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Campaign for Better Transport (United Kingdom)

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Campaign for Better Transport is an advocacy group in the United Kingdom that promotes sustainable transport, particularly bus and rail services. It was launched as Transport 2000 in February 1973 by the National Union of Railwaymen with the Railway Industry Association, the Liberal Party Environmental Panel and others. In January 2007 it absorbed the Road Block anti-road building campaign led by Rebecca Lush and campaigned for less expenditure on road building. The organisation changed its name from Transport 2000 to Campaign for Better Transport in September 2007.

Campaign for Better Transport
Campaign for Better Transport Charitable Trust
AbbreviationCBT, CfBT
PredecessorTransport 2000 Trust
Campaign for Better Transport Ltd
Merged intoCampaign for Better Transport Charitable Trust
Formation6 February 1973; 51 years ago (1973-02-06)
FoundersEric Robinson and Sidney Weighell
Founded atHotel Russell, London
Merger ofRoad Block (1 January 2007)
TypeNonprofit
Registration no.Charity 1101929[1]
Company 04943428
Legal statusActive (incorporated 24 October 2003)
PurposePromote sustainable transport
Headquarters7–14 Great Dover Street
Location
  • London, SE1 4YR
  • United Kingdom
Coordinates51°29′59″N 0°05′34″W / 51.4998°N 0.0928°W / 51.4998; -0.0928
OriginsLiberal Party
National Union of Railwaymen
Railway Industry Association
Area served
England and Wales
ProductsResearch and campaigns
ServicesConsultancy
MethodsAdvocacy
FieldsTransport and environment
Chief Executive
Paul Tuohy
Board of trustees (12 as of 2020)[2]
Key people
Michael Palin (1986–2019)
Stephen Joseph (1988–2019)
Rebecca Lush (2007–2012)
Siân Berry (2011–2015)
AffiliationsEuropean Federation for Transport and Environment
Budget (2020/2021)
Decrease £311,397
Revenue (2020/2021)
Increase £517,143
Staff5[3] (in 2020/2021)
Websitebettertransport.org.uk Edit this at Wikidata
Formerly called
Transport 2000 (renamed 1 September 2007)

History

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Transport 2000

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Transport 2000 was launched on 6 February 1973 with a press conference at the Hotel Russell, London. It initially had offices at 30-34 Buckingham Gate, Westminster.[4] The formation of the organisation was a reaction to the newspaper disclosure in October 1972 that one of the options in a report for the Department of the Environment was the possible closure of a large part of the rail network.[5] The organisation was formed by the National Union of Railwaymen and included the Railway Industry Association and the Liberal Party Environmental Panel, as well as environmentalists, amenity groups, trades unions and other transport groups.[6]

The creation of the group was described in March 1973 as "Yet another transport pressure group has appeared on the scene; known as Transport 2000, it has the backing of railway and environmental sections of the community. The Chairman is Mr. Eric Robinson, a member of the Liberal Environmental Panel, and he described the new group as the most comprehensive and ambitious transport lobby in Britain".[7]

From launch in 1973, Transport 2000 campaigned for the UK Government to form a national transport policy. They identified too many vehicles in the wrong places, the threat of rail closures, damage done by large lorries and concerns over Concorde and a proposed third London airport as their initial focus.[8]

In 1974 the organisation proposed a single ticket system for railways, Underground and buses and a single passenger transport authority for London.[9] In 1984 they proposed reopening the Snow Hill Tunnel between Blackfriars and Farringdon (i.e. Thameslink), more services on the West London Line and a rail tunnel between Euston and Victoria (later known as Crossrail 2).[10]

In 1998 Transport 2000 was part of a coalition of organisations which jointly launched the Slower Speeds Initiative which campaigns in favour of traffic calming, lower speeds and better enforcement of existing speed limits.[11] Although a founding member, the organisation now focuses less on speed reduction in favour of other campaigns.[12]

A linked charity was registered in 2003: the Campaign for Better Transport Charitable Trust.[13]

The organisation criticised Top Gear in 2005, saying that it was "irresponsible, out-dated television designed to give comfort to boy racers, 'petrolheads' and those from the 'get out of my way' school of driving."[14] In 2006 the group accused David Cameron of being a hypocrite, "conning people about the environment" because he was pictured cycling to work, but had his car follow with his briefcase.[15]

In January 2007 Transport 2000 absorbed Road Block, an organisation which supported local groups that were resisting road schemes.[citation needed]

Campaign for Better Transport

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In September 2007 the organisation changed its name to Campaign for Better Transport.[16] In 2011 the bus, rail and roads campaigns were given names and individual branding as Save our Buses, Fair Fares Now and Roads to Nowhere.[17]

