Category: Sustainable Transport
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Remembering the father of transport planning
Paying tribute to the father of transport planning. A remarkable man who stopped flying or cruising because of his care for the environment. His last words, reflecting his approach to work and life, “it’s been a pleasure”. I had the honour last night to attend on behalf of the Chartered…
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Deafening silence is the sound of a thousand silent screams
You hear that? It’s the sound of thousands of silent screams. When news breaks and people who know a thing or two about the subject aren’t saying anything it’s the deafening silence that results. Sometimes we find ourselves between a rock and a hard place. The best we can do…
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Looking for the light in a dark age
This is a personal post in an awful week. Today my contribution to Local Transport Today’s 2025 ‘deep thinking’ initiative is published. I’m sorry to say fellow transport planners that it is a sobering take on our problems or predicament. It’s called ‘Looking for the light in a dark age’.…
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One year on – the reality of EV ownership
The journey into, and experience of, EV ownership and use. A year ago tomorrow we acquired our battery electric car. What’s it like from the inside looking out, having been on the outside looking in? In January 2024 we were experimenting with having gone down from two cars to one.…
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Mum and I address the CIHT Annual Luncheon
Mum and I had the pleasure of addressing the highways and transportation sector on Friday 13 December 2024. Keywords to watch out for: climate action; equality, diversity and inclusion; professionalism; heavy metal; long hair. View the video. It was one of the most memorable moments in my career to be…
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Ideas for the Integrated National Transport Strategy
💡Dear Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom, here are some ideas that you called for for your new Integrated National Transport Strategy for England. Would love to discuss! I’ve indulged myself today looking in detail at the DfT’s call for ideas and preparing in turn my thoughts. The extended article…
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Question Sixty Nine
Does ’69’ have meaning for you? I’m not talking about the sexual connotations. I’m talking about what is now lovingly referred to by those of us in the world of ‘decide and provide’ planning as Question Sixty Nine. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was published in 2012 and has…
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The aviation game
Juxtaposition. This lunchtime I was hit by two news items – Just Stop Oil targeting Heathrow Airport this morning, and the first big carrier to drop its climate goal. Why not play this game yourself? Find nine news items on a topic that has lots of question marks around it.…
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Emissions from aviation – bunker or bunkum?
Bunkers or bunkum? Once upon a time there was a flight of fancy that aviation only accounted for 1% of UK transport emissions. Then international aviation was included and this increased to 20%. New ‘bottom-up’ research suggests the figure is more like 60%. What the hell is going on? Academic…
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TAP-SWOT in a BOX – paper published
Remember TAP-SWOT in a Box? We are pleased to let you know that a paper on this serious game methodology for socialising Triple Access Planning has now been published. Triple Access Planning (TAP) sits in the ‘decide and provide’ paradigm. It is vision-led, access-focused and accommodates uncertainty. It is contrasted…
What the hell is going on? 