Following last year's CPF consultation on post-lockdown recovery, members from ten CPF groups across the country yesterday participated in a roundtable meeting at 10 Downing Street to discuss how to encourage people to get back onto public transport and into cities again.
The event was organised by the PM's Policy Unit and included the PM's Director and Deputy Director of Policy and the Policy Unit's Special Adviser for Transport. Members of the CPF Management team and the Party's Vice-Chair for Policy also attended. Discussion focused around three key areas:
How our response to the pandemic has changed transport use
The different challenges posed by urban and rural transport users
The role of transport in levelling up
Discussions were particularly constructive around the integration of transport, demand-responsive transport services, and members' experiences of "rent-a-desk" local hubs that allow people to work locally. One participant summed up the event afterwards, “It was definitely worthwhile with the added bonus of a visit to No 10 which is now very firmly etched in the memory.”
Be sure to have your say in our latest consultation. Who knows: if your group is responsible for a particularly interesting policy proposal, you too may be invited to discuss your ideas in greater detail at the heart of government!