I went to an excellent Conference last week, the 2022 Local Transport Summit, held at Cardiff Bay, Wales, and organised by Landor LINKS Ltd . It was great to meet people again after the pandemic, of course; but there were also many presentations of what was happening in transport policy in Wales now, as an exemplar to the rest of the UK. The need to ‘Rewire the system’ and to ‘Make the right thing the easy thing to do’ were constantly-recurring themes in the Conference.

But for me one of the highlights of my short visit to Wales was my ‘exploring activity’ after the Conference. I travelled up from Cardiff to Ebbw Vale, and back down to Newport, on a 19-mile long railway line that was shut to passengers in 1962, reopened in 2008, and where sections of the track are now having to be doubled because patronage has grown so much and there is a strong community demand for more trains. The experience re-emphasised for me that fast and accessible public transport is a fantastic catalyst - for economic, educational and social opportunities; - can lead to improvements in people’s health and can reduce isolation; and is ultimately an enabler of community viability and good quality of life.