What things are on the radar now that weren't when LTT launched in 1989?

Thirty years on – a long journey with many twists and turns, and plenty of mileage to do yet!

Today we published Local Transport Today's 800th issue! Since the first issue came out in April 1989, the worlds of transport and publishing have been constantly changing. 

It’s been 30 years of almost constant change and upheaval. Just take a look at the list of things that were not in existence when we began, but are almost taken for granted now. 

We’re sure we’ve missed some really important things out, and maybe some of the specific dates can be challenged, but what it all adds up to is a really different landscape to the one we were describing when LTT began in 1989. 

• Climate change/decarbonisation 

• Digital travel and transport information to users

• Big data

• Uber (started London 2012) and shared taxis

• Car sharing/car clubs

• Drones for deliveries (and maybe carrying people)

• Railtrack (1994) and Network Rail (2002)

• Virgin Trains (1997, ended 2019)

• Train operating companies and ATOC (1994)

• Eurostar (1994)

• HS1 (2007)

• HS2 (work in progress)

• Terminal 5 Heathrow (2008) and Third runway plans (ongoing)

• Smart phones (iPhone 2007)

• Smart motorways (M42 2006)

• Smart cities

• Google (1998)

• Extinction Rebellion (2019)

• Transport for London (2000)

• Mayor of London (2000)

• Local transport plans (2000)

• Traffic impact assessment

• The Transport Planning Society

• Webtag (preceded by COBA, NATA?and now TAG)

• The Commission for Integrated Transport (1998, abolished in 2010)

• Travel shaming 

• Mobility as a Service

• Traveline (2000)

• A massive growth in rail travel

• Peak car

• The Congestion Charge (2003)

• Local authority decriminalise parking enforcement (1993)

• The Highways Agency (1994, became Highways England 2015)

• Place-making and urban street management

• Alternative/electric fuels for cars (and buses)

• On-street e-charging

• Low emission zones (Greater London 2008)

• Ultra-low emission zone (2019)

• Statutory sub-national transport bodies 

• Speed cameras (M40 1991)

• Civil parking enforcement (1989)

• Elected city mayors (2012)

• Cycling commissioners

• E-bikes & adult scooters

• On-demand buses

• Red Routes (1989)

• 20mph zones

• School Streets and Play Streets

• Bus lane and moving traffic enforcement by local authorities

• ClientEarth

• 'Swampy' and organised road protests, including M3 Twyford Down (1992)

• The Cones Hotline (1992)

• ULTra PRT at Heathrow (2011)

• Nottingham Tramway (2004), Croydon Tramlink and other LRTs

• Cambridgeshire (2011) and Luton-Dunstable (2013) and other BRT projects

• Microsoft Outlook (1997)

• Hotmail – first general email service (1996, sold to Microsoft 1997)

• Mobile QR code ticketing on trains (2007)

• Dot Com boom (e.g. lastminute.com) (1998)

• Birmingham New Street station redevelopment (2015)

• Thameslink (1991)

• St Pancras International (2007)

• Crossrail (we’re still waiting)

• Boris bikes (2010) and London cycle networks (begun 2005)

• Oyster Card (2003) and contactless bank card subsequently (2014).

• London overground (2007)

• The cycling boom

• London Riverbus Services (1999)

• Driverless cars (and test vehicles, Milton Keynes 2015)

• Scottish Government and Welsh Assembly (1997)

• And a viral pandemic, a national lockdown, millions of workers furloughed, social distancing, bus capacity reduced by 75 per cent, railway services running mostly empty, a requirement for face masks for all travel on public transport... (2020)

Read more: 

Local Transport Today Magazine reaches issue 800

1989 – not a bad year to launch a transport magazine!