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Two in three journeys in London are being made by foot, cycle or public transport
As urban transport systems are embracing smart tech, aren’t we overlooking the potential of simpler, more familiar solutions to move people around? Dr Andy Cope reflects on this year’s Autonomy and Urban Mobility Summit in Paris.
There are moments of radical change, new technology arrives and suddenly the status quo crumbles. Transport and the way we travel is experiencing just such a moment. We need to make sure this future works for everyone, and creates the healthy streets and city we so desperately need.
Every day we read about progress in electrification, autonomous vehicles, and mobility as a service (MaaS). Unmanned ‘delivery bots’ roam our city streets, developers talk about advances with drone deliveries and even the movement of people by drone, and Virgin has just invested in ‘hyperloop’ technology – a mobility solution that uses electric propulsion and magnetic levitation through a low-pressure tube. This is all happening.
Enormously exciting ideas are taking shape that can change transport forever. But there are also challenges.
There is strong evidence of inequality stemming from the cost of and access to transport options. The current crop of future transport solutions will be expensive at first, and have the potential to create inequalities in the way people are able to travel. Some brave observers are confidently predicting the death of public transport, and that MaaS will fill the space. It is hard to comprehend such a scenario in the context of London, and even harder to understand how we can design inclusivity in to it.
Then there are huge questions around liabilities and responsibilities. Around the world city authorities are nervous. New mobility ‘solutions’ are turning up on their streets, and authorities don’t know how to respond. What governance arrangements are needed; what infrastructure requirements are there; what are the liability implications?
We can reasonably anticipate that conflicts will arise between the interests of the technology promoters, those interested to defray the responsibility and costs of maintenance of public space, together with those technologically-savvy parts of society, and on the other hand, city authorities that are concerned to retain ownership of their space, and those parts of community and society that are more concerned with sharing space.
There are also huge challenges around congestion, air quality, and public health. Fleet electrification and autonomous vehicles are still metal boxes and the developing approach of MaaS is dependent upon its constituent parts. Throw in energy supply and demand dynamics, regulation, resilience and land ownership and we can see the risk of a chaotic landscape emerging.
So, the extent to which these new technologies actually deal with the existing and future challenges of personal mobility and accessibility remain unclear.
But, of course, we do have transport solutions that can tackle congestion, air quality, public health and enhance social inclusion - walking and cycling. London is beginning to feel the benefit of a shift to these modes, with two in three journeys being made by foot, cycle or public transport.
We welcome innovation in transport but are not seduced by it. This is why Sustrans fully supports the Mayor’s plans to make walking and cycling the primary means of access in the city and will continue to act as a critical friend to the technological advances that are transforming the future of transport.
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Segregated cycle lanes make people feel safe on a bike and more likely to cycle, leading to better public health
This article was first published online by The Sunday Times on 26 November 2017.
Scotland’s air quality crisis cannot be solved by waiting for new technology to improve public health.
The government’s planned Low Emission Zones (LEZs) need to look not just at the type of vehicle in cities, but at how they can reduce the number of cars congesting cities and polluting our air.
Today, the majority of journeys in Scotland are made by car (67%) and, in areas where pollution exceeds legal limits, 80% of harmful nitrous oxide gas comes from transport.
Many people feel they have no choice but to travel by car for their every day journeys because of a lack of walking and cycling routes or because there isn’t any affordable public transport.
Even in urban areas where there are typically better public transport links, 41% of us still drive to work in Glasgow, and 44.5% in Edinburgh.
This sheer weight of traffic on our roads is a major cause of air pollution. Congested space in cities leads cars, buses, vans and good vehicles to sit in traffic, constantly polluting the air and costing money in wasted time and fuel.
Yet, government at every level has avoided action to address this. Instead, it has waited for a technological solution in order to avoid any difficult decisions. But is the technological solution working?
According to the International Council of Clean Transportation, engine efficiency in real world conditions has only improved 2% in the last five years. Electric or low carbon vehicles offer an end to exhaust emissions, but they are, at best, a partial fix for air pollution.
