13th August 2025

The Transport Committee of the UK Parliament has today (13 August 2025) published the report Buses connecting communities. The report highlights that the long-term decline in local bus networks has left many without access to reliable services and calls for more ambitious action to reverse long-term decline of Buses.

The report follows the Committee’s inquiry into the effectiveness of recent Government policy in tackling the decline in bus services and cites written evidence submitted by CIHT.

The Committee has taken forward several calls made by CIHT, including the need to shift to a five-year funding settlement for bus services, better funding support for socially necessary services, and support for the technical expertise required for local authorities to franchise bus services.

CIHT welcomes the recommendations made in this report, which have the potential to boost ridership and ensure that all communities have access to necessary services.

The Committee has recommended that the CIHT-managed Bus Centre of Excellence (BCoE) is expanded to include a dedicated support strand for rural and other local transport authorities which may struggle to implement franchising successfully within their current capacity. This is welcome recognition of the important role BCoE plays in building capacity across the sector.  

The Committee has also recommended moving to a five-year funding settlement for bus services, for both capital and revenue spending. As cited in the Committee's report, CIHT highlighted in its written evidence short-term and piecemeal funding frameworks undermined the ability of authorities to plan strategically. CIHT’s recent report, Unlocking the benefits of long-term funding for local roads, highlights that long-term funding models enable better planning, procurement, innovation, and delivery.

Other recommendations made by the Committee to the Department for Transport (DfT) include:

• Ensure that there is funding to support the provision of socially necessary services by ring-fencing a dedicated portion of its bus grant funding or by other means.
• Introducing a rural weighting into its revised Bus Service Improvement Plan funding formula to reflect the higher per-passenger costs and structural challenges of serving low-density areas.
• Establish minimum standards for bus stop facilities and the provision of real time information at bus stops where appropriate.
• As part of its upcoming Integrated National Transport Strategy for guidance on how local authorities and transport providers can achieve more effective integration between bus timetables and those of other transport modes.
• Piloting a free bus pass for under-22s, valid for travel at any time of day.

CIHT looks forward to continuing to work with the Transport Committee on the topic buses and assisting them with a variety of their inquiries.

CIHT also looks forward to working with the Department for Transport and Local Authorities to deliver the recommendations from the Transport Committees inquiry into ‘Buses connecting communities’.

8th Jul 2025

The Department for Transport and HM Treasury have today (8 July) announced that over 50 road and rail upgrades have been given the green light.  

Many of these schemes had been put on pause when the previous Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh MP, announced a Transport infrastructure review.

CIHT welcomes the UK Government giving the green light for work to continue on 28 local road schemes considered vital to connecting and growing communities.  

CIHT highlights that incrementally adapting infrastructure and proactively maintaining it is crucial for extreme weather resilience and meeting decarbonisation goals. 

The UK needs a more resilient transport network to ensure reliability for people’s travel and for goods deliveries. This requires futureproofing and maintenance of current and future transport infrastructure. 

CIHT looks forward to continuing to work with HM Treasury, the Department for Transport, and other government departments to ensure that the UK’s transport network is fit for all our futures. 

For more information on this news story is available to read here. 

25th Jun 2025

The Climate Change Committee (CCC), the independent advisor to the UK government on climate change, published a  ‘Progress in adapting to climate change: 2025 report to Parliament’.   

The CCC report echoes CIHT calls in the report ‘Delivering a resilient transport network’, calling for improved coordination across government departments, integrating adaptation into all relevant policies and the implementation of monitoring, evaluation and learning across all sectors.  

CIHT had previously called for:  

Urgency to act now and be prepared

• CIHT calls for adaptation and resilience to be made an immediate investment and policy priority across all governmental transport strategies. There is a risk of significant and expensive infrastructure failures if resilience measures are not recognised as key strategic objectives now. Extreme weather events are happening with increased frequency and intensity – it is imperative that we act now to mitigate the risk of losses. 

