Tomorrow’s public transport system

The future of public transport is characterised by uncertainty. While the climate crisis requires a fundamental shift in travel behaviour to secure a transition to net-zero, exponential technological progress is beginning to significantly impact transport business models and has the potential to reshape how we think about personal mobility. 

The benefits of an effective, multi-modal, integrated public transport system go beyond getting people from A to B but provide an opportunity to transform passengers' experience and contribute to a more sustainable future in our cities and neighbourhoods.

This paper aims to enable transport authorities across the UK to shape a bold integrated transport vision for their area. We identify practical steps for authorities that move beyond reactive measures to create a public transport system capable of delivering significant modal shift, reducing car ownership and associated widespread benefits for cities. 

The paper explores how the system could look through the lens of various system components, considering societal and technological drivers of change, building on our discussions with public transport authorities from across the UK.