Public transport upgrade can deliver £7.3bn West Midlands boost

The Trades Union Congress report says productivity gains would boost annual GDP by £52bn in England and Wales.

It sets out an investment plan for public transport that would also improve quality of life.

The TUC says that the plan fills a gaping hole in the Government’s recently published net zero strategy, which failed to explain how ‘modal shift’ away from car use that the Committee on Climate Change says is necessary will be achieved.

The investment plan – produced for the TUC by Transport for Quality of Life – is designed to meet the UK’s target to cut emissions by 68 per cent from 1990 levels by 2030.

The UK Climate Change Committee warns that electric vehicles must not be the sole focus, with action also needed on demand and a shift to public transport.

The report says that to reach the 2030 emissions target, a reduction in total car mileage of at least 20 per cent is needed.

It suggests a 10 per cent car mileage reduction through car sharing and measures that reduce travel, such as working from home, remote technologies and better planning and land use; a 10 per cent reduction from a modal shift to public transport; a 120 per cent mileage increase in journeys by bus and tram and an 80 per cent mileage increase in journeys by rail.

The plan would require an average of £9.9bn in annual capital expenditure up to 2035. And the additional operating costs for expanded bus, tram and rail services would reach £18.8bn annually by 2030.

The investment plan would generate GDP growth from construction work and supply chains through the period of capital expenditure to 2035.

In less urbanised areas where the estimated productivity gains are lower due to the nature of industry, the investment plan can support growth in sectors like tourism and hospitality.

The report says that around 10,000 additional jobs in operation and maintenance would be created in the bus industry and a further 77,000 in construction/manufacture of bus infrastructure and electric buses.

Around 200 additional jobs would come in the light rail/tram industry from operation and maintenance and 11,000 in construction over 12 years.

Around 9,000 additional operation and maintenance jobs would be generated in the rail industry and 177,000 in construction.

The TUC believes that ministers and transport authorities should consult the public about how to extend and upgrade public transport services where they live and work.

It believes the investment plan could fund the completion of both branches of HS2 to place the West Midlands at the heart of a modern high speed network; further extend and develop the West Midlands Metro; implement the Midlands Rail Hub scheme in full – a £1.5bn plan for faster and more frequent connections across the Midlands; fully develop the cycle network across the West Midlands Combined Authority conurbation and provide an hourly bus service for every village

TUC Midlands Regional Secretary Lee Barron said: "Everyone knows that we have to cut carbon emissions – and that switching to public transport is a big part of how do it.

"Investing in public transport will help us meet net zero targets and cut the threat of catastrophic climate change. And it creates jobs throughout the Midlands, boosts the economy in every community, and improves everyone’s quality of life.

“HS2 is showing how transport infrastructure can be a driver of wider economic growth and opportunities for local communities. The new HS2 station and the associated regeneration of Digbeth is exciting. And along with Birmingham Interchange we have the very real opportunity to become the beating heart of a 21st century Britain.

“But we have to make this a reality. We need the network to extend to Leeds and Manchester, to free up local connections here in the Midlands so we can deliver more local trains and deliver more growth and more jobs. We have the plans. We have the ambition. We need government to now step up to the plate to give us the investment we need.

"Commuters will have faster and cheaper journeys to work. New connections will bring new businesses to places where people need economic opportunities. We will save lives with cleaner air. And we will reduce loneliness and isolation by making everyone better connected, wherever you live.

“With this report, we’ve done the work that Conservative ministers should have done with their empty and incompetent net zero strategy.”