Most of us take utilities like water, electricity and even wireless internet access for granted as necessities to flourish in modern cities; but what about good public transport? Many would argue that successful cities are walkable or even cyclable which is a fair point; but doesn’t successful transport in these situations at least serve as a backup choice?
Public transport has lots of faults from being crowded, humid, late, over-priced; but it usually provides a flow to a city, an option to get from A to B for anyone from school child to pensioners, but I think most importantly it compresses the flow of traffic by moving more people per square meter than ordinary cars do.
Councillor Peter Box mentioned during the CLES labour fringe event that public transport needs to be integral to the way we work, that it must not be an add-on. Other good points that were mentioned were:
- Desrisking private investment in public transport – Neil McInroy, CLES
- Coherent policies with transport at the core – Cllr Peter Box
- Social justice in investing in bus services – Willie Bain, MP