A world transformed

摘要

Transport secretary Grant Shapps outlined 'his vision for the future of transport' in late May - consisting of more of the same in terms of project investment. Waving away the impact of COVID, he argued that video conferencing will 'quickly be overtaken by reality as our economy bounces back', before suggesting that the congested road network needs not just billions in investment but also millions of people to take public transport again. 'Transport holds the key,' he concluded, to realising the levelling up dream: 'If every part of the country matched the South East's productivity the UK would have the biggest economy in Europe by 2050.' If projects are being quietly re-appraised behind the scenes, he didn't let on. 'In many ways, the Department for Transport is now viewed alongside BEIS and the Treasury as a key economic department,' he said. Economics and transport have never been far apart. It is the foundation science of the subject - at least in Whitehall. But when the Treasury updated the Green Book appraisal guidance last year, there was the suggestion that it was the economists, with their benefit cost ratios (BCRs), who had been holding connectivity back.