Mandatory assessments of the current and future resilience of the infrastructure

• CIHT encourages the legislative road authorities of the UK to make it a statutory requirement for all transport asset owners to carry out transport resilience assessments. This will help to identify vulnerabilities in the network, prioritise remedial action and identify who should be responsible. This should also apply to neighbouring asset owners and utilities where risks and impacts are clearly inter-twined.

Building a nationwide leadership

• CIHT encourages the legislative road authorities of the UK to provide coherent and consistent guidance to the sector on how to undertake risk assessments on resilience. There is a need to avoid different operators and asset owners developing their own internal assessments based on different assumptions, leading to non-transferable or non-sharable data. 

More information on this news story is available to read here.

19th Jun 2025

The UK Government have published their long-awaited Infrastructure Strategy for the next decade, backed by £725 billion in long-term funding for maintenance and major projects.

CIHT has long called for a vision-led approach that establishes clear priorities for infrastructure to support the economy and society, aligned with the government's broader missions.

CIHT submitted evidence as part of the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy working paper. 

Many of CIHT's recommendations around planning and network maintenance have been considered as part of the strategy including:

• Prioritisation of funding for maintenance and renewals of the existing transport infrastructure. 
  Specifically addressing the backlog in transport maintenance that is critical to ensure resilience and reliability.  
• Integrated planning for new infrastructure: The necessity of considering from the outset how other systems, particularly transport, will support and connect to developments. 
• Transport planning should be an integral part of housing strategies to ensure cohesive and sustainable outcomes.  
• Consideration of the interdependencies between infrastructure systems, such as transport, telecoms, and water management.
• Climate change and increasingly frequent extreme weather events highlight how failures in one system (e.g. water management) can cascade across others, causing widespread disruption.

This funding commitment follows recommendations from the National Audit Office on the need for long-term, sustainable maintenance funding.

Other areas that CIHT has advocated to be included in the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy, include: 

Network Maintenance

• CIHT has previously highlighted the human cost associated with potholes and other surface faults in our exclusive members-only article Potholes and Poorly Maintained Footways: The Cost to the NHS.  

Improving connectivity

• CIHT outlined in our 2024 manifesto, an effective highways and transportation network plays a key role in stimulating the UK economy and increasing employment opportunities, as well as promoting wider benefits in terms of climate change and public health. 
• CIHT outlined in our response to the 2025 Spending Review, CIHT believes that this growth must be sustainably delivered.      
  Strengthening resilience
• CIHT welcomes commitments to resilience and has previously called for adaptation and resilience to be made an immediate policy priority and investment, as featured in Delivering a resilient transport network.

Decarbonising the sector

• CIHT welcomes the announcement of providing £2.6 billion capital investment to decarbonise transport from 2026-27 to 2029-30 and is looking forward to working with industry to support the delivery of the EV charging infrastructure and decarbonise the sector. CIHT outlined recommendations in the report ‘Doubling Down needed to drive Climate Action in Highways and Transportation’, summarising CIHT's recent CLIMATES initiative.

For more information on this news story is available to read here.

18th Jun 2025

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, has announced £1bn in funding for renewal and maintenance of bridges, roads and tunnels.

The new ‘Structures Fund’ will fund repairs of bridges, roads, and tunnels and ensure other transport infrastructure is both more resilient to extreme weather events and to the demands of modern transport.

CIHT welcomes the creation of the ‘Structures Fund’ and the commitment of the government to enhance the resilience of transport infrastructure.

CIHT has previously called for calls for investment in maintenance of the UK’s existing highways and infrastructure to ensure the continued and efficient use of our transport network.

CIHT highlights that incrementally adapting infrastructure and proactively maintaining it is crucial for extreme weather resilience and meeting decarbonisation goals.

The CIHT report ‘Delivering a resilient transport network’ outlines that the changing climate is having a major impact on the UK ageing infrastructure. Flooding, higher temperatures, storms and severe weather are more common and accelerate failures and disruptions on the network.

For more information on this news story is available to read here.

17th June 2025

Stakeholder engagement with transport industry and strategic partners. 

