TfGM promote ‘key projects’ in Parliament

Transport for Greater Manchester's annual Parliamentary reception was held at the House of Commons on Tuesday.

TfGM said transport leaders met with their Parliamentary peers to promote investment in key projects and policies for Greater Manchester.

Speakers included the host Julie Hilling, a member of parliament representing Bolton West, Cllr Andrew Fender, chairman of Transport for Greater Manchester Committee, and Norman Baker, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport.

The points discussed included:

• Delivering the Northern Hub as a single coherent programme by 2019
• Ensuring the measures identified by the draft Competition Commission report on the bus market are secured through legislation to make them as strong as possible
• Greater Manchester's local sustainable transport fund bid, which provides an opportunity to accelerate the Smarter Choices and smart ticketing strategies, and encourage more sustainable travel in Greater Manchester

Fender said: "Sustainable transport networks connect people with jobs, shops, healthcare and leisure opportunities. They keep our economic and social worlds working and growing.

"But they also come with the challenge of encouraging more people to make use of them and on a more regular basis.

"That's why, in Greater Manchester, we are overseeing the single largest investment in public transport outside of London with the Metrolink expansion, but we need to complement this with national investment in heavy rail services, including rolling stock, the Northern Hub and High Speed Two.

"We want our public transport network to meet the needs of modern commuters, who want assurances about the quality, reliability and punctuality of the services available to them, regardless of where they live or work in Greater Manchester.

"We also want to be able to provide people with information about services, fares and ticketing when they need it, and in a format which suits them.

"It's only by consistently improving the offer to residents, businesses and communities in this way that we'll be able to encourage people to change how they travel for the better of both the economy and the environment.

"The support of MPs and peers is essential to enable us to realise these ambitions, and the various themes, projects and policies that these issues prompt are what we have been discussing with our colleagues in Parliament."