Research by data analyst Tom Forth in 2019 concluded that Birmingham’s size — and therefore access to its labour market — effectively halved during rush hour because of poor bus services. His research concluded that this could explain most of Birmingham’s productivity gap with its European comparators.

I was looking for the linked piece the other day. It’s an illuminating read. I hope the claim that it’s being taken seriously in Westminster is true (and that this actually leads to investment in productive policies for once).