Good day my good friend.
A short and sweet introduction this week. Some days it is easier to find the words to write than others, and when you have been writing words elsewhere all day its even harder.
But some of the words I have prepared will be spoken at this week’s Fireside Chat on Serious Games in Transport. You can still sign up, and hear from myself, Glenn Lyons, Rebecca Posner, Maha Attia, Charles Musselwhite, and Clare Sheffield. It promises to be a great session tomorrow, so I hope to see you there!
If you have any suggestions for interesting news items or bits of research to include in this newsletter, you can email me.
James
Costing in externalities is a hard problem that we may need to crack for our planet’s sake
The latest issue of Local Transport Today leads with an article on the Chris Skidmore review into delivering net zero, and concerns that (again) the climate will be sacrificed at the alter of economic growth. The finest piece of economic analysis I have ever seen was the Stern Review, which concluded that not tackling climate change is economic insanity. But how do we apply such analysis to a simple transport scheme, to ensure that the economics of climate change are reflected in the economic analysis of the scheme.
The analysts among you are probably saying “look at the TAG Data Book you idiot.” Or implement some sort of carbon pricing. The challenge we face is that we don’t have the time to change our economic system to tackle climate change (despite what many may think). But we need to consider how to fairly cost externalities of transport schemes. Even well designed policy instruments to tackle externalities like pollution have negative feedback loops. Including unintended consequences (like free public transport attracting passengers from cycling and walking) becoming the main effect. Its a big problem that has challenged even leading economists. But its one we must overcome.
Lifecycle analysis of electric vehicles, again
What’s better than a bus? A bus powered by a battery, that’s what. And they are becoming more and more popular. Very good for tail pipe emissions, that is for sure. But, how do they perform environmentally over their lifetime. After all, if there is endless debate over the life cycle analysis of electric vehicles, why should electric buses not be subject to the same thing? If we are to compare, the general consensus is that over a lifetime, electric vehicles are better than vehicles with an internal combustion engine.
Well, a lifecycle analysis of electric buses has been done by Norwegian researchers. Comparing different battery electric buses, they conclude that wireless charging is better for the environment across a vehicles life, and there are few benefits to having a smaller battery. Spanish researchers have indicated that electric and hybrid buses can reduce bus lifecycle CO2 emissions by between 40% and 60%, but research from Queen’s University, Belfast indicates that this comes at a significant financial cost. The environmental case is proven, but the business case isn’t. 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.
Growing together: how city farms have nurtured a generation of urban kids (The Observer)
Does China Really Need That Much More Coal-Fired Electricity? (Sixth Tone)
45 Degrees North: Bread Crumbs In The Forest (The Daily Yonder)
Two Sides of Dignity (Commonweal Magazine)
Something interesting
Oh, nothing here. Just a street being a street, and not a place to store cars. It is wonderful to see.
If you do nothing else today, then do this
For a recent project, I had to understand how the UK High Street (for non-UK subscribers, this is the collective term for the main retail centre of a town or city) is recovering from COVID-19. The Centre for Cities’ High Street Recovery tool is brilliant for this, and extremely insightful. Apparently, Central London is really struggling to recover both people and spend.
Mobility Matters 