Better Transport Conference 2026

Campaign for Better Transport

Join us for this free one day conference in London

London South Bank University

Transport connects communities, powers local economies, and shapes how people live. The Better Transport Conference is a day of honest, practical conversation about what it will actually take to make that happen.The Railways Bill is before Parliament. The Bus Services Act has passed. Better Connected, a strategy for integrated transport, has just been published. The frameworks exist - now the harder work begins.The day opens with a keynote and fireside conversation with Lord Hendy, before splitting into four breakout sessions: rail reform beyond the legislation; the human cost of poor transport, told through our Bus Stop Stories campaign; buses - funding, franchising and the gap between ambition and reality; and devolution, exploring what different authorities are doing with the powers they have.The closing plenary asks if we can ever really take the politics out of transport?Who attends? The public and anyone else interested in transport, including local authority officers, operators, policy specialists, and civil society organisations working across all modes.Thank you to <a href="https://www.atkinsrealis.com/" title="https://www.atkinsrealis.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">AtkinsRéalis</a> for their sponsorship of this event!

Better Transport Conference 202619 June 2026 | LSBU Hub, 100-116 London Road, London SE1 6LNTransport that connects us: a new era for people and placesOpening Keynote | 09:30 - 10:30 | Chelsea Lecture TheatreLord Hendy, Rail Minister and a long-standing champion of buses and community rail, joins Campaign for Better Transport Chief Executive Ben Plowden for a keynote presentation and fireside chat on the reform agenda shaping the future of travel. From the creation of Great British Railways to the role of integration connecting people to opportunity, this is your chance to hear directly from the minister driving change.SpeakersLord Peter Hendy - Rail MinisterBen Plowden - Chief Executive, Campaign for Better Transport---Rail reform that delivers for passengers: from legislation to integrated operationBreakout Session | 11:00 - 12:15 | Vauxhall Lecture RoomThe Railways Bill is a foundation - but a framework alone will not get more people on more trains in more places more affordably. This session moves beyond the legislation to ask what else needs to be in place: a Long Term Rail Strategy with teeth, fares guardrails that make rail a genuine choice, and a clear process for embedding passenger priorities into the new structures as they take shape.ChairBen Plowden - Chief Executive, Campaign for Better TransportSpeakersThomas Ableman - Founder, FreewheelingSarah Nankivell - Deputy Director, Common WealthRob Cook - Policy Director, Railway Industry AssociationSteve White - Managing Director, SouthEasternAnna-Jane Hunter - Chair, CILT(UK)---Better buses everywhere: funding, franchising and the bus infrastructure revolutionBreakout Session | 11:00 - 12:15 | Waterloo RoomThe Bus Services Act provides the framework - but legislation alone does not keep a bus running on time, or at all. This session brings together operators, authorities and policymakers to discuss the practical barriers standing between the Better Connected ambitions and better services on the ground, with a solutions focus throughout.ChairSilviya Barrett - Director of Policy and Research, Campaign for Better TransportSpeakersRajesh Kungur - Sector Lead Transport, BSIDevon Barrett - Co-Founder, PodarisEmma Partlow - CEO, National Centre for Accessible TransportVictoria Garcia MBE - Accessibility and Communities Manager, Brighton &amp; Hove Buses---Transport that changes lives: what communities wantBreakout Session | 13:30 - 14:45 | Waterloo RoomTransport is rarely experienced as a single issue. Bus Stop Stories showed us that people talk about potholes and street lighting in the same breath as bus frequency and fares, and that the high street dies when the bus goes. This session asks how we take those stories and turn them into the political and community pressure that moves decisions.ChairMichael Solomon Williams - Head of External Affairs, Campaign for Better TransportSpeakersCatherine Woodhead - Chief Executive, Living StreetsCyriel Diels - Professor of Mobility Design, Royal College of Arts / INFUZE ProjectNeil Chapman - Product Design Director, UK &amp; Europe, Bauer Media OutdoorElliott Swallow - Senior Programme Lead, Transport for Wales---Devolution and delivery: powering local transportBreakout Session | 13:30 - 14:45 | Vauxhall RoomEquipping local transport authorities with the powers, funding and resources to plan and deliver local transport is central to tackling regional disparity and driving economic growth. This session takes stock of recent shifts in English devolution, explores what authorities at different stages can do to advance local transport, and asks what is needed for them to do it well.ChairIsobel Duxfield - Policy and Research Manager, Campaign for Better TransportSpeakersHelen Ellerton - Head of Transport Policy, West Yorkshire Combined AuthorityJason Prince - Chief Executive, Urban Transport GroupRob Johnson - Senior Analyst, Centre for CitiesMike Batheram - Local Transport Market Director, AtkinsRealis---Moving Together: Can you take the politics out of transport?Closing Plenary | 15:15 - 16:30 | Chelsea Lecture TheatreBetter Connected is published, the Bus Services Act is on the books, and five MCAs have integrated settlements in hand - but political consensus is fragile, funding is contested, and priorities can change faster than infrastructure can be built. This closing session asks whether it is possible to build the kind of cross-party, cross-sector consensus that outlasts any single government - and what the sector, civil society and government each need to do differently to get there.ChairBen Plowden - Chief Executive, Campaign for Better TransportSpeakersOlly Glover MP - Member of ParliamentNicholas Boys Smith MBE - Founder &amp; Chairman, Create StreetsLorraine Whitmarsh MBE - Professor of Environmental Psychology, University of BathIsabel Dedring - Global Transport Lead, Arup

Join us at the end of the day to raise a glass and continue the conversation. Refreshments will be served from 16:30 in the Hub mezzanine, all delegates welcome.A big thank you to Trueform for their sponsorship of the drinks.

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Better Transport Conference 2026

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London South Bank University

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Better Transport Conference 2026

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Location

London South Bank University

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