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Bridget Rosewell on Modelling Review Expert Panel
Volterra Senior Adviser Bridget Rosewell has contributed to the recent report by the Government Office for Science "Computational Modelling: Technological Futures". You can find the web version here.
Volterra in joint team to undertake City of London Traffic Reduction Study
The City of London Corporation has commissioned a joint team comprising transport & traffic specialists Norman Rourke Pryme, our consultancy and transport planning specialists Markides Associates to undertake the City of London Traffic Reduction Study. The City’s economic performance is vital, not just for London but for the UK, and motorised vehicle access has played a role in its success. Yet the design and management of the City of London’s streets helps the City maintain its position as a world-leading place to do business and as an internationally significant cultural destination. The recent ‘Bank on Safety’ experimental scheme at Bank junction (LINK) has demonstrated how carefully managed traffic reduction schemes can bring about significant air quality, safety and bus priority benefits. Ever-growing travel demand that stems from economic growth and new developments indicates that now is the right time for the City to reconsider its transport priorities, understand the extent to which the level of motorised traffic can be reduced, what potential benefits and issues might result from traffic reduction, and the mechanisms by which this can be successfully and sustainably achieved. Keith Forth of Norman Rourke Pryme said " In recent years, we have seen how increasingly difficult it is to introduce important safety, cycle, pedestrian, air quality and public realm schemes across central London when overall traffic volumes are not reducing at a fast enough pace to avoid potentially significant impact on traffic capacity, network resilience and accessibility and rat-running through quieter streets. This affects a range of issues – such as bus operations, the region’s commercial viability, road safety and possibly even emergency vehicle response times. This is an exciting opportunity for us to take a step back and assess what targets might be set in the City of London and how best to achieve them."
Paul Buchanan panellist at mileage-based road pricing debate
Against a backdrop of declining fuel duty revenue, last year’s Wolfson Prize reinvigorated the road pricing debate by asking “how can we pay for better, safer, more reliable roads in a way that is fair to road users and good for the economy and the environment?” Paul Buchanan has been invited to respond to the winning 'Miles Better' proposal before opening the panel debate to audience questions. Venue: Seminar room 4, University of Liverpool in London, 33 Finsbury Square, EC2A 1AG Arrive 18:00 for 18:30 start Visit the Transport Planning Society website for further details.
Buses and Disruptive Technology – UK Bus Summit, 8th February
It is a relatively new phrase “disruptive technology”, as if we had never experienced it before. It also seems to represent a rather negative view. Definitions of disruptive include “troublesome, rowdy, disorderly, unconventional”. In reality technological developments have been changing transport ever since the wheel. Buses were themselves the big “disruptor” in the 1920s & 30s, changing from a minor mode in 1920 to the dominant mode in 1950. The losers in that era were the railways who struggled to compete against more flexible, responsive and cheaper buses. The outcome of “disruptive technology” in transport terms is clearly a worsening in the competitive position of at least one mode of transport, but generally a significant improvement in accessibility for transport users overall. The important issues to think about are really: How big a change is it in terms of better, faster, cheaper journeys? How expensive is it to introduce/grow? Are there any other externalities – environmental, equality, safety etc Looking back to the latter part of the 19th century the invention of the bicycle changed transport not because it was particularly fast, but because it was cheap and therefore accessible for many. The introduction of air services in the early 1950s had a similar impact on total distance travelled, but that impact was restricted to a small minority of people able to afford the fares, pre low-cost airlines. How will disruptive technology change existing bus markets? Come along and find out at the Transport Times Bus Summit!
The impact of Brexit on industry
Following the successful publication of Brexit Britain: the trade challenge, Prospect has commissioned a report designed to educate and inform parliamentarians and industry representatives about the impact of Brexit on industry. Bridget Rosewell has contributed a piece to the report - Brexit Britain: the future of industry
Centre for Cities City Talks podcast: Bridget discusses infrastructure projects
If we build it, will they come? Andrew Carter talks to Bridget Rosewell and Henry Overman about the merits of big infrastructure projects Go to podcast
Paul Buchanan at LLT Local Transport Summit in Manchester
In its second year, the LLT Local Transport Summit is a gathering of senior level decision-makers and professional experts in local and regional transport initiated by Local Transport Today and supported by the Department for Transport. This year the Summit took place in Manchester on the 16th and 17th November. The intention is to provide a relaxed environment where those present discuss the fundamentals of good practice in determining transport strategy, setting priorities, linking transport objectives to wider social and economic ones and to embrace changing public and political values, technological capabilities and commercial models. Volterra Partner Paul Buchanan was invited to attend and give a "provocation" talk. Paul argued that the current system of transport appraisal, based almost entirely on time savings to users, was not fit for purpose. The system is static, it assumes no changes to land use, people continue to make the same trips, just a little bit faster. There was an issue raised in advance about why don't transport planners carry more weight with government. Paul's answered 'because we are measuring/forecasting the wrong things. If we focused on the hard economic outputs of new transport infrastructure ie new houses, new jobs then the politicians and decision makers would be very interested in what we have to say. HS2 has shown that even 30 mins off the journey from London to Manchester gets a big "so what " in reply from the public. But saying the response would be more jobs, more homes, increased productivity and wealth that would be the basis for a much more powerful argument'. Paul summed up saying 'It needs work. The current system has been in place for 50 years and it will be difficult to change, but we should be trying to change not protecting the status quo.'
What’s next for ‘Pricing for Prosperity’?
Our shortlisted Wolfson Economics Prize entry, and the thinking behind it continues to be of interest to various organisations. Paul Buchanan was recently approached by Transportation Professional for comment. A copy of the latest edition of the TP magazine can be viewed here.
