Making local journeys better

Paul Cherpeau, CEO, Liverpool & Sefton Chambers of Commerce, on how Merseytravel, Liverpool City Region (LCR) and the Chambers of Commerce are working collaboratively to support the regional intelligent mobility and smart city agendas

The Liverpool City Region (LCR) continues to develop some excellent initiatives with the funding it has received, delivering key infrastructure projects which support cycling and walking as well as complementary activities around behavioural change, particularly those linked to travel to work.  

The Transforming Cities Fund will provide the opportunity to build on some of those initiatives, and we are looking forward to seeing more detailed proposals. Having a Liverpool City Region Mayor has hopefully given this agenda a higher political profile, which should help to prioritise longer term funding decisions and enable a more holistic approach across the region. 

Enabling economic growth and regeneration outside the immediate city centre is especially important. I think the role of Chambers and other local business organisations is twofold; helping to promote initiatives to employers, as well as identifying commercial opportunities for local businesses, which not only help to create jobs and training opportunities, but also bring longer term social value.

It can be easy to get caught up in the big picture issues and forget how vital local transport connections are, whether transporting people or goods… we work closely with the local public transport operators to help raise awareness of the economic benefits created by investment in our local public transport system

Liverpool & Sefton Chambers have been working collaboratively with Merseytravel for many years across a wide range of transport issues. At the strategic level we engage members through our Transport Policy Forum, and at the local level we have supported delivery of a number of smaller projects including the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. 

This is a particularly exciting time for the Liverpool City Region. The formal establishment of Transport for the North and the potential for increased investment in our regional transport infrastructure is vital if we are to grow the local economy and create opportunities for local businesses across a range of sectors. 

It can be easy, however, to get caught up in the big picture issues and forget how vital local transport connections are, whether transporting people or goods. We are fortunate that we have a range of partners across the sustainable travel sector. For example, we work closely with the local public transport operators not only to promote their services but also to help raise awareness of the economic benefits created by investment in our local public transport system, both bus and rail. 

We also sit on the LCR Bus Alliance stakeholder group, providing a business perspective on the delivery plan and raising awareness of the work of the Alliance to the wider business community. Just under 90% of the Chamber team use public transport to travel to work (my own daily commute is by bus) so I feel we are well placed to understand the issues from both a passenger and business perspective.

We have also focused specifically on the promotion of cycling and walking, primarily through enabling local employers to support their staff to travel more sustainably, highlighting a range of benefits including health. We also work on issues around affordability, which can be a major barrier not only for those seeking employment, but also those on low incomes. 

From our own research we know that the majority of employers would like to support staff, but many don’t know how to go about it, or simply don't see it as a priority given other pressures, particularly small and medium sized employers (SMEs). This is where I think the Chambers can play a key role. It is easy for SMEs to be overlooked in generic marketing campaigns but, as we have over 51,000 small and medium sized employers in the city region, of which approximately 42,000 employ between 0 to 9 people, that adds up to a significant amount of people travelling to work!   

There is no one-fits-all-size solution so we look at different ways in which we can engage both large national employers and small companies. One way in which we have done this is through our Responsible Business Forum, which brings employers together to share information and best practice as well as learn about new initiatives. We also support the Merseytravel Employers Network which is a great way for small businesses to get information, including potential funding opportunities.

It is important to recognise, however, that some people will need, or choose, to drive into the city centre. We want to support visitor growth whether for leisure, shopping or business so any strategy needs to cover a wide range of options including the car. This could include encouraging more car clubs (particularly low emission vehicles), car share and making it simpler to charge your electric vehicle across the region. 

The development of an improved smarter ticketing option is also one we welcome. Our local bus and rail operators have some great corporate schemes which we promote to employers, but having a totally integrated system which could be used across all transport modes including hiring a bike or charging an LEV, would enhance the journey experience of those living, working or visiting the city region.

Physical and digital infrastructure: what's on the agenda

Mayor Steve Rotheram has rightly identified the need to improve the city region’s digital infrastructure if we are to compete globally. Currently 1 in 4 homes don’t have access to superfast broadband and the quality of our digital infrastructure is impacting on the attractiveness of the region as an investment destination. We welcome, therefore, the city region’s aspirations to establish the LCR as an exemplar smart city to support growth and investment. 

Programmes like LCR 4.0, an exciting and ambitious initiative, will give local SMEs the opportunity to collaborate with other businesses, creating jobs and supporting new product development in computing, VR, AR and sensor technology. As a partner in the Growth Hub (through which programmes like LCR 4.0 will be delivered) we will continue to work with partners to make sure that businesses are aware of the opportunities. At a national level, the British Chambers of Commerce Not Spots campaign aims to identify coverage challenges and work through solutions to improve poor mobile coverage. 

The potential to develop smart digital and infrastructure solutions is one that the city region is embracing. Having the Smarter Travel LIVE! event in Liverpool this year will provide a great boost, particularly to our extremely talented innovation sector.