Good day my good friend.
I can safely say that this newsletter will not contain any hot takes on a certain incident that took place in Hollywood at the weekend. Let’s just keep this simple, and get straight to the good stuff, shall we?
If you have any suggestions for interesting news items or bits of research to include in this newsletter, you can email me.
James
The travel patterns of those on the lowest incomes is more nuanced than the data suggests
Data from numerous travel surveys, including the UK’s own National Travel Survey, has consistently shown that those on lowest incomes make fewer trips overall, and make proportionately more trips by bus. Very useful for posts on Twitter, but as with things that are interesting, the detail is far more insightful.
This is perfectly shown by a new study of the travel habits of people in low income households in the Hanover region of Germany. The typologies of the different types of low income household are insightful, but what is amazing is the headlines. Simply put, if the family has social connections, or are able to plan, budget, or borrow effectively, their travel patterns are vastly different to their peers who cannot.
The future of digital cash matters for transport
Recently, I posted some articles about why it is important that we cater for the unbanked. And whilst I don’t think for a moment that we will be paying for our buses using Bitcoin (although I do recommend reading Satoshi Nakamoto’s original paper that set the basis for the blockchain, and consequently Bitcoin), how we pay for things is hardly fixed. And nor should we expect how we pay for transport to remain fixed.
The principle behind many new payment systems is based on the privacy given by a system we know extremely well: cash. There are a number of philosophical debates taking place in technology, currency, and economics circles about what the future of digital cash could be. Its worthwhile keeping a watching brief, and getting primed on the basics. Oh, and yes, some transport operators are already trialling new digital currencies.
Random things
These links are meant to make you think about the things that affect our world in transport, and not just think about transport itself. I hope they do just that.
Machine Learning Reimagines the Building Blocks of Computing (Quanta Magazine)
England has far too few empty homes. We should build more (Tom Forth)
World’s Longest Suspension Bridge Opens, Connecting Europe And Asia (IFLS)
The truth about the ‘great resignation’ – who changed jobs, where they went and why (The Conversation)
Something interesting
The Dutch, eh? They do transport rather well.
If you do nothing else today, then do this
Check out the UK’s Automotive Roadmap. Because whatever you think of cars, their impact is not just in terms of how we get around.
Mobility Matters 