Tag: Department for Transport

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 11 April 2023.

Winning projects will help to create greener ways of delivering freight across the UK.

Drones will be used to deliver packages on remote Scottish islands as part of 9 new innovative freight projects which have been awarded £1.2 million in government funding.

The first winners of the Freight Innovation Fund (FIF), backed by £7 million overall, have been announced today (11 April 2023) and could help create cleaner, more innovative ways of delivering freight around the country. This could lead to reduced emissions, increased numbers of high-skilled jobs and better delivery services in hard-to-reach parts of the UK.

The winners include Skyports Deliveries, which will use drones to improve island-to-island connectivity in the Orkney Islands, and Electric Assisted Vehicles, which is developing a 4-wheel, electrically assisted lightweight delivery vehicle to help reduce road emissions.

The fund is one part of the government’s Future of Freight plan launched last year, setting a strategy to work closely with industry to deliver a world-class freight system, which supports economic growth and builds on the measures already taken to tackle the global HGV driver shortage.

Roads Minister Richard Holden said:

Whether it’s drones for deliveries on remote islands or zero emission buggies – we want to invest in future technology that could transform how we move goods around the country while reducing emissions and traffic and creating skilled jobs.

The Freight Innovation Fund gives innovators the opportunity to test their ideas and help our freight industry become greener and more efficient – unlocking better connectivity and boosting growth across the country.

The winning projects are led by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have designed innovative technology and are partnered with existing industry companies to explore the viability of these solutions in real-world conditions.

The 9 projects that have been awarded funding are:

£150,000 for Skyports Deliveries Ltd (project based in Orkney, Scotland and partnered with Royal Mail and Loganair): improving logistics in ports and hard-to-reach areas through the Orkney I-Port project. It will create an intermodal transport hub to improve island-to-island connectivity using drones to make deliveries, conduct surveys and monitoring.

£120,000 for CurbCargo (based in London and partnered with Savills): using data to track the environmental impact of freight deliveries, which will prompt companies to change how they order products to reduce vehicle movements.

£119,000 for Lightricity Ltd (based in Oxford and partnered with Bradford Swissport Ltd): using a unique, patented technology that harnesses the energy from indoor and low-level light sources to power battery-free tracking devices. This will help companies realise the benefits of tracking devices without the cost challenges of battery change and sustainability impacts.

£150,000 for Electric Assisted Vehicles Ltd (based in Bicester, Oxfordshire and partnered with FedEx): developing a 4-wheel, electrically assisted lightweight delivery vehicle as an alternative to petrol and diesel vans.

£145,000 for Otaski Energy Solutions Ltd and Syselek Ltd (based in Gateshead and partnered with Costain): trialling their cost and energy-efficient smart charge and bi-directional converter, which allows electric vehicles to charge from any power grid source and discharge energy back to the grid or storage. This could help create an intelligent vehicle fleet charging system that increases grid reliability, resilience and stability and high adaptations to variable loads.

£129,000 for CocoonFMS Ltd (based in Lichfield, Staffordshire and partnered with Simarco Worldwide Logistics): creating a digital calculator to provide automated management of port costs and shipping expenses, providing more accurate invoice information to users, reducing port delays and improving planning of deliveries.

£145,000 for Entopy (based in Suffolk and partnered with Fujitsu Services UK and Atamai Freight): creating a digital twin of shipments to track them during their delivery, providing vital information and supporting greater use of digital products in the freight sector.

£133,000 for RoboK Ltd (based in Cambridge and partnered with Port of Tyne): trialling the use of their AI system to generate insights from existing video data, such as CCTV, to provide analysis on things like capacity and asset movement in real time to reduce costly delays and inefficiencies.

£100,000 for Estudio Cactus (based in London and in cooperation with Portsmouth International Port): trialling the use of their health, safety, security and environment software to provide operators real-time information about their port to increase efficiency through improved resource management.

The winning SMEs will benefit from a freight innovation fund accelerator, which will provide bespoke business support to help them access private investment. They will also be invited to join a “freight innovation cluster”, a community of innovators that will hold events, encourage collaboration and generate new opportunities, and stimulate growth within the wider freight sector.

