I have been an active member of CIHT for many years now and joined the PSC in 2020. I really enjoyed the committee, as it brought together our two great institutions, CIHT and TPS, in looking after our great qualification TPP. In 2022 I agreed to be chair for the allotted two year period and I have recently handed over to Tom, who coincidentally was one of the reviewers for my TPP back in 2013.

I really enjoyed my time as chair and will be staying on the committeee as a regular member supporting Tom as the new chair, as Lynda MClurg, the previous chair, supported me - thanks Lynda.

In the last two years. We have signed off 58 new Chartered Transport Planning Professional registrants, approved nine university courses for TPP and overseen the start of the internationalisation of the qualification.

We are about to embark on a piece of work looking at transport planning in the public sector and how we can raise the profile of the qualification.

I wish Tom the best of luck in his new chair’s role and look forward to the continuing collaboration across CIHT and TPS for TPP and beyond.

Nick Ruxton-Boyle

Tom van Vuren

I am incredibly proud of my Chartered Transport Planning professional qualification. Coming from a Civil Engineering background, chartership was always considered important, but impossible to achieve for those of us who spent most of their time in the office, rather than on site.

Transport planning is a broad church, and we welcome experts from many disciplines. however, it remains crucial for the credibility and value of the qualification, that anyone aspiring to become a TPP, meets the requirements, both in terms of breadth of experience and depth of their competencies. Our reviewers do a grand job in assessing candidates, and the PSC ensures safeguarding of the overall process and decisions.

A big shout out to the reviewers and mentors! in my two years as chair of the committee,
I will continue previous chairs’ efforts to promote the qualification, particularly focusing on those who may not have considered TPP as a natural accreditation – specialists such as transport modellers, academics or behaviour change experts; and internationally.

The PSC consists of 10 senior and experienced professionals, all holding the TPP qualification, who ensure consistency, quality and pursue continuous improvement not just the TPP qualification, but also accreditation of university courses and the Portfolio of Technical Knowledge and Senior Route to TPP. Chairing the Committee falls consecutively to CIHT and TPS, and in September Nick Ruxton Boyle (CIHT) passed over the baton to Tom van Vuren (TPS).

An area of specific attention most recently has been ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion. Around 50% of TPP candidates in the first round of 2024 were female; and the committee have developed guidance to support all applicants by making sure that reasonable adjustments can be requested and that reviewers have had unconscious bias training.

The TPP qualification is growing internationally – original success was mainly confined to the Republic of Ireland with six successful applicants from over the Irish Sea, and the Masters course accreditation at the Technical University of Dublin. A real growth area has been New Zealand – with a spate of recent TPP successes Down Under, and from a broad range of employers. Interest is also growing in the Middle East.

The Professional Standards Committee invites TPP applications from a wide range of geographies and specialist disciplines. An initial assessment is available to help you identify whether the accreditation is relevant and achievable for you.  

To find out more, visit https://www.ciht.org.uk/transport-planning-professional