Good day my good friend.
Going to keep the introductions brief today, as I’m preparing for a trip tomorrow while doing this between meetings. Busy, busy. Still, this newsletter will give you your daily dose of transport goodness.
If you have any suggestions for interesting news items or bits of research to include in this newsletter, you can email me.
James
The shifting coolness of cars
This article in The Economist has kick started a further debate on whether cars are as culturally relevant as they once were. In other words – young people are putting off car ownership – why? There are all sorts of explainers as to why this has happened. If you want some actual evidence on why this is happening, I recommend reading this paper on the differences between developed and developing nations, this article on the role of money, and this article on the role of urbanisation and socio-economics.
As for the cultural role of the car, its far more nuanced than ‘kids just want the latest iPhone more than a car.’ Changes in political economy (young people just don’t value the car as a political statement), as well as the inevitable ‘cultural fraying’ of individual actions producing unexpected results can shift the cultural role of the car. Which has changed since the 1950s. Event then, there is nuance. For instance, when studying the mentions of products in R&B and Hip-Hop Music, cars were the most commonly mentioned. They may not be universally cool, but perhaps they are cool in a different way. I don’t know. The last time I was cool was around 1998, such is the envitable transition in life.
Vehicles as a decentralised energy storage solution
The idea that electric vehicles could become a decentralised energy source is one that has been explored for a long time. Put simply, parked electric cars can be used to store energy that is available on call, as well as having the demand shifted to non-peak times. Historic issues about having sufficient battery capacity have largely been overcome. And the co-ordination at a system level has been mapped out. While the final problem of shifting from stochastic supply predictions in the energy industry (i.e. making sure a power station is switched on at the right time to meet demand) to probabalistic predictions (being confident within a 95% probability that demand for energy will be turned off at a certain time) is ongoing.
Meanwhile, an important question is whether this is financially worth it for the different actors in the system. A new study of the potential for electric buses to sell excess energy to the grid has been undertaken. The conclusions? It could be a useful revenue source (though not exactly raking in the money), depending on the contracts that are in place to sell this energy. This is important for transport planners to consider. The energy market isn’t just shifting to renewables. How the whole system works is profoundly changing.
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.
Here’s What It Actually Means When Someone Flashes Their Headlights at You (Lifehacker)
We know where the next big earthquakes will happen — but not when (Vox)
The Political Economics of Green Transitions (Quarterly Journal of Economics)
A Semistructural Methodology for Policy Counterfactuals (Journal of Political Economy)
Why Everyone Feels Like They’re Faking It (New Yorker)
Something interesting
Paul and Rebecca Whitewick do a brilliant job in bringing transport history to life. Here, they explain how canals used balancing ponds to increase the distance between locks, without boats having to sail further. Its superbly geeky.
If you do nothing else today, then do this
Read this excellent study of Housing Supply around Rural Stations. It estimates that there is 4 years of housing supply within 800 metre distance of rural railway stations. I don’t completely agree with the method, but its a study that really makes you think. That’s no bad thing.
Mobility Matters 