The Freight Innovation Fund aims to accelerate the adoption of existing freight technologies within the freight sector and develop a future pipeline in line with the freight industry’s real-world needs. It is a 3-year £7 million programme designed to make delivering freight across the UK more efficient and cleaner.

The winning projects will support ideas and technology addressing 3 longstanding issues in the freight sector including:

• a lack of large-scale cross-industry data collection and sharing between different modes of freight transport, such as road, rail and maritime, could improve efficiencies and coordination
• difficulties in intermodal transport, such as between rail and road, and ways to improve how large consignments are broken up into smaller ones could reduce emissions and traffic
• improvements in freight distribution in ports across different transport modes could create knock-on benefits with timings, efficiencies and predictability of the journey

In 2022, the government published the Future of Freight plan, the first-ever cross-modal and cross-government plan for the UK freight transport sector. Government launched the Freight Innovation Fund competition, which is delivered by Connected Places Catapult (CPC), earlier this year in January.

Nicola Yates OBE, CEO at Connected Places Catapult, said:

The freight sector has an enormous opportunity to support jobs and growth across the UK, which is why today we are pleased to welcome the 9 SMEs to the first round of the Freight Innovation Fund Accelerator.

Working with innovators and industry partners through our accelerator programme allows us to develop a pipeline of technology and new ideas that promise to help tackle the freight sector’s emerging needs, ensuring that resilience, efficiency and carbon reduction are core to the sector’s future.

The Freight Innovation Fund builds on previous government initiatives designed to support increased research and development in the freight industry.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 6 April 2023.

Road safety improvements will be made to 27 of the most high-risk roads in England, which will help prevent fatal and serious injuries.

Drivers, passengers and cyclists across England will benefit from a £47.5 million injection into enhancing the safety of some of the most high-risk roads in England, the Department for Transport confirmed today (6 April 2023).

Through the third round of the Safer Roads Fund, 27 new schemes will be delivered, benefiting road users around the country by driving forward safety improvements such as:

• re-designing junctions
• improving signage and road markings

The programme will reduce the risk of collisions which will in turn reduce congestion, journey times and emissions.

As part of the fund, government is continuing to deliver a wide range of improvements across all roads, while working with local authorities and safety groups.

To date, £100 million has been provided through the programme to improve the 50 most dangerous roads in England, the majority of which are rural roads.

Some of the improvements already made include improved signage, safer pedestrian crossings and better designed junctions.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said:

Britain’s roads are some of the safest in the world, but we are always looking at ways to help keep drivers and all road users safe.

We’re injecting £47.5 million so that local councils around the country have the support they need to keep everyone safe, while reducing congestion and emissions and supporting local economies.

The allocation of £47.5 million to 27 different schemes has been based on data independently surveyed and provided by the Road Safety Foundation. The data analysed is based on a road safety risk, looking at data on those killed and seriously injured alongside traffic levels.

The previous rounds of the Safer Roads Fund programme focused on treating the 50 highest-risk local ‘A road’ sections in England with enhanced road safety engineering interventions. The scheme is set to prevent around 1,450 fatal and serious injuries over the next 20 years.

According to Road Safety Foundation analysis, early estimates suggest that the £47.5 million investment should prevent around 760 fatal and serious injuries over the next 20 years, with a benefit to society of £420 million.

Once the whole life costs are factored in for the schemes, the overall benefit cost ratio of the investment is estimated at 7.4, meaning for every £1 invested the societal benefit would be £7.40.

Dr Suzy Charman, Executive Director of the Road Safety Foundation said:

The commitment and funding announced today is transformational for road safety teams in local authorities across the country. It will allow them to proactively reduce risk and make these 27 roads safer and more inviting for all road users.

Systematic changes have already had a big impact on road death and serious injury, for example seatbelts and airbags protect lives when crashes happen. In the same way we can design roads safely so when crashes occur, people can walk away. This can be done by clearing or protecting roadsides, putting in cross hatchings to add space between vehicles which provides safer junctions like roundabouts, or adding signalisation and / or turning pockets, and including facilities for walking and cycling.

This additional investment builds on the government’s plans to recruit a specialised team of inspectors to build the country’s first ever Road Safety Investigation Branch. The team will look at how and why incidents happen and build an enhanced understanding of how we can better mitigate collisions.

