Public transport to the fore as elections loom
ELECTIONS to the Senedd bring countrywide changes to transport policies and implementation programmes, many aimed at achieving air quality improvements.
Major road building in Wales has largely stopped except for existing contracts or nearly complete schemes – as with the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road.
This public transport policy emphasis is reflected in the £1.6bn investment in Valley Lines trains and track, and future capital funding is likely to be in the same direction.
Welsh Government responsibilities concern motorways and trunk roads and, more recently, direct control of the rail franchise and the Valleys’ rail infrastructure.
However, there is also an extensive transport role for county and community councils.
The transport facilities we use most frequently (local roads, pavements, cycleways, non-profitable bus routes) are provided by local authorities.
This includes local road construction (where government funding is not currently provided), road maintenance (perhaps not to the level we would like), bus subsidies and public transport facilities, safe routes to local schools, and ‘where the new zebra crossing ought to go’.
Private housing, retailing or industrial developments have, of course, to be profitable but can impact on road congestion and consequently air quality in their area.
Councillors’ views on such developments may influence your vote.
Integrating transport and land use planning considerations are an essential basis for achieving sustainable green transport objectives. However, the land owned and of necessity built profitably by private developers (or for social reasons by local councils) may not coincide with the provision of bus and rail services and may not always lead to the most environmentally beneficial location.
Examples exist all over Wales, from the late-20th-century public estates built to replace unsuitable Victorian housing stock, through rural developments to current developments in west Cardiff.
In the Netherlands (Europe’s most successful country in terms of air quality, walking and cycling improvements) all land use changes to building require the developer to fund capital schemes and subsidies for public transport bus/tram routes prior to receiving planning permission.
This dissuades new residents from buying a car (or in Wales often a second car) as public transport services are guaranteed.
Planning authorities at county level also have to consider Welsh Government targets for housing, especially affordable housing.
As this column has often pointed out it is more difficult to attract developers further up the Eastern Valleys.
An increasing level of poverty follows one up the Valleys from Cardiff. Opportunities are fewer than in the capital, as is public transport access.
The alternative is to purchase a car to get to work, but financial constraints can make this impossible. The solution is increased bus reliability, frequency and reduced fares whose funding would come from local government.
The Valley Lines Metro project will provide far better community links, but to achieve its maximum benefit in the most needy areas it must have connecting bus services.
Covid has generated increased traffic, with a consequent burden on local government finances. The staycation boom has resulted in more visitors to Wales using local roads and the national road and rail network (with resulting congestion increases).
This is associated with the growth in second homes (up to 70% of houses in some villages) often also used as short-term lets. Increasing use of on-line communication (eg Zoom) has reduced the travel requirement for meetings.
Moving to Wales, and working at home, avoids overcrowded bigcity commuter trains and is reflected in their demand levels, down to 30% of the pre-Covid level.
Relatively small (£20m to £40m) local rail schemes which can have a wider impact help to make our daily lives easier.
This column has mentioned the Swansea District Line investment and its benefits to journey times to and from west Wales and relieving congestion on the M4.
Improvements in frequency and interchange times on the Heart of Wales Line, whose contribution to the local tourism economy has been shown clearly, feature in several reports.
These bring transport benefits to Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Powys and Shropshire, and voters have an opportunity between now and tomorrow evening to ask would-be councillors what they intend to do about such transport facilities.
Though not a direct responsibility of local councils, they are organisations able to put pressure on Welsh Government.
Local authorities currently have restricted budgets.
If they are to achieve what voters want, local and national governments have to work together. It’s the councillors’ role to find the solution