CIHT looks forward to continuing to work with ITS UK and other transport sector stakeholders as the UK works to deliver a transport network that is fit for all our futures.

For more information on this news story is available to read here.

11th June 2025

CIHT welcomes the UK Governmental Spending Review, delivered on 11th June 2025 by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP.

CIHT looks forward to continuing to work with HM Treasury, the Department for Transport, and other government departments to ensure that the UK’s transport network is fit for all our futures.

The Spending Review also committed £39 billion to a new 10-year Affordable Housing Programme. 

In the representation to the Spending Review, CIHT called for investment in new affordable housing that is well-connected and serviced by affordable and sustainable means of transportation.

Road Maintenance and Resilience 

• The Spending Review presented the government’s committed to providing £24bn of capital funding between 2026/27 and 20293/0 to maintain and improve motorways and local roads across the country.
• This funding is allocated for National Highways and local authorities to invest in improving the long-term condition of England’s road network, delivering safer and more reliable journeys. 
• Highlighted in CIHT’s ‘Unlocking the Benefits of Long-Term Funding for Local Roads’, the Spending Review represents a critical opportunity to place the funding for maintenance and management of England’s local roads on a more strategic, long-term footing, comparable to similar five-year settlements already in place for the Strategic Road Network (SRN) and the rail sector.  

CIHT demonstrated that:  

• These models have demonstrated clear benefits in terms of efficiency, planning, and delivery. A similar five-year funding settlement for local authority highway maintenance, paired with improved working practices, has the potential to generate efficiencies of 5–10% on the current expenditure levels of £21.9 billion. Over a five-year period, this could unlock between £1 billion and £2.2 billion for reinvestment in the local road network.
• CIHT also welcomes the announcement of a four-year settlement for Transport for London "to provide certainty and stability for our largest local transport network to plan for the future". 
• The government has committed to £4.2 bn in funding over three years, to build and maintain flood defences, protecting communities across England from the dangers of flooding. This signals that the government is recognising the necessity to move towards increasing the UK’s resilience to the effects of climate change and to protect the ecosystems that underpin the economy and food security.
• CIHT welcome these commitments and has previously called for adaptation and resilience to be made an immediate policy priority and investment, as featured in ‘Delivering a resilient transport network’.  

The report highlighted that: 

• ‘Investment in maintenance of our existing highways and infrastructure to ensure continued, efficient use of the network. Incremental adaptation and proactive maintenance of infrastructure are crucial to improving resilience and meeting decarbonisation goals.

Decarbonisation and Net Zero 

• The government commitment to £2.6 bn capital investment to decarbonise transport from 2026-27 to 2029-30.
• CIHT welcomes the government’s commitment to UK economic growth. Investment in transport infrastructure must form an intrinsic part of any growth agenda. However, CIHT believes that this growth must be sustainably delivered.

Local Transport and Active Travel  

• Positive announcements for local transport and active travel from the Spending Review, include:  Providing around £750 million per year to maintain and improve bus services, including taking forward franchising pilots in areas including York and North Yorkshire and Cheshire West and Cheshire West and Chester.
• Extending the £3 bus fare cap – due to end this year – by over a year until March 2027, covering 5,000 bus routes and supporting with cost-of-living pressures.
• £15bn of investment of funding for local transport projects in England’s city regions – including South Yorkshire, the North East, the East Midlands and Tees Valley, announced on 4th June.
• Investing £616 million to build and maintain walking and cycling infrastructure.
• CIHT welcomes this investment into active travel, having previously outlined the health benefits associated with walking, wheeling and cycling in our policy brief ‘Making the Case for Investment in Active Travel | CIHT’.  
• In CIHT’s representation to the Spending Review, CIHT called for consistent funding to reshape the required infrastructure and services to holistically promote walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport networks. 
• As further detailed in the CIHT exclusive members’ article ‘Potholes and poorly maintained footways: The cost to the NHS | CIHT’, maintenance funding is urgently required to address local road faults e.g. surface defects issues, to ensure that footways and cycleways remain in adequate condition and remain accessible all year round.  
• CIHT welcome the extension of the £3 bus fare cap, which CIHT called for in our representation to the Spending Review. The extension will build on the positive shift to increased bus travel because of subsidised bus fares. 