Electric vehicles do not take away the problem that 45% of harmful particulate matter is released by brakes and tyres, which the World Health Organisation say there is no safe level of exposure to.
In fact, particulate emission from this source is likely to worsen, due to the extra weight of electric vehicle batteries. There is the risk that, like diesel cars before, we are being sold a new technology that won’t solve the problem – or the obesity and physical inactivity crisis, which is estimated to cost Scotland as much as £4.6 billion each year.
Government needs to roll-out LEZs in a way that lowers the total number of vehicles in urban areas, rather than just focussing on the type of vehicle.
Cutting vehicle access to city centres creates a need for alternatives modes of transport, and the space created on our streets should be given to people on foot, to public space, and especially to segregated cycle lanes.
A recent survey of Edinburgh residents found 4 out of 5 wanted more space for segregated cycling, even at the expense of space for cars. Segregated cycle lanes make people feel safe on a bike and more likely to cycle, leading to better public health.
Reducing the dominance of cars won’t just create space for walking and cycling. Decreasing congestion would allow clean buses to complete journeys more quickly, and there are improvements to emissions for large vehicles not having to stop and start repeatedly in traffic.
The truth is that the health problems caused by cars and physical inactivity are widely known and accepted, but difficult conversations around reducing car access are still to begin. There are signs of the bravery and leadership necessary to deliver the towns and cities that people want, but action on air pollution cannot wait.
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We started our Raising The Standards Day four years ago
The year ahead promises to be incredibly exciting for delivering high quality cycling and walking infrastructure in Scotland.
Sustrans recognises the importance of bringing partners together from across the country to share learning and best practice which is why, four years ago, we started our Raising The Standards Day.
Packed with interactive workshops, presentations and cycle study tours, the day encourages partners and stakeholders who benefit from funding through our Community Links Programme, to look at infrastructure from all user perspectives.
In light of the Scottish Government’s recent commitment to double the budget for active travel, we have never had a better opportunity to raise the standards and ambition across Community Links and Community Links PLUS programmes.
This increase in funding is an opportunity to demonstrate what we can do for our communities when we design places and spaces that work for people, and not just vehicles.
There will be a lot of eyes on our sector over the next three years, and we want to give them something positive to talk about.
Working with our partners, it is essential that we deliver well planned projects that link communities to infrastructure through exemplary community engagement, and bring together strategic partnerships across sectors and organisations to maximise our reach and impact.
Many of the projects that we have already delivered in partnership through our infrastructure programmes, have and continue to influence key decision makers across Scotland.
This was brought home to me when chairing the 2017 Community Links PLUS panel. Roy Brannen, Chief Executive of Transport Scotland, said he was blown away by the wealth of information, the quality, and the amount of hard work that had gone into the five proposals.
As time will demonstrate all five proposals are obviously worth funding, but I’m also sure they had a large part to play in influencing the government to double the budget for active travel.
Sustrans’ work is not only making a difference at these lofty levels of influence. Crucially we’re also making a difference to peoples’ lives.
For example you only need to look at the River Lossie Cycle Path in Moray, which is bringing out the locals’ inner child and breathing life into a long forgotten mode of active travel. Or the resident of Milngavie who bought a bike after the construction of the Bear’s Way. Or the Doctor in Dalbeattie who started prescribing walking and cycling after we built a shared use path.
Our work enables healthier lifestyles and we must continue to do so, ensuring that we’re reaching the communities that need it the most.
Our recent ‘Transport Poverty in Scotland’ report highlighted that more than one million people in this country are at risk of transport poverty - where a lack of affordable and accessible transport is a barrier to accessing essential services and work.
We can’t take our eye off the ball, and we must focus on delivering high quality projects that will lead to an ‘active nation’.
And, working together with partners and the Scottish Government, we will continue to deliver ambitious, high quality projects that will help enable more people to walk and cycle for more of the journeys they make every day.
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