It also follows the actions government has already taken to improve road safety, including:

• banning any use of handheld mobile phones behind the wheel
• updating the Highway Code to introduce a hierarchy of road users, which places road users most at risk in the event of a collision at the top of the hierarchy

The 27 schemes receiving funding from the Safer Roads Fund 3 are:

Road	Local authority	Funding
A586	Blackpool Council	£1,000,000
A35	Bournemouth Borough Council	£1,890,625
A2010	Brighton and Hove City Council	£600,000
A52	Derby City	£475,000
A104	Essex County Council	£1,360,000
A35	Hampshire County Council	£6,040,000
A5183	Hertfordshire County Council	£1,800,000
A165	Hull City Council	£2,990,625
A3056	Isle of Wight Council	£2,140,000
A5105	Lancashire County Council	£920,000
A5038	Liverpool City Council	£859,375
A186	Newcastle Upon Tyne City Council	£3,650,000
A6130	Nottingham City Council	£950,000
A609	Nottingham City Council	£475,000
A4158	Oxfordshire County Council	£800,000
A4165	Oxfordshire County Council	£875,000
A2047	Portsmouth City Council	£1,300,000
A6022	Rotherham Metro. Borough Council	£750,000
A6042	Salford City Council	£743,750
A4030	Sandwell Metro. Borough Council	£750,000
A625	Sheffield City Council	£1,425,000
A3025	Southampton City Council	£875,000
A13	Southend-on-Sea Council	£3,425,000
A1156	Suffolk County Council	£1,275,000
A25	Surrey County Council	£1,800,000
A439	Warwickshire County Council	£1,320,000
A3102	Wiltshire Council	£6,980,000

Total: £47,569,375

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 5 April 2023.

Have your say on increasing the weight limit for fuel tankers.

The government is consulting on whether fuel tankers should be allowed to carry more fuel in a move designed to further strengthen the UK’s fuel supply chain.

The consultation launched today (5 April 2023), will explore whether fuel tankers will be allowed to carry more fuel in the eventuality of disruption to the fuel supply chain to help ensure car, bus and lorry drivers can always fill up with confidence.

Most fuel tankers operate with spare tank capacity due to the existing 44 tonne weight limit. The potential to allow tankers to operate to their full design train weight could increase the efficiency of the fuel supply chain by approximately 6%.

The measure would enable more fuel to be carried using the same vehicles, helping to safeguard a strong fuel supply chain as the government continues to grow the economy.

Roads Minister Richard Holden said:

Thanks to the government’s bold measures to support the sector, our country has now an even stronger haulage supply chain.

We will continue to work with and listen to the sector to ensure our forecourts are always well stocked and motorists can fill up with confidence.

Safety will be at the heart of the consultation, and any increase in fuel capacity would apply only to fuel tankers equipped with appropriate safety features, such as vehicle stability functionality and advanced emergency braking systems.

Routes to be used by these heavier tankers would have to be agreed in advance to ensure the road infrastructure can accommodate the fuel tankers operating at full capacity.

An assessment of the proposals by National Highways indicates that the increase in safety risks would be extremely small and any risk of infrastructure damage would be effectively managed.

This follows the government’s 33 actions already taken to tackle the HGV driver shortage and to protect the supply chain. This included;

• making 11,000 HGV driver training places available through Skills Bootcamps
• injecting a major and sustained boost to the number of HGV driver tests available
• investing £52.5 million in improvements in roadside facilities and lorry parking

As a result, new HGV drivers are taking and passing their driving test in record numbers. Between March 2022 and May 2022, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) carried out 29,384 HGV tests – 54% more than the corresponding period in 2019 before the pandemic.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 5 April 2023.

Energy and freight industry experts work together to support rail, road, air, maritime and warehousing reach net zero by 2050.

Measures to help boost the freight sector are moving forward today (5 April 2023), as a new government-industry forum is launched to help the sector decarbonise and ensure its long-term sustainability.

Established as part of the Future of Freight plan, the Freight Energy Forum is meeting today to bring government and industry together to support the sector across all modes – including rail, road, air, maritime and warehousing – reach net zero by 2050.

The forum will discuss potential solutions that the sector could take to start reducing emissions now and, for the longer term, will look to create a plan or roadmap to roll out future clean energy infrastructure for the industry.

