Integrated Transport – a Will-o’-the-wisp?

A view of inland transport development in Great Britain during the 20^th century 

John Wylde MSc FCILT
 

This book was inspired by the mysterious disappearance of the slogan ‘Integrated transport’ which had been on government documents such as the 1998 White Paper, and the daughter documents and 10-year Plan which followed it.  The Transport Act 2000 contained only a few positive legislative advances compared with the many aspirations of the White Paper, suggesting that the government were nervous of the response of voters at the 2001 election to their transport policies. 

The idea of integrated transport was used in legislation for most of the 20^th century (often the term used was co-ordinated transport), but never did it seem to be achievable, because of the different interpretations of ‘integration’, and often of political ideology and vested interests.  The author reviews the progress of all forms of inland transport during the century, with the help of two acknowledged experts in their field, and of some others who have acted willingly as research assistants. The important events in the development of inland transport have been captured in the chapters covering the decades of the century, to a large extent objectively, but it is an annotated view, the author not entirely refraining from comment.  The final chapter refers to aspects of public transport provision after the millennium much more critically. 

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