The transport sector has long operated in an environment in which it was assumed that competition was the guarantor of service quality and low prices.

Those assumptions are changing, with local authorities taking control of bus services and the rail network being nationalised.

Does the competition law framework still work for this new environment? I get together with economist and Head of Transport at Oxera Andy Meaney to discuss this question.

Sandra Witzel is comparatively unusual.

Millions of people in Britain are disabled, while hundreds of thousands work in transport. But there isn’t as much overlap, especially at a senior level.

So today’s discussion is all about Sandra’s perspectives on how transport needs to change to avoid disabling people, and about the sector’s willingness to make those changes.

Sandra’s day job is at Skedgo, so we finish off with a chat about the status of Mobility-as-a-Service (Maas), now we’re past the peak of the hype cycle.

How do we take the public with us?

Actually, is that the right question? Surely, we should be asking what the public want? And what the public doesn’t yet know it wants.

Our traditional models of consultation and engagement increasingly don’t work. They result in fearful officers bombarded with feedback from a hyper-engaged minority, while the typical resident is unaware that engagement is even taking place.

Is there a better way?

Yes! Jasmine Palardy works with local authorities to engage residents on highways schemes in a totally different way.

Why shouldn’t a local authority highways consultation involve a chicken dinner?

This year, Denmark will replace all its public transport ticketing systems with a new fully pay-as-you-go digital app.

Customers will get a transformationally better service; operators get a cost saving. What’s not to like?

This is all being delivered by the “Rejsekort & Rejseplan”, a dedicated organisation devoted to transport ticketing and information.

It is run by Tina Christensen, who tells me all about the culture change necessary to deliver this digital transformation.

It’s an inspirational story for any country further behind on digital ticketing (which is almost all of them).

This edition looks back at the themes that emerged from the 2025 episodes of The Freewheeling Podcast.

We look back at inspirational city leaders who have transformed places for the benefit of their residents (and faced death threats for doing so), we revisit the entrepreneurs building great transport products to improve journeys and we discuss the big ideas that came out of last year’s conversations.

I hope you enjoy this retrospective - there’s also a preview of the next season at the end.

Thank you so much for listening in 2025 - and, above all, Merry Christmas!

Today’s podcast is all about change, but it’s not primarily the sexy kind of technological change that we often think of when we think about change.

It’s about culture, community and people - but it’s the stuff that makes the difference between success and failure in the transport sector.

Jane Cole, MD of Blackpool Transport, describes the changes she’s made happen and how empowerment, community focus and investment have transformed the transport service in one of the most deprived towns in Europe.

Caroline Seton is the co-founder of the London bike share firm Forest.

They’re in unambiguous second place to Lime, the great global bicycle behemoth - but, famously, being second makes a firm try harder.

In today’s episode, we talk about the challenges of being a shared mobility firm in a municipal environment, the realities of whether cities actually want sustainable transport and the changes she would make to transport policy.

Above all - more bike parking and less car parking please!

The Budget has finally been unveiled.

But what does it mean for transport?

In this week’s episode, I review the budget with Sir Michael Holden, former Chairman of Directly Operated Railways.

We discuss the impact on railway economics (and whether there’s money for the fares freeze), whether the fuel duty increases will actually happen, the Government’s commitment to capital investment and - above all - the need for an overarching strategy.

The world’s moving faster than ever, and policy changes with dizzying pace.

It was only in 2021 that the Conservatives issued the most pro-bus policy document probably ever published by a British Government.

The National Bus Strategy was something of a marvel for those of us who want to see better public transport.

It promised a vision of bus lanes in every town, coordinated networks and exceptional quality - all backed up by billions of pounds of new investment.

Today, Leon Daniels and I look back in time to publication day and review how it’s gone since then.

Data City Founder Tom Forth has been told some extraordinary reasons why the North underperforms the South.

Including that it’s down to Northerners being stupid. Or drunk.

He’s even read academic papers outlining these theories.

In a fascinating episode of the podcast, we get into a discussion on the real reasons.

They go back a thousand years but transport and our hyper-centralised way of making decisions are right at the heart of it.

I really hope you enjoy listening to this conversation as much as I enjoyed having it.

Why does electrification in the UK cost so much more than in the rest of Europe?

And why does it always seem to go wrong?

In today’s episode I talk to Managing Director (UK) of Furrer+Frey, the leading Swiss engineering company about the root case: HM Treasury funding decision-making.

The key question: will it get better?…

𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗲𝘂𝘄 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘆𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁, and the Alderman responsible for transport and mobility policy.

Today’s episode is a masterclass in the art of transport changemaking: the focus on experimentation, clear strategy and the need for urgency.

He also highlights the power of storytelling, the limitations of data and highlights that, despite the death threats, the Circulation Plan helped him increase his majority at the next election.

Come with me to Belgium and see just what a motivated, inspiring transport changemaker can do.

Founding a startup is hard, but it’s even harder when you’re dealing with the most painful and emotive moments in peoples’ lives.

That’s what Dan Garrett decided to do when he created Farewill, now the country’s largest “Deathtech” firm.

His business enables peoples to self-serve themselves wills, as well as offering other services including probate and even cremation.

How do you move fast when you’re dealing with something as important as death? How do you get the right balance between risk, rules and pace?

Mini Holland is the poster child for the transformation of an urban area.

As the first Low Traffic Neighbourhood of the modern era, council reps from across Britain (and Europe) have visited to learn lessons.

Not that I needed to travel far: it all happened in Walthamstow, where I live, and my kids were two of the many who benefited.

It was the vision of 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗺 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 𝗖𝗹𝘆𝗱𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀, and he tells me the full inspirational story in today’s episode.

Autonomous public transport has the potential to transform our cities.

One city that is taking the lead in experimenting with autonomous public transport is Paris, under the leadership of James Dick at RATP.

In today’s episode, he tells me just how close he believes they are to delivering autonomous buses out on the road, driverless and at scale.

Gian-Mattia Schucan, 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗾, wants travelling by public transport to be effortless: no tickets, no gates, no stress. We talk about the journey from idea to reality, what operators really want from innovators and how to make change happen in public transport.

I’m sad to say that this is the last episode of Season 3 but, don’t worry, I’ll be back with Season 4 in September.

“It's fine when you're swinging big to have a few misses in a controlled environment” - 𝗝𝗼𝗻𝗻𝘆 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗱, 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 making it very clear that it’s fine for public sector organisations to try things and fail.

In today’s episode, I talk to Jonny about what value for money really means, why BCR is often misused and how the NAO supports innovation in the public sector.

Do take a listen to this one!

𝗢𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗣 went from rail consultant to MP in a political whirlwind. We talk innovation in legacy sectors, the chaos of becoming an MP overnight and the culture of Westminster.

Plus: why UK transport policy feels stuck, and how we could actually fix electrification

I spoke to Lars Strömgren, 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗨𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, about the city’s journey from car-centricity to a cycling-friendly capital.

We talked about his childhood on the back of his grandmother’s bike, the cultural shifts that made cycling mainstream and the urban planning philosophy that underpins Stockholm’s transformation - including how storytelling, kid-focused design and even building with wood all fit into a sustainable transport vision.

My guest this week is Anjali Devadasan, 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘃𝗮, a startup generating energy from passing vehicles and trains. Her turbines harness airflow to power local infrastructure like lighting and EV chargers.

We talked about the technology, the challenges of scaling, and her personal drive to tackle climate change, inspired by her family’s personal experience.

A truly inspirational conversation with someone who’s achieved incredible things very early in her career.