The forum will bring together expertise and senior representatives from across the energy and freight industries, including individual operating companies, national organisations and sector associations, such as the Road Haulage Association, Logistics UK and National Grid.

The forum will be chaired by the Department for Transport officials and will also include senior representatives from across government, including the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Topics will include:

• assessing the supply and demand of the energy the freight sector will need
• examining the types of energy infrastructure that will be required to provide refuelling or recharging
• identifying where energy and infrastructure will be needed across the regions and locations, such as motorway service areas, warehouses, rail freight terminals, airports, ports and beyond

The forum will be technology-neutral, meaning that it will look at a range of potential solutions for the freight sector and not prioritise one type of technology.

Transport Minister Richard Holden said:

We recognise that the transition to clean fuels is one of the biggest challenges facing the freight sector and we are committed to delivering a strong future for the sector that will help create good long-term jobs.

Clean energy supplies and infrastructure is critical to the drive for a cleaner freight sector and the Freight Energy Forum will address those longer-term challenges across the whole industry.

The forum could help to create high-skilled, highly-paid jobs across the UK by giving the industry greater certainty to invest in sustainable modes of freight transport and the supporting energy infrastructure needed to transition to net zero, in turn supporting the growth of the economy.

The government’s Future of Freight plan was published in June 2022 and sets out how we can deliver a cost-efficient, reliable, resilient and environmentally sustainable freight sector. One of the 5 priority areas it identified to achieve this goal was to establish this forum to help enable the transition to net zero.

Working as a partnership between industry and government, the forum will focus on the energy infrastructure requirements needed for the freight sector to transition to cleaner ways of working.

Meeting quarterly, the forum will look to produce several items from its meetings including:

• a roadmap plan outlining the roll out of clean energy infrastructure for the freight sector
• a review into the regulatory barriers to implementing zero carbon energy infrastructure, including where the planning system makes the installation of this infrastructure difficult and solutions to removing these obstacles
• actions to address regional and local differences in the coverage of zero carbon energy infrastructure and understanding where the zero-carbon energy infrastructure will be needed, making sure there’s good regional coverage and that the planning system allows for the infrastructure to be built
• assessing energy supply and demand across all types of freight transport
• identifying solutions that can help the entire freight sector to start reducing emissions immediately and increase the speed of transition to net zero

Senior Policy Manager at Logistics UK Denise Beedell said:

As the only business group representing the whole of the logistics industry, Logistics UK is delighted to be part of the Freight Energy Forum and represent the needs of our members in identifying and clarifying the energy infrastructure and solutions, which will be needed if the industry is to reach net zero.

Road Haulage Association (RHA) lead on the environment and vehicles Chris Ashley said:

The RHA strongly welcomes the Freight Energy Forum. The manufacture of electric and hydrogen lorries is only one part of the jigsaw that gets these vehicles on our roads quickly. The other part is the infrastructure needed to power them.

Our members are keen to start operating these vehicles as soon as possible yet face considerable cost headwinds. Public investment in the UK’s energy capability is, therefore, essential to ensure a viable and reliable energy supply exists. We look forward to scoping out how this is achieved so that all parts of the UK economy can be serviced by our members.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 4 April 2023.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has launched its vision to 2030, setting out what needs to be done to keep Britain moving safely and sustainably.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 3 April 2023.

Government commitment to develop new green technologies in Scotland will improve connectivity, create jobs and encourage people to walk and cycle.

Plans to boost Scottish connectivity and economic growth through transport were at the heart of Transport Minister Richard Holden’s visit to Scotland today (3 April 2023). In meetings with local businesses and community leaders, he outlined the government’s commitment to developing new green technologies.

Minister Holden was in Glasgow to see new hydrogen-powered and self-driving trucks – backed by £16 million government funding – which could be seen on UK roads in the near future. These vehicles would make roads safer, increase productivity and help protect the environment.

This investment is supporting the UK’s ambition of achieving net zero by 2050 and ensuring the UK maximises the opportunities offered by new technologies while supporting high-skilled jobs.

Minister Holden also had a tour of new transport links in Ravenscraig and the surrounding areas, which has received £127 million investment jointly funded by the UK government, Scottish Government and North Lanarkshire Council.

This investment will improve connectivity to local towns and cities, create thousands of jobs and encourage more people to walk and cycle.

