Transport for London appoints Helen Murphy Director of Consulting

Transport for London (TfL) has announced the impending appointment of a new Director of Consulting. Helen Murphy will arrive at the organisation in June, having spent the past 12 years with international consultancy WSP.

The transport and infrastructure of London has come under intense scrutiny over the past few weeks. While the UK capital was recently identified as one of the world’s most mobility-friendly cities in a study by Arthur D. Little, with urban mobility options found to be well above average, a second poll orchestrated by climate pressure group Greenpeace which also took into account safety and air-quality found the city to be among the worst.

London is in the midst of a transportation overhaul under the incumbent Mayor Sadiq Khan, however. The roll-out of further plans to boost its public transport share to the 40% mark, along with cycling from 2% to 6%, and a number of large number of “peer-to-peer” car-sharing “platforms” are all aimed at transforming the city’s reputation.

As part of the Mayor’s strategy of “pursuing opportunities to generate revenues to reinvest in the transport network”, the TfL has confirmed the hire of expert Helen Murphy to head up its consulting wing. In her new role, Murphy will also lead efforts to export TfL’s expertise from its ticketing systems and innovative services to the international transport market. Early estimates of this tactic suggest that the TfL could bring in revenues in the tens of millions.

Murphy will leave her long-time employer WSP to take up the position. The Canadian business provides management and consultancy services to the built and natural environment, and she has most recently been working for them as an Operations Director, having first joined in 2006.

In the 12 years since, Murphy has also spent time as a Technical Director in Sustainable Transport, during which she was responsible for the identification of opportunities, co-ordination of skills and delivery of sustainable transport projects in the UK. Her time with WSP has almost been uninterrupted, besides a short period with Clearway Consulting in Abu Dhabi, where she provided strategic transport and organisational change advice to federal and local government in Jordan, Kuwait, UAE and KSA.

Related: Transport for London renews contract with Cushman & Wakefield.