Beyond the lockdown – Steering the right course for urban transport
As we enter week six of the lockdown, the country is now turning its attention to when and how it should begin to be released. If the lockdown period was difficult for transport authorities to respond to – then the start-up could be harder still. We don’t know when the phasing out of the lockdown […]
Protecting staff and passengers as we prepare for the recovery phase
As we enter week five of the lockdown, here’s my weekly take on how things look from the perspective of the UK’s urban transport authorities. Sharing approaches (both between our members and also through regular contact with the Confederation of Passenger Transport, the Rail Delivery Group and the Department for Transport) on how best to […]
#TransportAuthorities Together
I hope those whose jobs allowed it, got some rest over Easter. As we enter week four of the lockdown, here’s my weekly blog on how things look from the perspective of the UK’s urban transport authorities. Sharing approaches (both between our members and also through regular contact with the Confederation of Passenger Transport, the […]
Funding, sharing, recovery & legacy – a weekly blog post on urban transport and the COVID-19 crisis
Here are some Sunday morning reflections on where things stand for urban transport on the COVID-19 crisis as we prepare to begin another busy week. 1. We have done everything the Government has asked of us during the crisis – now we need the Government to stand behind us The Government’s overall strategy has been […]
Comfort or ‘capitalist realism’?
There are a lot of new trains – faster and with more seats. So that’s good. Some of the nose cones are sleek and the exterior styling is impressive. But it doesn’t seem like the same amount of thought has always been put into the design of train interiors and passenger comfort. Poor ride quality, […]
Coronavirus: Three concerns on the Government’s approach to urban transport
As we begin another busy week in our fight against the coronavirus, here are a few observations on where things stand for urban transport… From the perspective of our network of city region transport authorities, we are pleased with how we have organised ourselves– with a regular Board level telecon at least three times of […]
Six tests for PM’s London-style vision
Boris Johnson wants transport in the rest of the UK’s metro areas to be a lot more like London and a lot less so so. So here’s six early indicators to watch out for that show whether we are on course for this… or not. 1. All the political big names love buses these days […]
Turning declarations into decisive actions
On and on we hurtle deeper into the turbulent unknown. What would have been unthinkable five years ago in global and domestic politics is now our shared new normal. And in climate change what even a couple of years ago seemed a deferrable threat now feels uncomfortably and unavoidably close. So what can 2019 say […]
Another green transport world
The weather is losing some of its British reserve. Changing from introversion to extroversion. Records are now there to be broken – and regularly. The hottest, the wettest, the most extreme. As the weather intensifies we need to expand the capabilities of transport infrastructure and its supporting built environment to cope. We have a problem […]
What is the scope for boosting bus use?
“How much have we as an industry put into research and development in the last five years? We’re getting worse, not better, and we have to change that.” These were words from Brian Souter last year, emphasising that despite being the main form of public transport across the country, research and development in the bus […]