Good day my good friend.

Remember this time two years ago, when everyone was saying that hybrid working was the future? Turns out that this may not be the case, with an increasing number of companies going either fully in person, or fully working from home. As someone who worked from home all the time for a year or two before the pandemic hit, this does not shock me at all. The reality of hybrid working is often far more complicated than saying you will be in two days a week.

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. Sponsorship slots are also available.

James

What is going on with Deutsche Bahn?

Germany has been in the news a lot recently, with the apparent success of their 9EUR a month public transport pass. And German railways is currently at level of use that exceeds pre-COVID levels. But despite the number of riders being at an all time high, the excellent Pedestrian Observations blog notes one thing. Deutsche Bahn’s (DB’s) reliability is collapsing, especially on long distance services. With less than 60% of trains arriving within 5 minutes of schedule. What is going on?

This is not a new thing, either. Simply, the infrastructure and trains are ageing and becoming less reliable. DB seems to be getting into arguments about who should maintain the trains. It also wants to upgrade the tracks, but seems to have a somewhat strange record of not doing upgrades in the places that will boost reliability. It seems very reminiscent of the UK rail network of the early 2000s that was constantly breaking, and often fatally. Maybe big changes are on the horizon for DB?

Car free lifestyles are becoming…glamourous?

Its one thing when this is covered in The Guardian. But when Good Housekeeping Magazine covers families giving up car ownership, surely that is a sign that being car free is becoming glamorous? Where next? Cosmopolitan? GQ Magazine?

As with everything, the evidence is not as conclusive as the popular press narrative. There is some evidence that behavioural insights could be used to change the lifestyle framing, and consequently the attractiveness, of a car-free lifestyle. And that young people will consider forgoing car ownership to tackle climate change. But, I say with some confidence that car-free lifestyle magazine articles may not be a regular thing in the future quite yet.

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.

• Will the Chattooga River Be Loved to Death? (The Daily Yonder)

• Upgrading what might be the world’s oldest running Linux install (The Register)

• Safety and mobility choice through rural California (Transportation for America)

• The disregard for Welsh ports during and since Brexit is part and parcel of Wales’ wider marginalisation within the political economy of the UK (LSE British Politics and Policy)

• Reasons to be cheerful (Aeon)

Something interesting

Priority signalling for pedestrians and cyclists is one thing. But having a continuous green phase? Maybe we should do that here.

If you do nothing else today, then do this

SRITC are holding their annual Gathering at Boat of Garten in the lovely Cairngorms National Park. Anyone with even a passing interest in rural transport issues should be there, as its a 2 day rural transport fest. Get your tickets now.