Transport planning performance indicators, democracy and best value

The duty of best value requires local authorities to provide services that are in tune with the needs and wishes of their communities. At the same time, the Government requires local authorities to develop local transport plans that comply with national policy on integrated transport. However, there is evidence to suggest that the transport system that local communities want does not necessarily meet the guidelines set by central government. As part of the best value process, local authorities will be measured against a series of performance indicators. Critically, for transport, no strategic indicator has been suggested. This is curious since transport planners have considerable experience of setting strategic objectives and evaluating their plans against them. The local transport plan system could be developed to double as a performance plan for transportation and, through this, the development of local solutions could provide feedback to inform and develop national policy.