Transport power shift will be a ‘non-starter’

The Government’s bid to change the way public transport is run could be judged as a waste of time within 18 months, one of the country’s top experts believes.

Richard Knowles, professor of Transport Geography at Salford University and Lib-Dem leader on Greater Manchester Independent Transport Authority, said: “The Act promises a lot but I doubt it will deliver that much.”

He told members of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Manchester: “I have a horrible feeling that it will end up like those worthy clauses in the 2000 Transport Act that we thought were going to transform bus travel outside London but, in fact, had very little effect at all.”

An approaching general election and the Conservative pledge to repeal the clauses which give ITAs powers to impose quality contracts if they take power, puts the future effectiveness of the Act in doubt, he believes.

ITAs are given sole responsibility for submitting local transport plans in the Act but Professor Knowles believes it will make little difference.

One of the big chances of change would be if the ITA’s exercised new rights to take highways powers from district councils but he says: “I don’t know of any metropolitan district council which wants to give up its highways powers. They can do so if they want to but they can’t be forced.”

The Act, he says, “has absolutely nothing to say on local rail or local light rail.”