Good day my good friend.

You know, its a bit quiet on the news front today (Thursday 21st July as I write this). I can confirm that the on-train Wi-Fi provided by East Midlands Railway is awful, and as their trains seem to like blocking any form of mobile phone signal then tethering to your phone is not an option either. One day, a train operator will get on train Wi-Fi right. Maybe.

If you have any suggestions for interesting news items or bits of research to include in this newsletter, you can email me.

You should also join a lot of like-minded people at Mobility Camp in Bristol in September. Get your tickets now. Seriously, they are starting to really sell now.

James

Shutting a border messes up the accessibility of places

Its not something that we often think about, but the presence of a national border can have serious implications for accessibility. Particularly in the weird examples of enclaves of other countries in different nations. And with borders shut during COVID-19, this gave academics the chance to study the impact in terms of accessibility that borders have. And these academics seized the opportunity to do just that.

The European Union is an interesting case study, whereby the borders within the Schengen Area are open by default. Shutting a border previously open has a serious impact on local economies, particularly those more distant from the traditional centre of the host country. And long distance trips can see a 95% reduction in accessibility. And being a resident of the UK, I can certainty attest to that.

The effects of Waze, Google Maps, and TomTom on your neighbourhood

You’ve probably seen the recent articles on how modern satnav systems are routing drivers away from congestion, and into residential streets and local neighbourhoods. In the UK at least, there is strong evidence that shows that there has been significant growth in traffic on minor roads (B roads, C roads, and unclassified roads), especially since 2013. Okay, but lets play devils advocate. After all, a growth in the use of the likes of Google Maps and Waze and a growth in traffic on residential roads does not necessarily imply causation.

Amazingly, there is not much research that demonstrably proves the theory that traffic is increasing on side roads because of SatNavs. There is evidence that shows that there is a good level of compliance by drivers with following the routes suggested by a primary information source, that could include Vehicle Messaging Signs as well as SatNavs. Some older research showed that young people have a generally favourable attitudes to SatNav technology. There was also some early research indicating that the technology had some impact on the efficiency of driving. But hardly overwhelming evidence of impact.

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 that you enjoy them.

• What to do about the present inflation (Lars P. Syll)

• What Does It Look Like when an Ecosystem Collapses? Kelp Can Show Us (Scientific American)

• Singapore pilots sustainable way to grow data centre capacity (The Straits Times)

• Baidu reveals the next-gen robotaxi that will be deployed throughout China (TechCrunch)

• Absorbing the Shock of the Energy Transition (Project Syndicate)

Something interesting

Firing live rounds over a road? Imagine having to do the Road Safety Assessment for that!!

If you do nothing else today, then do this

Sign up to Mobility Camp. Yes, I push this every day at the top of the email, but if you want to come you really should sign up sooner rather than later. We have an amazing day planned for 29th September in Bristol, and tickets are well on their way to selling out. Do not miss out.