National Infrastructure Commission
To achieve its ‘levelling up’ agenda, the Government needs a strategy to support improved productivity in cities and measures to discourage private car journeys.
That’s the verdict of the NIC, which concludes that despite it being too soon to say what the exact long-term consequences of the pandemic will be on future transport needs, “it is critical that this uncertainty does not lead to paralysis and inaction”.
It adds: “Mass transit systems can provide much higher capacity than cars, whether they use their own infrastructure or share the road network.
“Substantial investment in new forms of mass transit may be appropriate to improve capacity and the relative attractiveness of public transport.”
The Commission says it will consider the funding required for these investments and their affordability in the forthcoming second National Infrastructure Assessment.