Transport Minister Richard Holden said:

Innovation like this in Scotland will help the UK become a world-leading next-generation transport hub by protecting the environment and meeting our global ambitions.

Boosting transport connections across the UK will grow the economy and ensure that everyone no matter where they live has access to well-paid, high-quality jobs.

The regeneration of the Ravenscraig site is estimated to generate 4,600 construction jobs in follow-on development and generate £626 million for the local economy.

This funding is part of the Glasgow Region City Deal, which saw over £1 billion committed for major infrastructure projects in Glasgow and the surrounding areas comprising funding from the UK and Scottish governments.

UK government Minister for Scotland John Lamont said:

UK government investment is helping power Scotland into the fast lane of sustainable transport innovation and delivering improved connectivity – levelling up the UK and bringing communities closer together.

From hydrogen-powered and self-driving trucks being developed in Glasgow, the regeneration of Ravenscraig’s road, rail, cycling and walking infrastructure, a new ferry to save Fair Isle, to a green transport hub in Dundee, we are working to improve people’s journeys, boost economic growth and protect the environment.

But there’s more to be done and we are committed to continue working closely with the Scottish Government and local partners to deliver the benefits travellers want and businesses need.

Minister Holden met local businesses and communities to explore how investment in road schemes, railway lines and domestic flights between Scotland and the rest of the UK could boost connectivity and stimulate economic growth.

Research found 60% of people thought that improving transport links across the UK would make a positive difference to their own nation. Minister Holden will also be visiting Northern Ireland and Wales in the coming days.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 1 April 2023.

Government invests £75 million to provide discounted bus travel for another 3 months across 5,000+ routes from over 140 bus companies.

Millions across England are encouraged to ‘Hop Around for £2’ this spring as the £2 bus fare cap is extended to 30 June.

Thanks to £75 million of extra government investment, the fare cap means passengers can save on single bus tickets, helping them travel more affordably to education, work and medical appointments.

Extended from today (1 April 2023), the offer will apply to more than 5,000 routes in England from over 140 operators, as the government continues to help households through this difficult economic period, while levelling up transport and growing the economy.

With the average single local bus ticket costing £2.80, passengers can save almost a third of the ticket price and over 75% on some of the longest trips.

The scheme, which began in January this year, has already seen an uptick in passenger numbers. This extension will continue to encourage greater bus use and is expected to take up to 4 million cars off the road, supporting ambitions for greener journeys by minimising pollution and tackling congestion across the country.

A key part of the government’s Help for Households campaign, the fare cap is helping to deliver real savings for people most affected by the rising cost of living.

Some of the biggest savings on the longest routes up and down the country thanks to the fare cap include:

• £12.50 from Lancaster to Kendall, a saving of 86% from £14.50
• £9.20 from Plymouth to Exeter, a saving of 82% from £11.20
• £6.00 from Newcastle to Middlesbrough, a saving of 75% from £8.00
• £6.50 from Hull to York, a saving of 76% from £8.50
• £13.00 from Leeds to Scarborough, a saving of 87% from £15.00

Roads Minister Richard Holden said:

Bus travel should be accessible and affordable for everyone. We know that people are struggling with rising costs, which is why we’re extending the £2 bus fare cap and continuing to put money back into passengers’ pockets.

This will help to ensure people can get around easily, no matter where they live – connecting them with work, education, doctors’ appointments as well as friends and families – in turn strengthening communities and growing local economies.

This measure builds on more than £2 billion already invested to protect buses in England since the pandemic and a further £1 billion for Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIP) to improve services and keep fares down as part of the National Bus Strategy, published in 2021.

Bus fare caps are also available across major cities and local authorities, such as Greater Manchester and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, thanks to the £1 billion in BSIP funding.

Graham Vidler, Chief Executive of the Confederation of Passenger Transport, said:

The continuation of the £2 fare cap is a welcome boost for passengers during a cost-of-living crisis, reminding people buses are a stress-free, affordable and environmental option for work, education, appointments, leisure or to see loved ones.

Alongside low fares, passengers need the government to continue to invest in bus services to help maintain connectivity across England, no matter where you live.

Today’s announcement will help deliver on our vision of a net zero transport network, with the cap estimated to take 4 million car journeys off the road and building on the nearly £300 million already invested by government for up to 1,400 zero emission buses in England from the Zero Emission Buses Regional Areas (ZEBRA).

