Good day my good friend.
After a weekend of doing very little apart from playing Horizon Forbidden West, I have definitely got a case of something that Winnie the Pooh has quite a lot of. I also can’t stop thinking about the value of Chargers and Bristlebacks as modes of transport. Such is the life of transport planners.
If you have any suggestions for interesting news items or bits of research to include in this newsletter, you can email me.
For those of you coming to Mobility Camp in Bristol on 29th September, I will see you there. Tickets are sold out, but if you are still interested you can put your name on a reserve list. Or, sponsorship slots are still available.
James
Do fare caps work? It depends
Just before leaving office, the Boris Johnson government announced that next year, between January and March, UK bus fares will be capped at £2 for a single fare. The subject of fares policy on public transport is one that is hotly debated. Particularly in relation to free public transport. And while it is easy to compare this initiative to the ones in Spain and in Germany, it all boils down to what you think success looks like. Besides, in this case we are looking at a fare cap, not free fares.
The impacts of capping fares is highly variable because of an obvious thing: different places cap fares differently. There is some evidence that fare caps can be positive in terms of equity. This appears to be because those in more vulnerable economic circumstances are more likely to buy individual fares. Their success in encouraging travel by public transport depends on the degree of fare integration across public transport modes. However, greater complexity also means greater targetting towards the needs of individual groups, which is less likely under a price cap. As with everything, what sounds good on the surface is much more complex that you may imagine.
The evidence shows it…railways did lead to population growth
In the UK, there are long-held legends of the economic history behind British railways. The emergence of railway towns such as Swindon and Crewe (a feature not uncommon elsewhere) as well as the enduring impact of Metroland on the outskirts of London during the Victorian period have given rise to this. There was evidence that these new railways did result in population growth, but it was not clear as to whether this was greater than background population growth at the time. Until now.
This research article in the Journal of Urban Economics explored just this question. And it turns out that having a railway made a huge difference. If you had a station in your area, not only was the population higher, but the male population shifted out of agriculture at a much higher rate. Railways at the time were somewhat unqiue, moving places from poorly connected to very well connected overnight, but this is more evidence that investing in infrastructure means changing your city.
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.
Dirty water, drying wells: Central Californians shoulder drought’s inequities (Los Angeles Times)
Fresh round of strikes in the UK affects freight (Railfreight)
Dead of Winter (Doomberg)
‘Worst Yet to Come’ as Global Civil Unrest Index Hits All-Time High (Common Dreams)
Something interesting
Finally, someone has done it. This video from Practical Engineering shows that construction workers don’t just stand around, as well as other myths
If you do nothing else today, then do this
Have you ever wondered the level of diversions that are needed to hold a street Grand Prix? This excellent post by Land Transport Guru shows the amount of diversions to public transport there will be for the Singapore Grand Prix.
Mobility Matters 