Minding the Gap: Developing institutional reform to operationalise social impact assessment of fare-setting in UK public transport

The Resolution Foundation's recent report "Ending Stagnation" identifies public transport as necessary to address UK inequality. 8% of the UK is driven into poverty due to transport costs, and UK public transport networks are the most expensive in Europe. There are therefore likely significant social impacts of fares that industry overlooks. My aim is to understand how institutional reform could operationalise methods to assess the social impacts of fares. I will use archival methods to understand the evolution of UK public transport institutions and their impacts on fare policy in London and Greater Manchester from 1979-2020, drawing on policy legislation; franchise documents; minutes from the House of Commons; and contemporary analysis. I posit that revenue-maximisation is entrenched in fare setting. I will assess whether the COVID-19 pandemic was a 'turning point' for public transport institutions, providing opportunity to improve the design and assessment of fares. I will consider rail nationalisation during the pandemic; the Williams Rail Review; and bus franchising in Greater Manchester. I will develop a mixed-method social impact assessment methodology to evaluate the London Zip Card Scheme, combining econometric analysis with thematic analysis of surveys and interviews. I will assess the impacts of the scheme and identify limitations of current assessment methods, to inform how institutional reform can improve policy implementation.