02/11/2021 in Latest news
A new report from the University of Hertfordshire spotlights several schemes that could make an immediate impact to reduce car dependancy outside of cities.
Led by Smart Transport chair Professor Stephen Joseph, The Future of Transport Outside Cities report highlights how cities dominate research and policy discussions about transport, even though ‘Shire’ counties are responsible for 74% of the UK’s transport emissions.
Despite a reduction in car use during the pandemic, the transport sector remained the largest emitter of carbon emissions in 2020 (at 29.8%). Therefore, transport is key to any strategy aiming to combat climate change.
Both dressed in black. One has the potential to kill. – Edward Lamb Twitter
Both dressed in black. One has the potential to kill. But rather than attack the source of the problem we have decided to label children as ‘vulnerable road users’ and shame them into wearing bright clothes that we know do not work. Sad
‘Rapid review’ of transport futures
03 November 2021
A survey seeking to capture a ‘snapshot’ of how transport professionals feel about the future is being carried out by the University of the West of England.
Researchers are seeking the views of professionals, along with volunteers and campaigners in the sector, on how they think transport will change between now and 2035.
Steve Melia, lecturer in transport and planning at the University of the West of England, said: “This is a rapid review at a time of great uncertainty for transport. What difference will climate change and decarbonisation make?
“Will the changes we saw during the lockdowns endure or evaporate? What place will the car have in future patterns of movement?
“This survey aims to take a snapshot and to analyse the relationships between what we believe and what we expect to happen.”
The deadline for feedback is 15 November. https://uwe.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2h2pdmVGybjA53o
Steve.melia@uwe.ac.uk
How the crossover utility vehicle made us comfortable with SUVs – Vox
In the aughts, there was a backlash against the SUV. Then came the crossover vehicle.
Marina BolotnikovaMar 11, 2020
As a kid, I was furious about SUVs with a passion that now seems embarrassing, telling all the suburban adults I knew that their ugly, gas-guzzling tanks were going to end life on Earth. I didn’t come up with this idea myself: Anti-SUV discourse was everywhere. Mainstream organizations like the Sierra Club — which famously renamed the huge Ford Excursion “Ford Valdez” after the catastrophic Exxon Valdez oil spill — helped create a cultural backlash against these hulking cars. A TV ad campaign run by the Evangelical Environmental Network — “What Would Jesus Drive?” — urged Midwesterners to rethink their addiction to big cars. New York Times reporter Keith Bradsher’s 2002 polemic High and Mighty sneered at the rise of “behemoths that guzzle gas, spew pollution, and endanger their occupants and other motorists.”
Time to use our roads to reduce our carbon emissions – West Country Bylines
The M25 is an obvious target for campaigners. Like many roads, it is frequently congested in the same areas at the same times. Completed in 1986, within six years it was carrying more than twice the volume of traffic for which it was designed!
Transport is the largest carbon-emitting sector in the UK. This isn’t surprising when you consider that 62 per cent of car journeys are ‘single occupancy’. This doesn’t take into account taxi and private hire journeys, which are worse than single occupancy. Taking a one or two tonne vehicle with you for every trip is going to use a massive amount of energy that could easily be put to better use: heating homes, for example
How ExxonMobil Captured COP26 – Byline Times
The Government, which is hosting the COP26 UN climate summit in Glasgow, is being formally advised by Texas fossil fuel giant ExxonMobil – one of the world’s biggest funders of climate science denial – according to Government documents examined exclusively by Byline Times.
Will electric vehicles make our roads green and clean? – Intelligence Squared
Tuesday November 16 2021
Transport emissions account for almost a third of global carbon dioxide emissions – and while other sectors such as the energy industry have reduced their emissions over the past three decades, transport emissions are growing. It is the EU’s second most polluting sector and the United Kingdom’s biggest single producer of carbon dioxide, with cars and vans making up the vast majority of these emissions. If we are to meet our net zero targets by 2050, as over 130 countries have committed to do, then something needs to be done about these gas-guzzling monsters.
Biden’s $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill Hastens Beacon Wearing For Bicyclists And Pedestrians To Enable Detection By Connected Cars I forbes.com
Carlton Reid 7/11/21
Beaconization—or equipping bicycles and pedestrians with transponder beacons that can be spotted automatically by sensor-equipped cars—has been given the official seal of approval in the U.S. after the House of Representatives passed a $1+ trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill on November 5, sending it to President Biden’s desk.
The measure passed in a 228-206 vote, with support from thirteen Republicans. Six Democrats voted against it, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Biden could sign the bill within days.
The Government still isn’t on course to meet its 2025 cycling targets. So what now? | Cycling UK
Roger Geffen Thursday, 28 October 2021
The Government’s recent Transport Decarbonisation Plan, Net Zero Review and Spending Review have failed to yield any new funding for cycling and walking. Cycling UK’s policy director, Roger Geffen explains what needs to happen next, if the Government is to meet its 2025 and 2030 targets for cycling and walking
Pavement parking options being considered by ministers – TransportXtra
DfT tells ADEPT it is reviewing pavement parking ban, TRO reform and revised network management guidance
01 November 2021
Two possible approaches to implementing a ban on pavement parking in England are being considered by the Department for Transport (DfT).
The government has been analysing the results of a consultation on a ban on pavement parking with the aim of making streets safer for vulnerable groups including the disabled and children as well as parents with pushchairs.
Last month Sally Gibbons, DfT’s head of traffic signs and street design policy, was speaking to members of the local authority…