Every day, people up and down the country battle with their commute. Whether their journey is by train, tube, bus, car, cycle - or a mixture - things are not as efficient as they could be.
But could the UK’s fraught travellers be about to see an improvement in their lot? With a number of major infrastructure projects in the pipeline and transport powers being devolved away from central government into the hands of local politicians and organisations, are better things in store? At the same time, technology continues to advance and is already making journeys smarter and smoother and giving people more options for how to get from A to B.
With the world of transport changing fast, public transport has a key role, not just in getting people around, but in ensuring journeys across different types of transport are as smooth as possible.
Join our livechat on Thursday 27 October from 12:00-13:30 GMT, when our expert panel will discuss:
- What are the biggest transport issues of today, which stop journeys from being as affordable, easy and efficient as possible; which technology and innovation can best help to overcome these?
- What are the best examples of transport innovation and what might transport policymakers be able to learn from them?
- How will new technologies shape our future transport and the way we get around our cities?
- How can local authorities and transport operators make the most of digitalisation and data to make journeys easier and cheaper?
The livechat takes place in the comments section below this article. To take part you can create a free Guardian account, or log in using your Twitter or Facebook profiles to comment. Alternatively, you can tweet us via @Guardianpublic or email any questions to kirstie.brewer@theguardian.com.
The panel
Andrew Allen is a policy analyst for Campaign for Better Transport.
Jonathan Bray is director of the Urban Transport Group. @UTG_UK
Clare Cornes is a transport strategist for Transport for Greater Manchester.
Nathan Marsh is intelligent mobility business development director at Atkins. He leads Atkins’ Intelligent Mobility growth and market teams in the UK and Northern Europe. @atkinsglobal
Mohamed Mezghani has been working in public transport and urban mobility related fields for 25 years. He has been deputy secretary general of the International Association of Public Transport since 2014. @MedMezghani
Philippa Oldham is head of transport and manufacturing at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Published policy statements and reports include, Autonomous and Driverless Cars, Multi-modal freight, Intelligent Transport, Integrated Transport and Energy options for our transport modes. @Philippa_IMechE
Further panellists tbc. If you would like to be considered please email Kirstie.brewer@theguardian.com.
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