The UK’s government backed innovation agency Innovate UK has launched its UK Transport Vision 2050.
The vision sets out what the UK transport system might look like in 2050 and outlines the likely steps along the way to achieving it.
The project is described as an attempt to gather the UK government and industry around a single vision of transport as “an interconnected system that delivers for people and places”.
It is also to provoke debate, and Innovate UK is seeking feedback to help refine and improve the vision.
Within the vision, Innovate UK has identified six key areas, namely:
- travel and transport demand
- connectivity
- energy vectors
- autonomy
- business models
- infrastructure
The vision and pathways highlight major new opportunities for economic growth and societal benefit, showing how businesses need to adapt and evolve in order to secure market position and grow.
While developed for the UK, Innovate UK says the challenges and opportunities are largely the same across the globe. The major trends identified are:
- powering of transport in the future will radically change, bringing significant opportunities and risk for UK design, production and supply chains
- electricity, hydrogen, ammonia and sustainable fuel will replace petroleum and create new opportunities for generation, production and distribution
- greater connectivity, autonomous systems, new business models and robotics will transform transport
The Transport Vision 2050 has grown out of extensive research into the future of transport and out of consultation with partners in both the public and private sectors. The document will be regularly updated and used to inform decisions on future investments.
