A report from the Urban Transport Group has found that investing in a typical range of different types of regional rail services would represent high value for money and bring significant economic benefits.

As the party conference season begins, the Urban Transport Group (which represents the seven largest urban transport authorities in England) has set out its vision for a partnership between national government and transport authorities to deliver high quality and integrated transport networks which support sustainable and inclusive growth at a time of rapid technological and social change.

A new report, ‘The Scandinavian Way to Better Public Transport’, published today by the Urban Transport Group, shows how transport authorities in three Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Denmark and Norway) are using devolved powers to transform public transport for the better - and sets out the lessons that the UK could learn.

The Urban Transport Group, which represents the strategic transport authorities for the seven largest city regions in England, has appointed a new Assistant Director to deliver policy and research initiatives for its members.

A study of devolved rail services in the UK has identified a strong trend of dramatic increases in performance, reliability and satisfaction levels among passengers since responsibilities for local rail services were devolved from Whitehall.

A powerful data analysis and graphical representation tool has been launched by the Urban Transport Group giving users the ability to interact with a wide-ranging database of raw transport related statistics.

At a reception attended by more than 100 parliamentarians and key players in the urban transport debate Tobyn Hughes, Managing Director of Nexus and chair of the Urban Transport Group said that urban transport is the beating heart of successful cities, and to ensure city regions continue to thrive they need to have more power over their own destiny.

Tobyn Hughes, chair of the Urban Transport Group and Managing Director of Nexus, has highlighted the key urban transport issues that the new government should focus on.