Getting back on track
Andrew Forster
Sadiq Khan made some candid comments about the DfT’s urban transport policies to an invited audience in London this week. The seminar had been called to enable the Department to explain its new Urban Challenge Fund... continue
What if the Tories win the next election?
Phil Goodwin
The DfT should explain which parts of WebTAG are non-negotiable
Tom Van Vuren, Mott MacDonald
What worries me is that we seem to have lost sight of the guiding philosophy that prevailed when I started work in the mid-eighties, and that was at the time embedded in the Traffic Appraisal Manual, the forerunner of WebTAG and DMRB: ‘Use the simplest method of traffic estimation consistent with the complexity of the problem.’ This of course leads us back immediately to the question of fitness for purpose, that the [Coombe] report... continue
WebTAG guidance wasn’t designed for strategic models
Paul Emmerson, TRL
The Review of the regional and local strategic modelling and appraisal capability by Denvil Coombe for the DfT has no doubt created a lot of discussion in the transport modelling community – consultants and clients. As one who has been involved in both creating some of the models and auditing others, as well as in the development of the WebTAG guidance itself, much of what is said is not new although the ‘poor’ assessment of... continue
The strict adherence to guidance could stifle modelling innovation
Andrew Daly, Senior fellow, RAND Europe
The very thorough study led by Denvil Coombe prompts us once again to consider the role of the DfT’s WebTAG transport appraisal guidance in travel demand modelling. The production and maintenance of WebTAG are highly laudable initiatives by the Department, which should help modellers to improve their work significantly. However, it is important to understand that there are unavoidable limitations in the quality of the information on... continue
Decision-makers need to appreciate the uncertainty in model forecasts
Paul Hanson, Regional Director, Transportation, AECOM
Transport interventions have a range of benefits and impacts. Appraisal is the process of weighing up the pros and cons to seek the best outcome. There are many examples where overly simplistic, blinkered thinking about the effects have resulted in poor decisions. There can be few rational professionals who would consider it an efficient use of resources simply to implement changes without effective appraisal. Equally, understanding the... continue
The mayor’s bus service cuts threaten to undo the capital’s mode shift success story
Jenny Jones
The story of London’s transport systems over the last decade has undoubtedly been an overall success; this is particularly true of the roads, where traffic reduction and other statistics point to a modal shift towards buses. Compared to pre-2000, there’s been a decline in the share of people entering central London by car, whilst numbers using buses have risen by a comparable amount. Increased reliability is evidenced in reduced... continue
Real-world experience shows the benefits of cycle helmets
Tim Rigley, Trowbridge
I read with interest the two letters in LTT concerning the wearing of cycle helmets. As a frequent cyclist, I now need to make a decision as to... continue
We need lower speed limits everywhere – not just in Luton
Richard Evans, Merton Cycling Campaign, London
May I be the first to congratulate the Highways Agency and Luton Borough Council for waking up to the fact that lower speed limits can help cut pollution levels on motorways. And just a mere 14 years after Stephen Plowden... continue
Good bike parking is a fig leaf at out-of-town developments
Dave Holladay, Glasgow
Transport minister Sadiq Khan’s announcement that every public building will have cycle parking or cycle parking within easy reach conveys a vision of cycling bliss but for one very serious issue which still drives up... continue
Concessionary travel policy is a huge headache for operators
Peter Shipp, Chairman & chief executive, EYMS Group Ltd
I was very disappointed, but not particularly surprised, to see James Dark referring to concessionary fares as a subsidy to the bus industry. Regrettably he is not the only one to take this view. The Office of Fair... continue
Minister’s cycle spending claim was full of flaws
Dave du Feu, Spokes, the Lothian Cycle Campaign, Edinburgh
Philip Loy refers to the evidence of Scottish transport minister Stewart Stevenson to the Scottish Parliament’s transport, infrastructure and climate change committee, in which the minister found “no identifiable... continue
Save lives – make 20mph the default urban speed limit
Rod King, Lymm, Cheshire
The recent DfT report on pedestrian road casualties misses a worrying trend that since 2004 road fatalities in the UK have become increasingly skewed towards pedestrians (‘Pedestrian KSIs fall 68% in 30 years’... continue
Step-by-step, TfL is making Oxford Street a better place
Clare Kavanagh, Director of performance TfL – London Buses
I’d appreciate the opportunity to respond to the letters about Oxford Street in the last issue from Keith Ballinger and Nigel King. Around 220,000 people every day travel to or from the Oxford Street area by bus,... continue
Ultra light rail offers a solution to Oxford Street’s bus jams
Chris Barker, Secretary, London Group, Campaign for Better Transport
Although there are many measures which can be taken to improve the street environment of London’s Oxford Street (rephasing traffic lights, widening pavements, discouraging taxis, reducing the number of buses) it seems... continue
Technology should dictate the pace of shift from fossil fuels
Paul Biggs, Association of British Drivers. Environment spokesman, Tamworth
I find myself agreeing with much of what councillor Stephen Psallidas says in his letter ‘Forget CO2 debate – ‘peak oil’ demands a major policy shift’. Unfortunately he rather spoils his message... continue
Climate fears are surviving on artificial life support
Bernard Abrams, Cheltenham
Liberal Democrat councillor Stephen Psallidas (ibid) suggests that this country should decarbonise its economy. As there has not been a cost-benefit analysis for this that is both complete and credible, on what basis is the... continue
Let’s not get carried away by the electric car ‘revolution’
Lyn Martin, Murrumbateman NSW 2582, Australia
As an observer from the Antipodes, I am a great fan of LTT. I was particularly impressed with the inclusion of the letter from Paul Withrington on that often-emotive topic of electric cars. As with all areas of transport, a... continue
Kent’s high-speed rail stations offer lessons for HS2
Mike Crowhurst, Chairman, Railfuture, Leeds
I sympathise with Roger Davies’ comments about stations on High Speed 1. To be fair, Ashford International would not be a white elephant if Eurostar would stop more of their trains there! It is in exactly the right... continue
Does Greengauge know where Heathrow Airport is?!
Peter Fuller, Morpeth
Greengauge 21 makes a persuasive case for serving Heathrow directly by high-speed rail and avoiding an interchange. But in a map in their report they make the case easier by moving Heathrow from its current site to a new... continue
Our electoral system doesn’t give everyone a voice
Calum Alexander, Maidstone, Kent
In your ‘In passing’ column you posed readers the philosophical question of who represents public opinion more accurately, elected members or those who chose to respond to a consultation procedure. To answer the... continue
The DfT should clarify the status of modelling guidance
We refer to your article on the Regional and local strategic modelling and appraisal capability report commissioned by the DfT. This suggests that many models are not fit for purpose. Our response is based on a careful... continue
