Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, and Andy Street CBE, the Mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority, have both welcomed a new knowledge-sharing agreement between London and the West Midlands.

From dealing with major incidents to limiting the disruption of large-scale transport projects and reducing congestion, the agreement will enable West Midlands and London to learn from each other to improve not only their individual regions, but also the rest of the UK.

The Memorandum of Understanding, which was signed by Transport for London (TfL) and Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), is the first time two devolved local authorities have made a commitment to share best practice and work towards common goals.

At an event held this morning in London’s Traffic Control Centre, both Mayors met staff who monitor the capital’s road network 24 hours a day. As well as seeing how the capital uses state-of-the-art traffic signal technology to monitor and reduce congestion, the Mayors also saw how the control centre is used to coordinate major sporting events, such as the London Marathon and RideLondon, ensuring swift responses to any incidents or congestion.

With Coventry already planning a range of exciting outdoor activities as the UK City of Culture 2021 and Birmingham hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2022, as well as being in talks to host the UK round of the Formula-E, it is hoped that working together to share knowledge and experience on developing customer information will ensure all these events are as successful as the London 2012 Games.

The agreement covers a range of areas in which both organisations believe they could benefit from working together. These include:
•Sharing information on how to address and manage any potential impacts around the delivery of major transport projects, including how to make transport networks resilient while key elements are delivered;
•Working with local businesses and freight organisations to help consolidate and retime freight deliveries to reduce congestion and improve air quality – particularly around construction projects;
•Analysis of road and public transport flows between West Midlands and London to improve connectivity and allow for better traffic and congestion modelling between the cities;
•Monitoring developments in “Mobility as a Service”, as well as a coordinated response towards new disruptive technologies in the future;
•Working together to improve open-data for developers through online portals such as TfL’s API platform and identifying new ways to collect key transport data to increase productivity