Introducing our TRANSPORT Smart Class, Wales & West of England 2024 Keynotes!

Next Thursday, December 5th, TRANSPORT Smart Class, Wales & West of England 2024 takes place at Cardiff Masonic Hall. We’re delighted to provide further details on our keynote speakers, along with a taster of their presentations:

“Enabling Sustainable, Integrated Travel in Wales” – Natalie Rees, Head of Sustainable Development and Climate Change at Transport for Wales, will explain in this keynote presentation how Transport for Wales is aiming to enable sustainable integrated travel which not only benefits society but also improves prosperity, the environment and contributes to improving culture in line with the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

Natalie will utilise her experience of working at Transport for Wales over the past 5 years to highlight the many benefits already seen, including the electrification of the core valleys lines and increasing services across Wales, but also the many community projects and opportunities that have run alongside the infrastructure works.

“Putting People First” – In this keynote, Pete Dyson, author of Transport For Humans, will explain how we can re-think and re-balance our approach to transport experience, design and policy. Too often, people have been treated like cargo, yet contemporary insights from social and behavioural sciences show we are often guided by more human hopes and fears. The previous Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh MP (succeeded on 29th November by Heidi Alexander MP), outlined a commitment to put people first, so how might this be achieved? How do people want and need to travel? Where can change be influenced? Which investments are most valuable?

Pete leverages his experience as Principal Behavioural Scientist at the Department for Transport, as researcher at University of Bath and on-the-ground experience as Bicycle Mayor of Bath to explain how a human-friendly and sustainable future for transport can put people first.

This talk illustrates the problems and solutions with examples from UK local transport planning. It makes recommendations about shifting mindsets, organisational change, reforming policy design, commissioning research to understand how people want and need to travel, co-creation and public engagement.

“No-one Left Behind: The Future of Welsh Transport Belongs to All of Us” – “At the Community Transport Association, we believe that everyone, in every community, should be able to access transport that meets their needs. Welsh Government – recognising that the current transport network leaves much to be desired – have set out their own ambitious vision which puts the passenger first, offering seamless end-to-end journeys which put people before profit, and are beginning to transform the policy and legislative framework to make this a reality.

We know that affordable, inclusive, sustainable and supportive transport changes the way people are able to live, tackles issues of isolation and loneliness, enables greater community engagement, contributes to tackling the climate emergency, and supports people to access work, education and health care. Amnesty International recently described transport as a ‘gateway right’ – a lynchpin that supports people to live in health and wellbeing. Welsh Community Transport operators are already delivering upwards of 750,000 journeys every year, providing that essential connection for people who are not able to access mainstream transport services. And while traditional bus services continue to see declining passenger numbers, CTA’s members are delivering more services than ever before – despite limited and stagnating funding – as demand skyrockets”.

Implementation of Llwybr Newydd, Welsh Government’s Transport Strategy which sets ‘A New Path’ for transport development in Wales, creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver a network that values and serves every community. Gemma Lelliott, Director for Wales at the CTA, will reflect in this presentation on research completed with Welsh Community Transport providers in 2023 & 2024, and explore how the community-led approach to transport could help the Welsh Government in delivering their vision, building on the successful foundation created over decades by this vibrant network of local charities and social enterprises.

“Putting Communities and People at the Heart of Transport Decision-Making” – Charles Musselwhite is Professor and Head of Psychology at Aberystwyth University, Co-Director of the University’s Research Centre for Transport and Mobility (CeTraM), and incoming Chair for the UK wide Universities’ Transport Study Group from June 2025.

In this keynote, Charles will discuss the Transport and Health Integrated Research Network (THINK), for which he is Principal Investigator. This Welsh Government funded project brought people together from different disciplines all working to solve transport issues and problems:

“Through a series of community based projects and knowledge-exchange events from Wales, the UK and across the globe, it revealed a need for more space for different sectors to work together. It taught us that we need to focus in on the concept that transport is fundamentally about people and the need to involve communities more in understanding and planning their own transport decisions. This reveals tensions but also potential solutions around transport equity and health inequalities, about urban/rural differences, and most crucially a need to bring together sustainability and public health agendas”.

^{Keynote speakers at previous Wales and South West England TRANSPORT Smart Classes have included the likes of (above) Adam Stead, TfW’s former Digital Customer Strategy Customer Lead, and (below) Oliver Coltman, WECA’s FTZ Programme Manager}   

TRANSPORT Smart Class, Wales & West of England 2024 will give a fresh take on how to deploy the latest digital technology-enabled solutions, data-driven strategies, policies and best practices to tackle transport and mobility challenges faced by burgeoning city-regions including South East Wales and the Cardiff Capital Region, Swansea Bay, North East Wales and Deeside, Bristol and Bath, Cheltenham, Exeter, Gloucester, Plymouth and Torbay, Bournemouth/Poole, Salisbury, Swindon, and beyond, and deliver a transport system that will allow passengers and citizens across Wales and the West Country to travel efficiently, safely and with minimal impact on the environment.

In addition to our inspirational keynotes, the event will also feature:

• Rapid fire innovator presentations delivered by technology experts and thought leaders on behalf of Clearview Intelligence (Ralph Bates & Peter Cattell), Living Streets (Kelly Theis), and (both part of Marston Holdings) Vortex and Videalert (Dr Behzad Heravi), addressing priority transport and mobility innovation topics and associated areas of application. Click on the event website link for presentation previews!

• Q&As after each keynote and innovator presentation.

• Deeper-dive roundtable discussions with speakers and specialists to help hone delegates’ smart strategies and address some of their specific transport and mobility challenges.

• Further networking opportunities with peers and pioneers over breakfast, drinks and cooked lunch, and all at no charge!

Qualifying delegates include commissioning, procurement, trialling, partnering and policy leads, senior influencers, strategic decision makers, programme managers and planners from local authorities (e.g. city, borough, metropolitan, district and county councils); public transport operators; regional transport partnerships, sub-regional transport bodies, combined authorities, integrated transport authorities and passenger transport executives; highways authorities and road operators; government and supporting national transport agencies; non-governmental organisations; fleet operators, parking operators, prime contractors etc.

The number of seats at a Smart Class is capped and we’re approaching full delegate capacity for TRANSPORT Smart Class, Wales & West of England 2024, so REGISTER NOW if you’d like to claim one of the last remaining places! If we’ve reached full capacity by the time you’ve registered, we can add you to our waiting list and let you know if a space becomes available before December 5th.

Innovators! Like to book an innovation sponsorship slot?