Barbara Castle and the 1968 Transport Act

Following Queensland Women's Week and International Women's Day celebrations last week, I wanted to take a moment to recognise one of my female heroes, Barbara Castle.  

Barbara was the first female Secretary of State for transport, and arguably one of the most prominent women politicians in the history of the UK Labour Party. When Barbara — a woman who didn't drive — was appointed to this position in a mostly male industry, she was met with a barrage of questions about her suitability for the job. She took this in her stride, quoted as saying, "Women often emerge as admirable administrators but not as people. You've got to be yourself. You've almost got to defy the public: that's me." 

She saw her task as turning transport infrastructure into a fully integrated system for everyday mobility. For her, this encompassed safety, the quality of everyday working-class life, improvement of the public network through planning, and the rescue of the railway network from the threat of near extinction. 

 With more than 8000 people dying on the roads in 1966, she pushed through the 1967 Road Safety Bill which established compulsory breath tests for motorists suspected of drink-driving, safety belts in cars, and a 70 mile per hour limit on the new motorway network. In 1968, Barbara's Transport Act received royal assent—the primary provisions making changes to the structure of nationally-owned bus companies and creating passenger transport authorities to take over public transport in large metropolitan areas. 

 You can learn more about Barbara and the 1968 Transport Act here: https://emarketing-au.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/84318/RQINcLC5kIoTHldBHsbtirK-fhf0gxZTW3PSxncAG4g/2561171.pdf