam? Policy debates after 10 years of ‘sustainable’ transport 231
- Index 241
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of tables, figures and boxes vi
- Foreword viii
- Preface and acknowledgements xi
- List of acronyms xvi
- Notes on contributors xix
-
Policy and politics
- New deal or no new deal? A decade of ‘sustainable’ transport in the UK 3
- Devolution and the UK’s new transport policy landscape 29
-
Progress in policy implementation
- Roads and traffic: from ‘predict and provide’ to ‘making best use’ 51
- Is Labour delivering a sustainable railway? 75
- Buses and light rail: stalled en route? 97
- Walking and cycling: easy wins for a sustainable transport policy? 117
- UK air travel: taking off for growth? 139
- Economic versus environmental sustainability for ports and shipping: charting a new course? 161
-
Ten years since A new deal for transport – signposts to the UK’s transport future?
- Transport for London: success despite Westminster? 183
- Mind the gap! The UK’s record in European perspective 205
- Traffic jam? Policy debates after 10 years of ‘sustainable’ transport 231
- Index 241
