TfN launches strategy to increase public transport use

Our planning news is published in association with The Planner, the official magazine of the Royal Town Planning Institute.

Transport for the North (TfN) has launched its Connected Mobility Strategy for the North, which aims to encourage greater use of public transport.

The strategy is also aimed at empowering people in their travel choices and helping to reduce congestion and emissions to create a “greener, more inclusive and better connected North”.    

The strategy enables different modes of transport to communicate “seamlessly” with each other to improve the reliability and affordability of passenger journeys. It features integrated payment methods, ticketing and journey planning. 

It focuses on three themes – the future of ticketing; data and infrastructure; and future mobility – to reduce duplication of processes, streamline payments, and enable integration of ticketing across different modes of transport. 

Martin Tugwell, chief executive at TfN, said: “The way people travel from point A to point B is changing and the strategy will go a long way towards giving passengers better information on their travel choices. It’s not about reinventing the wheel; instead, it’s about helping the wheel move faster for passengers in the North.   

“Putting the passenger at the heart of our transport system is central to transforming the North’s transport offering. The evidence base and tools held by Transport for the North will support local decision-makers in bringing forward solutions that meet their communities’ needs. In this way, the strategy will play a key role in transforming connectivity across the North and help create a transport system that meets the demands of the 21st-century passenger.” 

30 October 2023 
Laura Edgar, The Planner