A look at the transport industry in May
Not for the first time, this month was dominated by one theme – the ongoing reset of HS2. Far from drawing a line under the debate, the Government’s recent intervention has intensified scrutiny across Parliament, the media and the sector.
The Transport Secretary’s statement of the 19th of May revealed a new cost ceiling of £103 billion, alongside further delays. Opening of the London–Birmingham section is now expected in the mid-to-late 2030s, with the wider project stretching into the 2040s. The reset also confirmed continued uncertainty around Euston – which may now be at the mercy of private finance – and a shift away from a fixed delivery timetable towards a longer-term, managed programme.
Unsurprisingly, this has ensured HS2 remains firmly in the spotlight. Renewed scrutiny from the Transport Select Committee and the Public Accounts Committee continues to focus on costs, governance and delivery risk, reinforcing HS2’s role as the benchmark against which major infrastructure projects are measured.
Local tensions have gained greater prominence against this backdrop, with expected closures between Birmingham and Lichfield owing to HS2 enabling works near Curzon Street highlighting the friction between programme delivery and the existing network.
A clearer policy signal is emerging elsewhere. The Department for Transport’s new National Mass Transit Taskforce, aimed at accelerating tram, light rail and bus rapid transit schemes, was unveiled in May. The focus is on tackling familiar barriers such as planning, funding and delivery capacity at the regional level while reinforcing the role of Mayors and Combined Authorities in shaping local transport investment.
Passenger experience and safety also moved up the agenda, with a joint Government and industry campaign targeting harassment and improving safety on the rail network reflecting a broader shift towards treating passenger experience as perhaps the chief concern of transport policy.
Overall, May points to a system under sustained pressure at the national infrastructure level, while increasingly pivoting towards devolved delivery and more visible, passenger-facing priorities to demonstrate improvement is achievable.
Below we take a look in more detail at what’s been happening in our core policy areas of transport, decarbonisation and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Follow us on X and LinkedIn or sign up to our mailing list to keep up to date with our analysis of key industry topics.
If you need help influencing policy, managing scrutiny, building reputation, delivering change, or winning the support needed to deliver complex projects, email us at info@jfgcomms.co.uk.
Jo Field speaks at UK Rail conference
- Our CEO, and Chair of Women in Transport, Jo Field had an action-packed day at the recent UK Rail Conference. She moderated two panels – the first being the Keynote panel on future proofing infrastructure for the next generation. She was joined by experts on the panel where they unpicked key themes including cross-sector collaboration, long term planning, and balancing the need for new infrastructure with maintaining and upgrading existing assets.
- Next up Jo chaired the panel on ‘Ensuring passenger confidence through reliability and performance’, where topics explored included – how operators can improve reliability and performance to rebuild and maintain passenger trust, the role of technology, customer insight and accessibility in shaping a better customer experience, and how we can improve customer information in times of disruption.
- Jo then rounded off the day speaking on the diversity and inclusion keynote panel. Key takeaways for Jo included:
- profiling role models at all levels – people need to see what they can be
- listening to your audience and engage under-represented groups in their spaces
- measure and track progress – get involved with Women in Transport’s equity index
- leaders need to be collectively responsible for EDI, not just part of HR
- EDI should be prioritised in the same way as health and safety in rail
- Finally, Jo made sure to visit our client Pipcall’s stand where they were celebrating the launch of SCART – their brand-new AI powered tool that analyses safety-critical rail communications at scale, turning recorded calls into consistent, actionable insight to strengthen safety, assurance and operational performance.
Active travel
- Nottingham residents will soon be able to enjoy a free programme of active travel activities at the city’s first pop-up mobility hub. The temporary transport hub at Victoria Embankment is being installed and operated by national shared transport charity Collaborative Mobility UK (CoMoUK). It will act as a base for a series of active travel activities, encouraging local residents to walk, wheel or cycle more for local journeys, rather than relying on private cars.
- A major walking and cycling route has officially opened in Carmarthenshire, promising to boost tourism and support active travel. The 13-mile Tywi Valley Path, which runs through rural Carmarthenshire and follows a disused railway line between Carmarthen and Llandeilo, was completed through a £16.7 million investment from the UK Government, with additional funding and support from Carmarthenshire County Council and regional contractors.
- A regional transport fund is set to improve walking, wheeling and cycling routes across York and North Yorkshire through dozens of community-led projects. A total of 39 schemes have secured backing through the mayor’s Active Travel Fund, which is investing £4 million into projects designed to make active travel safer, more accessible and more appealing across the region. Led by schools, councils, community organisations and national park authorities, the schemes aim to tackle barriers including safety concerns, limited facilities and lack of confidence around cycling and walking.
- Transport for London (TfL) and the Mayor of London have announced plans to extend the capital’s School Streets programme to cover around 200 additional roads as part of a broader push to encourage walking and improve public safety. The proposals form part of a new Walking and Wheeling Action Plan unveiled on Wednesday, aimed at making streets across London safer, more accessible and more pedestrian-friendly. Under the expansion, the number of schools operating School Streets measures is expected to rise from roughly 800 to around 1,000 locations across the capital.
