The Trustees are pleased to announce their decision to re-open the application process from 1^st August 2020.  Careful consideration has been given to the Fund’s overall financial position and its future commitments. It will continue with its policy of not making any new commitments before January 2021 and not to run the bursary scheme for the academic year 2020/21.

This decision will enable applicants to prepare proposals for submission to the two remaining meetings in 2020.  The Trustees will continue to monitor the financial situation closely to ensure that adequate funds are available; and may need to pause applications again if circumstances change.  For more detail go to https://www.reesjeffreys.co.uk/contact-us/

Well done and thank you to everyone involved in the Fund’s first ever Webinar “What have the Roads ever done for us?”. Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHbTuUirTKw&pbjreload=101 to view the event recording. An article on the event’s can be also found on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/never-waste-crisis-rethinking-what-we-want-our-roads-do-glenn-lyons/

The Fund will be running its first Webinar on 16th July. Steve Gooding, Director of the RAC Foundation and a Rees Jeffreys Trustee, will be hosting the event and will be joined by an excellent, diverse panel of speakers. It promises to be a lively and interesting debate fitting for the 70^th Anniversary of the Fund. So much has changed since 1950 when William Rees Jeffreys founded the Road Fund eight years before the first stretch of UK motorway opened. Looking forward over the next 20-30 years, how can we reconcile all the various issues facing us and what should our roads be doing for us from now on?

To register please go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ptrc-fireside-chat-what-have-the-roads-ever-done-for-us-tickets-110251142134

Tony Depledge has stood down as a Trustee of the Fund after 14 years of service. Tony brought a wealth of transport expertise particularly on public transport where he worked at a senior level in both the public and the private sectors.

On behalf of the Trustees David Tarrant thanked Tony for his contribution. “Tony’s broad range of experience and expertise will be missed by his fellow Trustees. Tony always provided a thoughtful contribution, with his expertise and insights on passenger transport. We are saying goodbye to a valuable member and an outstanding companion and colleague.  Everyone involved with the Fund wishes Tony well for the future.”

It is with much regret that the Trustees have decided to pause all consideration of new applications for funding this year.  The Rees Jeffreys Road Fund relies entirely on its investments to support its work and, given the volatile and uncertain state of the markets, it has decided it is prudent to pause all further spending this year and concentrate on honouring its existing commitments.

Chairman David Tarrant commented “I hope everyone who is involved with the work of the Fund will understand this decision in these very difficult times.  I want to reassure you that this is just a pause and, I am in no doubt, the Fund will continue for many years yet. I have asked the Secretary to continue to work with potential applicants so that we will be prepared to restart the Fund’s work as soon as possible.” For more information on the revised arrangements please go to our our Funding page https://www.reesjeffreys.co.uk/contact-us/

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Leon Daniels as a new Trustee with immediate effect. Leon is recognised for his world-class experience, expertise and knowledge of public sector transport in the United Kingdom, USA, Europe and Far East.  He has an extensive background in streets management; bus transport; urban rail; cycling; road safety; river operations; the taxi and private hire industry; policing and enforcement; highway engineering and major project delivery. Until his retirement from Transport for London (TfL) in December 2017 Leon was managing director, Surface Transport at TfL, with responsibility for delivery of £3.5 billion of road, light rail and transport services.

Chairman of the Fund David Tarrant welcomed his appointment saying “Leon has a depth of business knowledge and a wealth of experience that will make him a significant addition to the Trustee team”.

The Fund’s Annual Report and Financial Statement for 2019 is now available at https://www.reesjeffreys.co.uk/annual-reports/.  An annual return for 2019 to the Charity Commission has also been completed.

A new report, granted funded by Rees Jeffreys, from the Independent Transport Commission (ITC) has been published which highlights major changes in travel behaviour across the bus market in England over the past decade. Against a backdrop of falling overall bus usage in spite of significant population growth, the report shows that the traditional core market for the bus has been shrinking. Today’s bus travel is shaped around a smaller number of higher-intensity users, with each passenger outside London making an additional 5% journeys than in 2009.

The researchers used National Travel Survey (NTS) data to explore what has been happening to bus travel demand in England since 2009, and investigates how the bus market has been changing in recent years.

For more detail click on the full report  The shape of changing bus demand in England.

Professor Stephen Glaister has stood down as a Trustee of the Fund after 40 years of unbroken service. Stephen was a recipient of a Rees Jeffreys Fellowship at the start of his long and distinguished career and with typical modesty in saying farewell to the Fund he said, “I want to thank the Fund and my fellow Trustees for making my career”. He went on to express his wish that the Fund continues its work in the same way as it has done during his time for many more years to come.

On behalf of the Trustees David Tarrant thanked Stephen for his his remarkable contribution over that long time. “His vast experience and unique blend of skills and knowledge will be sorely missed by his fellow Trustees. He had been a consistent supporter of the Fund undertaking several roles to which he always applied his wise counsel. I can safely say an involvement of such a consistent high quality over such a sustained period will never be repeated. Everyone involved with the Fund wishes Stephen well for the future.”

Rees Jeffreys is pleased to report the award of eight bursaries to students taking a full time Masters in transport in 2019/20.  For more details visit the Bursaries page.