General Election 2019
During this election campaign, politicians have pledged to spend millions of pounds on transport projects.
What will the parties spend on roads?
A £29bn pledge to invest in local roads, much of it outlined before the election campaign, forms the centrepiece of the Conservatives’ commitments. They also say that £2bn would be spent on filling in potholes over the next four years.
Labour says it would continue to upgrade roads and reduce traffic jams at roadworks. It also says it would focus on road-building and maintenance programmes, to connect communities.
The Lib Dems say they want to see more road freight transported by rail. They would also seek to amend the current HGV road user levy – the charge on heavy road vehicles – to take account of carbon emissions.
Neither Labour nor the Lib Dems include details of road spending in their costings.
Of the three parties, the Conservatives are the ones putting more emphasis on roads than the others.
When are we going to see more funding to make public transport a realistic alternative to driving to work?
The main parties are all promising more money for public transport.
The Conservatives say they would try to reverse some of the Beeching cuts of the 1960s, which slashed the number of local railway lines and stations. This would be focused on the north of England and the Midlands, at a cost of £500m.
Labour says it would cut rail fares by 33%, at a cost of £1.5bn a year, and make train travel free for young people under the age of 16. It also wants to return the bus system to council control and thousands of routes that have been cut would be reinstated.
The Lib Dems would introduce a fare freeze on train tickets in England until 2024. This would apply to all peak-time and season tickets.
In its manifesto, the SNP pledges to invest over £500m in bus infrastructure.
What commitment to public transport are the parties promising?
The Conservatives, Labour and Lib Dems are all pledging to build a new rail line linking Manchester and Leeds, expected to be completed before 2040.
In addition, the Conservatives would replace the current system of contracts for rail operating companies with a “simpler, more effective rail system”. It says the current system is complicated.
Labour says it would return the operation of the trains to the public sector when the current franchises expire. The state-owned Network Rail already controls some stations, track and signals.
The Lib Dems say they would spend £15bn on enhancements to existing track and other parts of the network, over five years. This commitment is in line with the record year of spending in 2017-18 during which there were upgrades to the system, on top of maintenance of the network.
Of the three parties, Labour and the Lib Dems are broadly putting more emphasis on public transport than the Conservatives.
