Local authorities look to Nottingham for public transport models
Representatives from the Scottish capital visited the Midlands city this week to learn about developing robust travel infrastructure.
Cllr Cammy Day, Leader of City of Edinburgh Council, was joined by colleagues working across transport, climate and policy departments in Nottingham on Tuesday 15th August. A number of initiatives in Nottingham formed the focal point for the visit, many of which fall under active and low emission transport.
These included ebikes, a new escooter trial, the city’s successful modern tram network, and the much-hyped Workplace Parking Levy. All of which are flagships schemes in the local authority’s roadmap to becoming carbon neutral by 2028, and the ongoing development of travel systems in the area. Guests were hosted by Nottingham City Council Leader, Cllr David Mellen, and Angela Kandola, Portfolio Holder for Highways, Transport and Planning.
Nottingham is often considered a UK leader in ‘future transport’. The Workplace Parking Levy, introduced in 2012, charges employers a fee per number of parking spaces, and has had a dramatic impact on pollution in the city centre. By encouraging businesses to promote active, shared and low emission travel options to staff, the authority has secured more than £1billion in direct and indirect investment over the past decade, reduced congestion growth by 47% and prevented 5,780 tonnes of carbon from entering the atmosphere.
Late July, Nottingham welcomed Road and Local Transport Minister Richard Holden, who praised the city’s efforts at created an integrated travel network. Currently, ridership within the authority boundaries claims the highest number of trips per person outside London, and in 2022 a National Highway Survey ranked the area top for public transport out of all 111 UK authorities.
‘Nottingham is a renowned leader in excellent public transport – a city where it’s easy to get around in a green and affordable way. I was pleased to show the Road and Local Transport Minister the great things we already have in place here and highlight the amazing projects we are working on,’ said Cllr Kandola.
‘I took the opportunity to raise our concerns that tram systems which are providing vital links in cities like Nottingham have not been given the same Government support as buses. We will continue to lobby Government, along with other UK cities with trams, to secure the funding support tram systems deserve,’ she continued.
More on transport:
43% of UK drivers won’t switch to EV ‘unchartered territory’
International Airlines Group boosts UK waste-to-fuel research
Image: Steve Harvey