David Bradford, Managing Director of National Express West Midlands, said:

It’s fantastic to see that the government recognises the important role bus services have on local communities, not only to help people travel more affordably or access work, but also reduces congestion and emissions on our roads.

The £2 fare scheme has been warmly received by our customers with over 3 million passengers taking advantage of cheaper bus fares since January, and we hope that news of this extension will encourage even more people to ditch their cars and switch to buses to get around.

The government will continue to work closely with bus operators and local authorities to help passengers continue to access reliable and affordable bus services after June.

Andrew Stokes, VisitEngland Director, said:

With spring upon us and as we head towards the Easter break the decision to extend the fare cap is welcome news, supporting people to get out and take day trips and mini-breaks across England, by keeping the cost of transport down.

Enabling people to get out and explore England affordably this spring also gives families the chance to make great memories together, and provides tourism and hospitality businesses with a welcome boost as the season gets underway.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 31 March 2023.

Government funding to enable up to 19 return flights between City of Derry Airport and London Stansted every week for another year.

A vital air route between City of Derry Airport and London Stansted has been secured until March 2024 thanks to support from the UK Department for Transport and the Department for the Economy.

The UK government has funded the air route since 2017, bolstering connections between Northern Ireland and England whilst supporting thousands of jobs and providing a significant boost to Northern Ireland’s economy.

The Aviation Minister Baroness Vere has today (31 March 2023) announced the Department for Transport will continue subsidising the route alongside the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland, with both departments providing £1.1 million in 2023/24 to maintain the connection.

Today’s announcement will secure the future of the route for another year until 31 March 2024 and enable up to 19 return flights every week.

Aviation Minister Baroness Vere said:

Thousands of people and businesses depend on this crucial travel link, which is why we remain committed to securing the route.

Our funding will maintain this vital connection between Derry/Londonderry and London, with 19 services operating every week for at least another year, supporting jobs, and providing a boost to Northern Ireland’s economy.

Funding has been secured using a Public Service Obligation (PSO), which allows government to protect vital air connectivity into London, with Loganair once again being selected to operate the route.

The funding of £1.1 million from the NI Department for the Economy is a ringfenced allocation from the Northern Ireland Office specifically for this City of Derry Airport PSO and which cannot be used in any other DfE policy area.

The UK government recognises the importance of maintaining a thriving and competitive aviation sector in the UK to deliver union connectivity, while supporting our levelling up agenda.

Regional airports serve our local communities, by supporting thousands of jobs in the regions and acting as a gateway to international opportunities, alongside maintaining social and family ties and strengthening the bonds across the UK.

Welcoming the announcement, Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District, Councillor Sandra Duffy, said:

This is extremely positive news and I am pleased to see this further commitment to promoting regional connectivity which will be widely welcomed, particularly by the local business community.

Regular, reliable services to London are critical to the North West economy in terms of both business and leisure, and a key component of our strategic plans to make this region more appealing and accessible for international investors.

From 1 April 2023, a new domestic band will apply to flights between airports in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, cutting Air Passenger Duty by 50% to bolster UK connectivity and ensure passengers have access to more affordable flights.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 31 March 2023.

The collaboration will support Active Travel England and councils to offer schemes that benefit residents.

The Alan Turing Institute has been commissioned to create new software and data science techniques to support local authority delivery of walking, wheeling and cycling schemes, Active Travel England announced today (31 March 2023).

The collaboration, which will run for 2 years at a total cost of £200,000, will support Active Travel England and councils to deliver schemes that are strongly evidence-based and will deliver the most benefits for residents. This will enable the development of new functionality in the Active Travel Infrastructure Platform (ATIP), which helps councils to map out proposed schemes and see the impact they could have locally.

These new tools will be paired with existing data sources such as OpenStreetMap, to create innovative solutions that will help build the evidence needed to meet national government’s objectives on active travel, including for 50% of short trips in urban areas to be made by walking, wheeling and cycling by 2030. The investment will demonstrate how new software engineering and data science techniques can support evidence-based planning and support Active Travel England’s mission.

To launch this new collaboration, Active Travel Minister Jesse Norman recently attended an event at the Alan Turing Institute. He was able to test the technology that Active Travel England’s head of data Dr Robin Lovelace and Alan Turing Institute developer Dustin Carlino have been working on.

