Good day my good friend.
Not much for me to say today. Which is no bad thing for you. Let’s get to it.
If you have any suggestions for interesting news items or bits of research to include in this newsletter, you can email me.
James
The Versemont may be coming to the UK
On a day where the UK Department for Transport announced that it was in the mood for cutting schemes, one idea that is doing the rounds in Great Minster House is exploring other ways to finance transport schemes. The Workplace Parking Levy and Road User Charging are already on the statute books, as well as the requirement to re-invest ‘profits’ from parking. But a new approach will be trialled in Cambridgeshire that is getting the interest of DfT – a mayoral precept ringfenced for buses.
It is estimated that this will raise £3.6 million for supporting services in 2023/24 at a cost of £12 per household. While raising Council Tax in a time of a cost of living crisis is…challenging, it shows a willingness for Councils to become more interventionist to improve services. For a long time, transport planners have urged the use of a Versemont-style tax (now the Versement mobilité) to fund services. Now, it is happening out of necessity within the current rules.
The locker room
There has been a lot of buzz in transport policy circles in recent years about parcel lockers, and their potential role as part consolidation hubs and being used to reduce freight deliveries. This has been based off previous research into the impact of consolidation centres for urban freight, which are good for reducing the amount of vehicles on the road. Parcel lockers are also often cited as being a key part of mobility hubs.
But what is their actual impact on trips? Now, we have a study that looked at that, and if you want to reduce parcel deliveries, the results are good. Using a residential complex as a proxy, delays were cut, and dwell time at the curb was cut by a third. That’s very promising indeed. And something worthy of further study.
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.
China and climate change (South China Morning Post)
Collapse and Recovery: How the COVID-19 Pandemic Eroded Human Capital and What to Do about It (World Bank)
UN forges historic deal to protect ocean life: what researchers think (Nature)
Political Risks for Railroads (Rational Walk)
Something interesting
This video on the growth of SUVs is both informative and depressing.
If you do nothing else today, then do this
Read this paper, mentioned in a presentation by Jillian Anable, on the discourses of climate delay. Essential reading if you want to do something about climate change.
Mobility Matters 