Chris Grayling has been appointed as the new Transport Secretary following Theresa May’s appointment as Prime Minister.
Andrew Jones has also been reappointed to the Department for Transport.
CPT CEO Simon Posner commented: “CPT and its members congratulate Chris Grayling on his appointment.
“We look forward to meeting the new Secretary of State to continue the constructive and collaborative dialogue we have enjoyed with his predecessors and indeed the entire DfT Ministerial team over many years. As well as the Bus Services Bill, there is a range of other important issues facing the bus and coach sector, and we look forward to engaging with Chris Grayling shortly.”
Jon Lamonte,Chairman of Urban Transport Group, said: “We look forward to working with new Secretary of State for Transport as we deliver the transport investment programmes that our cities need.
“We believe that there are two main priorities for urban transport. The first is investment and the second is devolution. Our major cities and city regions are drivers of the national economy and as such need transport networks that support their economic growth as well as give them better connectivity with each other and the wider world. This means we need to ensure that there is stable and sustained long term investment in transport to create an environment where commerce and industry can have confidence that the transport links they need will be there.
“Our ability to ensure that available funding is best targeted has been underpinned by a process of devolution of transport powers in recent years. It’s vital that this process continues as local transport planning is best determined by local decision making. In particular we need to see the Bus Services Bill that is currently before Parliament delivering on the promise to provide the city regions with a simpler legislative route to being able to properly plan bus services in the same way that our colleagues in London can.”