Skills

• The government has announced that it will be investing £1.2bn for apprenticeships and training.  
• CIHT welcome this announcement as in the CIHT manifesto A transport network fit for all our futures, CIHT called on the government to ensure there is a skilled workforce with the capacity and capability to deliver improvement in the sector by investing in future skills.  
• CIHT welcomes this commitment to the promotion of skills through investment in the Spending Review and highlights the need for increased skills investment in the planning sector to meet the government's aim of delivering 1.5 million homes in England. 
• In CIHT’s representation to the Spending Review, CIHT highlighted the need for consistent investment in technical skills and expertise in transport planning at a local level to deliver on the government’s housebuilding aspirations.  
• Upskilling is a necessity to maximise the impact of a shift to ‘vision-led’ transport planning. An increase in support is needed to ensure that local authorities have capacity to meet the targets set for them and make sure developments are built in the right places, with adequate transport links considered.  
• The CIHT report, ‘Creating a public realm for all’, highlights the importance of funding for disability equality awareness training for all local authority personnel who are designing and changing the public realm. 

AI 

• The government has allocated £2bn for Artificial Intelligence (AI) implementation to help deliver on the commitment to harness the transformative and innovative potential of AI technology.
• In the CIHT report, ‘The role of data and artificial intelligence in achieving transport decarbonisation’, CIHT emphasises that: local authorities and national bodies will be key to rolling out AI in public services such as transport, and so should be given appropriate funding, guidance, and procurement frameworks to do this successfully. It is important that investment in skills and training extends to local authorities to ensure that local government is equipped with the resources to fully harness AI.

Long term planning and infrastructure strategy

• CIHT previously submitted evident to the 10 Year Infrastructure strategy Working Paper, saying: “CIHT welcomes the Treasury's commitment to a long-term, UK-wide infrastructure strategy. CIHT has long called for a vision-led approach that establishes clear priorities for infrastructure to support both the economy and society, aligned with the government's broader missions.
• The Spending Review also committed £39 billion to a new 10-year Affordable Housing Programme. In the representation to the Spending Review, CIHT called for investment in new affordable housing that is well-connected and serviced by affordable and sustainable transport means. “People need homes where sustainable transport infrastructure is ready on day one. Building homes first and considering connectivity later will simply entrench car dependent behaviours if people are not provided with credible alternatives for travel when they move in, and it is vital that this is supported in the Affordable Homes Programme. It is imperative the Government’s plans to deliver ‘the biggest boost to affordable and social housing in a generation’ does not create affordable homes in hard-to-reach areas, which will only serve to widen inequalities.”

Active Travel Funding 

• CIHT recently released a policy brief that highlights the importance of physical activity for health benefits. The CIHT policy brief, Making a Case for Active Travel, highlights the benefits associated with a proactive approach to allocating funding. Greater investment in dedicated active travel infrastructure directly leads to reducing the level of resource needed to be invested in managing chronic physical and mental health conditions.
• The government said this will potentially lead to 43,000 fewer sick days a year across the country and add £1.4 billion to the UK economy.
• The CIHT Making a Case for Active Travel policy brief serves as a reminder of the power of prevention in the context of the current trend towards an ageing population and high levels of physical inactivity. Offering people more choice in how they travel enables more people to build healthy habits into their daily lives, reducing pressure on strained health and social care services.

Funding for City Regions outside of London

• The government announced £15.6 billion package of funding for transport projects in towns and cities, outside of London and the Southeast. The £15.6 billion funding package for Mayoral Authorities includes: Funding to extend the metros in Tyne and Wear, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands Funding to renew the tram network in South Yorkshire Deliver new mass transit systems in West Yorkshire
• CIHT welcomes this funding package and investment in the transport sector. CIHT has called for the Spending Review to pledge longer-term funding settlements for local roads in England.

More information is available to read here.