The Plaid Cymru- Party of Wales- has released (13 June) their Manifesto, outlining how transport plays a key role for the economic and social wellbeing of Wales. Their manifesto outlines the party’s commitments to:

• Enabling investments in public service: based on real needs
• HS2: securing the £4bn they have identified as being owed to Wales from HS2 to invest in improving public transport in all parts of the country and reversing cuts to local bus services.  
• Nationalising public transport: including rail infrastructure, major bus services, and seeking to integrate bus and rail services so that they work for the benefit of passengers.
• Passenger safety: placing a statutory duty on public transport companies to guarantee passengers can get to the destination, or a place of safety. This includes developing more consistent and transparent systems for reporting and recording incidents of abuse that affect women and vulnerable people on public transport, and for improving lighting and bilingual audio announcements for all public transport services, on board and at stops/stations and in streets immediately surrounding train stations and major bus stops.
• Investing in Active Travel: supporting clear air zones near major centres of population, and traffic calming measures to  increase road safety.
• Road Safety :  identifying roads which have a higher than anticipated number of accidents and work with local and Welsh Government to make changes to make them safer and reduce accidents. Plaid Cymru supports the principle of the introduction of the 20mph speed zone across roads in Wales  to reduce the number of accidents and life-changing injuries and supports a review to ensure it is working successfully across Wales in reducing dangerous driving in urban areas.
• Creating a just transition commission to guide decarbonisation in Wales: to create rewarding, meaningful and fair work in the emerging green and net-zero sector. To include re-skilling and supporting Welsh employees and apprentices into these sectors, meeting the need associated with demographic change in the manufacturing workforce and the skills shortages already identified. 

CIHT welcomes the publication of the Party for Wales Manifesto, as the proposed policies resonates with the calls presented in the CIHT Manifesto “ A Transport Network Fit for all our Futures”.

Sue Percy CBE, Chief Executive, CIHT, said: 

We welcome the focus in the Plaid Cymru Party manifesto on road and passenger safety. CIHT support the objective to show leadership in road safety and a desire to produce clearer guidance and standards. We also welcome their focus on the need to operate and provide services that provide for a diverse society in terms of people’s characteristics, circumstances, resources, needs, aspirations and geographical requirements.

CIHT is looking forward to engaging and working with all major political parties, working to ensure a transport network that benefits the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.

CIHT will be analysing the emerging policy announcements pre and post the general election. 

For any further information, please contact: communications@ciht.org.uk