28: Lunch with Leon episode 28 - Steve Gooding
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The big questions about transport use and where to go from here.
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This week, Leon Daniels OBE has lunch with Steve Gooding, formerly Director General at the Department for Transport and now Director of the RAC Foundation, where he is a noted spokesman on roads and transport policy.
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This year he becomes President of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) and talks about how it is working to develop professionalism in the sector.
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\\u201cThere\\u2019s never been a time when the expertise and professionalism of CILT members has been more in need,\\u201d he says, as the country \\u201clooks beyond Covid to the government agenda of \\u2018building back better\\u2019 and \\u2018levelling up\\u2019 across the UK.\\u201d
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They chat about whether freight and logistics will become classed by the government as \\u2018critical infrastructure\\u2019 in the same way as energy and telecoms already are.\\xa0
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\\u201cThere\\u2019s a tendency to think that infrastructure is static, but it\\u2019s not,\\u201d Steve tells Leon. \\u201cIt gives the ability to move around. Rail and road \\u2013 both classed as national critical infrastructure \\u2013 are no good if trains and trucks can\\u2019t run on them.\\u201d
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They mull over the return of commuter and passenger demand. Steve asks: \\u201cWill we see cities developing or cities returning?\\u201d\\xa0
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He then turns to opportunities for investment \\u2013 and where it should go \\u2013 before touching on what he sees as an inevitable recasting of local authority subsidised bus services.
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As a trustee of the Rees Jeffreys Road Fund, Steve explains what it is and what it is doing to raise its profile. He chats about the Fund\\u2019s work, especially with younger people, in careers and innovation.
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He concludes by talking about autonomous vehicles and they enter the debate about whether they should ever be allowed on the UK\\u2019s roads. On this subject, Steve has strong views\\u2026
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