A more coordinated approach to transport in the region could be worth billions to the economy - Julian Pearce

But all this existing connectivity begs the question: why do we still feel like an afterthought?

Yorkshire should be a transport hub for the United Kingdom. It should be a shining example of interconnectivity. A place where sea meets road and air meets rail, an infrastructure nirvana that enables economic opportunity and social mobility, delivering a long-term economic boost to the country.

So where does the dream end and reality really begin to bite? Sure, we’ve all heard of big transportation project let-downs, but there have also been signs of success.

Just look at how our region is served from the point of view of aviation. Leeds Bradford Airport is currently undergoing a £100m investment, with plans afoot to effectively connect the airport to the rail network for the first time.

Not only will this allow an almost doubling of passenger numbers, but it gives us a clue about how we can make transport provision work harder for the people: coordination. In the 21st century, transport is no longer about getting people from one town to the next. We need to look at infrastructure as an ecosystem.

When approaching governments with a begging bowl, we tend to be given the scraps. A new motorway interchange here or a dualling of a road there. The promise of a new railway station that might or might not be delivered in a decade or so’s time. Or the promise of a freeport, without the certainty of what that might do for onward connectivity.

Billions of pounds of economic opportunity exist, ready to be unlocked, if we – as a country and a region – could act in a more coordinated fashion.

We need to start seeing the costs of poor transportation for what they are, and by contrast, what is on offer if we just start to join-up the dots. According to pre-pandemic figures, the UK lost £6.9bn per year from road congestion alone. The embodied inefficiency of that is enough to make eyes water.

There is a well-documented productivity gap, which acts as an anchor on the UK’s growth. Britain’s cities (beyond London) suffer the effect of being made smaller by poor transport links. This has an inter-regional effect, which affects people’s abilities to travel efficiently to work or between population centres.

According to campaign group Britain Remade, fewer than 40 per cent of Leeds residents can make it into the city centre in under 30 minutes. By comparison, almost 90 per cent of residents of the similarly sized Marseille can. And the net result is a more statistically productive city.

Change doesn’t need to be made in opposition to the environmental agenda either. By using cleaner eco-fuels, electrifying railways, buses and trams, and working with Distribution Network Operators to provide electric vehicle charging infrastructure, we can build a system that works for everyone, while protecting future generations from the effects of climate change.

Instead of a piecemeal approach to updating Victorian infrastructure, the UK should be bold and look at what can be offered from improvements based on economic gains, rather than financial costs.

We need to be ambitious, and our politicians need to lead, with the support of the private sector.

One of the biggest hurdles we need to overcome in achieving this is the inbuilt inefficiency of our planning system. It may not be popular in some quarters, but taking decisions at a local level can be notoriously bad at serving the greater good.

We need direction based on data and set at a national level. Of course, local communities should have their say, and infrastructure needs to be built in a way that minimises adverse impacts, but NIMBYism mustn’t be allowed to act as a barrier to wider economic growth.

When we get national transport policy right, local connectivity also improves.

In my line of work, I get to see the decisions that transport providers make. In the past six months alone, I’ve worked with operators on road, air and sea, and by far the biggest efficiencies are seen when a coordinated approach is adopted.

And by linking up different modes of transport, making them work for each other and not in isolation, we can provide a truly cohesive solution that drives economic growth, provides jobs, connects communities and delivers long-term opportunities for future generations.

Julian Pearce is founder of communications agency Yasper.