Public transport
Buses
- A fleet of refurbished buses featuring upgraded accessibility technology, CCTV and lower-emission engines is beginning to roll out across one of Wales’ largest rural counties. Powys County Council has welcomed the first of 15 upgraded vehicles funded by the Welsh Government in partnership with Transport for Wales. The refurbished buses include audio-visual “next stop” announcements, improved bilingual signage, upgraded seating, onboard USB charging points and newly installed CCTV systems. The vehicles have also been fitted with refurbished Euro 6 engines designed to reduce emissions and improve reliability.
- Brighton and Hove City Council has unveiled a new fleet of electric buses. The new fleet, secured through ZEBRA 2 funding, includes 16 new buses that will help the city provide a greener more accessible transport system. The council has worked to co-design and develop its services with a focus on the lived experience of passengers.
- A further 125 electric buses are set to hit the roads in Greater Manchester. These buses will join the growing zero-emission Bee Network fleet and support the city-region’s goal of having a fully electric bus network by 2030. Manufactured by Northern Ireland-based Wrightbus, the vehicles are part of Transport for Greater Manchester’s (TfGM) ongoing expansion of the Bee Network.
Rail
- A rail contractor is reaching out to the next generation with hands-on STEM workshops and career insights. QTS Group, based in South Lanarkshire, hosted its annual The Future of Rail event at its headquarters on May 20 and 21, offering pupils from across Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Glasgow an inside look at careers in the rail industry. Now in its fifth year, the two-day event aims to highlight the wide range of job opportunities available within the sector, particularly at a time when youth unemployment is on the rise.
E-mobility
E-vehicles
- Electric vehicles are set to overtake petrol and diesel cars on UK roads by 2034, according to new projections. The analysis from Quotezone.co.uk suggests EVs will make up 50.5% of the total vehicles on UK roads within a decade. According to DVLA data, current totals reveal petrol remains the most common fuel type, accounting for 55% of all cars, followed by diesel at 29.8%, while fully electric vehicles account for only 4.8%. However, the balance is shifting with electrified vehicles growing year on year, from less than 1% in 2015 to 12.9% in 2025. Projections suggest this trend will accelerate, estimating electrified vehicles will rise to 37% in 2031, more than petrol (36.9%) and diesel (26.2%), which are both expected to decline.
E-scooters
- Rental e-scooters and a bike share scheme will remain part of the Isle of Wight’s transport network. Senior council officer Michelle Love has approved plans to extend the Island’s micromobility contract and continue participation in the Department for Transport’s e-scooter rental trials. The Island has hosted rental e-scooters since November 2020 and a bike share scheme since October 2022. A council report said continuing the trial would help demonstrate how new transport technology can work in a rural and island setting, while also supporting the local economy and offering residents and visitors more ways to travel. It added the schemes align with the Isle of Wight Council’s wider transport strategy, including the Island Transport Plan.
- The e-scooters in Newcastle are set to leave the city, as a trial which has taken place for a period of more than five years comes to an end. Neuron has announced that it will ‘cease operations’ in the North East at the end of May, and has thanked the region for ‘bringing this to life’. The programme was launched in February 2021, making it one of the longest running transport trials of its kind across the UK, and despite the company saying it has been ‘well received locally’, it is ending due to a ‘broader decision’ to ‘wind down operations’ across Britain. When it comes to the overall statistics across that period, over 1.6million trips were taken, with a total distance of more than 2.9million kilometres travelled. This is said to have replaced an estimated 650,000 car journeys, contributing to a reduction of around 180 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
E-bikes
- Combined electric hire bike rentals across Edinburgh and Glasgow have officially surpassed the 1.1 million milestone following the comprehensive relaunch of both urban transport systems last year. This surge is highlighted by recent performance metrics from Glasgow, where the total volume of individual rides recorded last month was more than six times higher than the figures logged during the corresponding calendar month in 2025.
- New electric bikes for Aberdeen were officially launched this month with some demonstrations for people in one of the city’s main parks. They were among the first to try the new ebikes around Duthie Park which are being rolled out around the city. The ebikes are free to unlock for the first three months, with the pay-as-you-go tariff £0.18 per minute. Aberdeen residents will also be able to hire an ebike for 20 minutes for just £1.75, making cross-city journeys even more affordable for everyone.
Roads and vehicles
- Car club users across the UK are saving an average of £2,800 a year compared to owning a private vehicle, new research has revealed. A report from national shared transport charity CoMoUK shows that car clubs remain significantly cheaper than ownership. The schemes are also a vital tool for cutting carbon emissions, reducing traffic congestion, and freeing up public space, it found. The research, which surveyed more than 6,000 users, revealed that each car club vehicle in the UK replaces an average of 23 private cars. In London, this rises to 28. This has freed up approximately 300 miles of kerbside space, further than the distance from London to Newcastle, which can now be used for other purposes. Based on data from car club users, the report estimated that the average annual cost was £675, a £2,800 saving on the amount the average car owner spends.
