Good day my good friend.

Occasionally, one does like to endulge in a bout of scenario planning. In this case, what would happen if humans managed to stick around for a million years? As this article suggests, HG Wells thought that we would evolve into something different. Science fiction suggests we will go to war with our own creation. All the while I ask whether we will still walk around. Will there be bikes? Will hyperloop finally be a thing? And how will parcels be delivered? Such is the life of a transport planner.

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

James

Splitting buses (without a huge chainsaw)

You know that saying about buses and 3 coming at once? Well, over the years there has been a lot of evidence collected on why this happens. It tends to happen when services are more regular, its often down to passenger boarding and alighting times, and traffic can play a role, but only in terms of making the preceding issues much worse. The challenge that has forever challenged bus operators and transport planners is how do you maintain an even headway of services when the real world has a nasty habit of not keeping to the timetable.

So what can be done? New technologies are giving rise to all sorts of possibilities. One is to monitor station or stop crowding and encourage passengers to spread themselves among arriving services. Another is to break up buses into modular units that connect and reconnect with each other at certain stops in order to maintain a consistent journey time. An…interesting idea. But it shows the complexity of what seems a simple problem.

Long commutes are bad, 28432424th edition

Its funny. You write a post about how the long commute is not a good thing for your life satisfaction, and suddenly some great research fills a knowledge gap you never knew existed. We know a lot about the impacts of long distance trips, especially commuting, on people’s well being. There is shown a strong correlation between commute distance and the amount of sick leave taken. Long distance commuters report higher stress, are more likely to seperate from their partners, and there are poorer health outcomes for women.

Recent research from China confirms many of these findings, but it adds something interesting. For those who switch from bike or walking to long distance commuting, their life satisfaction only decreases if there is noticable change in their experience of the built environment. While the conclusion of more investment in walking and cycling is sound, it appears this has another benefit: it makes life better for long distance commuters too.

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.

• The case for buying less — and how to actually do it (Vox)

• Planes, Trains and Automobiles at 35: An Oral History of One of the Most Beloved Road Movies Ever Made (Vanity Fair)

• US CO2 shortage worsened by contaminated gas from an extinct volcano (New Scientist)

• Does Germany’s electric motorway hold the key to decarbonising road freight? (New Civil Engineer)

• Moral mathematics (Aeon)

Something interesting

The brilliant Jay Foreman takes on the London Underground map, and how it is now a bit rubbish. Its certainly gotten a bit too complicated for my liking, and the threshold was passed when the Emirates Airline was added to it. But its still far better than 99% of public transport information out there.

If you do nothing else today, then do this

This latest research by CREDS looks at Fuel and Transport Poverty in the energy transition in the UK. The transport solutions are a bit obvious, but the analysis is great.