Active Travel Minister, Jesse Norman, said:

I hugely welcome this new partnership, which will enable local councils to draw on the latest technology and maximise the environmental, economic and health benefits of active travel.

Active Travel England’s CEO, Danny Williams, said:

This exciting new collaboration will help to accelerate progress towards our vision of making walking, wheeling and cycling the natural choice for short trips nationwide.

The Active Travel Infrastructure Platform is going to save councils’ time, improve local decision-making and enable evidence-based decisions to be made that will have maximum impact.

The Alan Turing Institute’s Chief Scientist, Professor Mark Girolami, added:

We are excited to be partnering with Active Travel England to develop new data science tools and software that will support the shared mission to make active travel more accessible and enjoyable for everyone.

Open-source software developed through this collaboration will enable the UK to set the agenda internationally.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 31 March 2023.

Regulations to inspect utility company street works and assess quality of their road repairs.

People up and down the country will benefit from smoother journeys, reduced congestion, and faster broadband rollout as the government clamps down on utility companies for leaving potholes behind after carrying out street works.

From 1 April 2023, new regulations will come into force for a performance-based inspection regime to ensure utility companies resurface roads to the best possible standard after street works, potentially preventing thousands of potholes from developing in the future.

The move comes as the government is investing over £5.5 billion by 2025 in highways maintenance and could help motorists save money on expensive repairs by protecting their vehicles from damage to tyres or suspension. It will also ensure cyclists and motorbike riders can drive more safely and with greater peace of mind.

Currently, about 30% of utility companies’ street works are inspected, regardless of how well those street works are carried out. Under the new “street works regime”, utility companies will be assessed on the quality of their road repairs after carrying out street works, with the best companies inspected less and the worse-performing companies inspected more, based on their performance.

As a result, companies that leave behind roads in poor condition could see 100% of their street works inspected. With highway authorities now charging £50 per defect inspection and a further £120 for follow-up inspections, poor performing companies will now be incentivised to perform better to avoid incurring high financial charges.

While the average failure rate for street works by utility companies is currently 9%, some of the worst performers are failing inspections by as much as 63%.

Other reforms in the inspection framework will help telecoms operators roll-out broadband nationwide and ease congestion by mandating better live updates on roadworks to help drivers plan ahead.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said:

We’re investing more than £5.5 billion over this parliament to maintain roads up and down the country, and today’s measures are yet another example of how this government is on the side of motorists and other road users, leaving no stone unturned in the fight against the plague of potholes.

The new street works regime is a victory for all road users, with motorists and cyclists able to enjoy smoother, safer, and less congested journeys as we continue to level up transport across the country and grow the economy.

The move will focus on telecom companies in particular, which is the worst performing sector – responsible for nearly 13% of poor street work repairs. The measures will ensure these companies are checked more regularly until they can bring about noticeable improvements and leave roads in the condition that all road users deserve.

The street works regime comes as the government is investing more than £5.5 billion between 2020 and 2025 into highways maintenance, including the Potholes Fund announced at Budget 2020 and the extra £200 million announced at Budget 2023.

This funding settlement allows local authorities to plan effectively for managing their roads and is enough to fill millions of potholes, repair dozens of bridges, and resurface roads up and down the country.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said:

Potholes not only cause expensive damage to vehicles but are potentially lethal to those on two wheels. Utility companies have a responsibility to ensure roads are properly repaired after carrying out essential maintenance, but unfortunately far too many roads are left in a substandard condition.

Introducing new regulations to encourage repairs to be done to a higher standard first time around will benefit all road users.

The measures will also help drivers plan ahead and ease congestion as utility companies and local authorities will now be required to provide the Department for Transport’s street manager service with more up to date and accurate data on live works, including at weekends.

Companies will be asked to provide information about when works start and stop at weekends and all local authorities must share start/stop information about their works. This will update sat navs and other apps so motorists are aware of where street works are and can avoid those areas – preventing traffic from building up.

As one third of all street works are carried out by telecoms operators, the plans will also help speed up broadband rollout across the country by removing restrictions on works for new customer connections.  The changes will mean works can be done more quickly, but to the right standards in terms of reinstatements.