Insights

Pressure to deliver a credible plan for net zero will weigh heavily on whoever is in Number 10 on the 13th December. Heightened levels of public concern about climate change will be in even sharper focus next year when the UK hosts COP26. Let’s start by acknowledging the scale of the challenge. If we are…

The announcement by the Chancellor of an imminent National Bus Strategy is arguably the first strategic steer for bus policy since buses were deregulated over 30 years ago. It doesn’t come a moment too soon. Buses are responsible for three in every five journeys made by public transport, carrying millions of people to school and…

Rail is a mode of mass transport which fits perfectly into a wider concept of mobility characterised by an integration of multiple modes of transport, including public and private transport. In this context, rail could be the backbone for future mobility. Creating extra capacity on the railways can be challenging, however. Additional rail infrastructure is…

“Oh no, not another thought-piece on the ‘Future of Mobility’” you may be thinking; why all this talk of disruption and transformation when all we want is to make the trains run on time? Or reduce congestion on our roads? Or support cycling and walking with appropriate infrastructure? Or reduce air pollution in our cities?…

In my new book, Driving Change: Travel in the Twenty-First Century, I assess the likely impact on travel behaviour of new transport technologies, in particular electric vehicles, digital platforms, digital navigation and autonomous vehicles. Electric vehicles eliminate tailpipe emissions and so help improve urban air quality and mitigate global warming. Yet a change of propulsion…

Much is uncertain about the opportunities and challenges that will be presented by mobility in the future – but the choices that are made by politicians now on how to support effective public transport are sure to be critical no matter what is ahead. Technological change can come much faster or much slower than expected,…

The UK has committed to a target of net zero emissions by 2050. However, speculation of an early general election in the weekend’s papers was accompanied by speculation that fuel duty would be cut in an emergency budget next month. At a time when “hottest year” records are now broken as a matter of routine,…

The Transport Knowledge Hub has done great work in highlighting the disconnect between sustainable transport and the location of new development. Now campaigning group Transport for New Homes has come up with a new checklist which can help assess new housing proposals on what their impact on the transport system will be, and whether the…

For well in excess of 30 years we have understood the close relationship between the location of development and the way people travel. We have also been aware of the importance of “minimising the need to travel” and “increasing the use of sustainable modes of travel”. But look at the reality of what has been…

It is often claimed that new development provides an economic boost – but designed badly and it can simply lead to more car dependence and more congestion, which in turn impacts on the local environment, on air quality and on carbon emissions. So, can we have the development without these negative impacts? Transport planners wrestle…

Last week Parliament passed legislation to commit the UK to net zero emissions by 2050. For those of us who have been campaigning for Government to make climate change a much higher priority this was a big step forward. Whilst it could be argued that the target should be earlier than 2050, it nevertheless puts…

In strategic transport planning, discussions about the future are at the forefront of our minds. Infrastructure projects need to be designed to reflect how they will be used at the time of their completion. No one can doubt that, with the pace of change in technology, data, consumer expectations and our relationship with the environment,…