Key people

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Michael Palin was appointed chairman in 1986. In 1987 he wrote and appeared in The Chairman, a programme made by Central Television about the work of Transport 2000.[18] He subsequently retired as chairman and was made president.[19] In 2006 The Times reported that Palin was facing moves to oust him as president because of his use of long-distance air travel; it was calculated that he had flown more than a quarter of a million miles in the previous 17 years while making his six TV series.[20] The organisation denied any such suggestion, saying "Michael Palin brings popular appeal, wisdom and a sense of proportion to the transport problems we as a society face today".[21] The Daily Telegraph also covered the story in their motoring section, initially claiming that over half of the organisation's funding came from the bus and rail sector, but then correcting the figure to 20%.[22]

Stephen Joseph was appointed as executive director in 1988. He received an OBE for "services to transport and the environment" in the 1996 Birthday Honours.[23] The House of Commons Transport Select Committee took evidence from Joseph regularly for many years,[24][25] and the organisation was described in 2018 as "the country’s leading transport NGO."[26] In the same year he was given a 'Lifetime Contribution to Transport' award.[27] He stepped down after 30 years in the post.[28]

In 2007 Rebecca Lush, who had led Road Block and was a long-standing roads campaigner, was appointed as roads and climate campaigner. From 2011 to 2015 Siân Berry, who was Green Party candidate for Mayor of London in 2008, 2016 and 2021, worked as a roads and sustainable transport campaigner for the charity.[29]

Jenny Agutter, Steve Norris and Tracy Marchioness of Worcester are patrons.

Finances

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For 2020/2021 its income was £517,143 (up from £358,000 in 2019/2020) and expenditure was £311,397 (down from £425,850 in 2019/2020).[30]

References

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  1. ^ "How we are run". Campaign for Better Transport. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Company number 04943428". Companies House. UK Government.
  3. ^ "Our Team". Campaign for Better Transport. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  4. ^ Your Environment, Volume 4, Issues 1-2. 1973. p. 62.
  5. ^ "Big cuts in rail services urged in confidential report". The Times. 9 October 1972.
  6. ^ "Single or Return - the official history of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association: The Campaign to save the Railway Network". TSSA. The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011.
  7. ^ "News Flashes" (PDF). The Journal of London Underground Railway Society. 12 (3): 37. March 1973.
  8. ^ Transport 2000 Press Conference. 6 February 1973.
  9. ^ "News Flashes" (PDF). The Journal of London Underground Railway Society. 13 (8). August 1974.
  10. ^ "From the Papers" (PDF). The Journal of London Underground Railway Society (269). May 1984.
  11. ^ "About us". The Slower Speeds Initiative. Archived from the original on 12 September 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  12. ^ "Campaigns". Campaign for Better Transport. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
  13. ^ "Campaign For Better Transport Charitable Trust". Charity Commission. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  14. ^ "'Petrolheads' under attack". BBC News. 12 April 2005. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Hypocrisy claim over Cameron bike". BBC News. 28 April 2006. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  16. ^ "Campaign for Better Transport is 50!". Campaign for Better Transport. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  17. ^ "Annual review of our work for the year ending 31 March 2011" (PDF). Campaign for Better Transport.
  18. ^ "The Chairman (Eco)".
  19. ^ "Michael Palin Biography".
  20. ^ Webster, Ben (14 January 2006). "Globetrotter Palin brought down to earth by eco-lobby". The Times. Retrieved 11 January 2008.[dead link‍]
  21. ^ "Green group backs Palin on travel". BBC News. 26 January 2006. Retrieved 11 January 2008.
  22. ^ "Funding leads to another". The Telegraph. 4 February 2006. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  23. ^ "Supplement to The London Gazette" (PDF). 15 June 1996.
  24. ^ "Rail 2020 - oral evidence". www.parliament.uk. UK Parliament. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  25. ^ Transport and the economy (Report). House of Commons. 30 November 2010. pp. 69–73. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  26. ^ "Stephen Joseph OBE, Advisor, Campaign for Better Transport". Older Road User Conference. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  27. ^ "Lifetime Contribution to Transport award goes to Stephen Joseph OBE". Transport Times. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  28. ^ "Transport loses 'staunchest advocate' as Joseph steps down". Transport Network. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  29. ^ "Sian Berry joins Campaign for Better Transport". Campaign for Better Transport media release. London. 7 June 2014.
  30. ^ "Campaign For Better Transport Charitable Trust". Registered charities in England and Wales. UK Government. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
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