REPORTS

Adapting our railways to an uncertain future - creating the dynamic railway

White paper written by Martin Heffer, published by WSP
Hosted online by Transport Times
Sept 2020

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England's railways are facing the greatest period of change and uncertainty since their development. Our assumptions about how they are planned, delivered and used are being challenged in a way that would have been inconceivable only a few years ago.

This WSP white paper considers what's ahead of us, how assumptions are changing and the need for the creation of a more dynamic and future-ready railway.

HS2’s Eastern Arm

Report published and written by Greengauge 21
Hosted online by Transport Times
July 2020

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The Eastern Arm of HS2 is a critical part of an Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands but its role and function can be significantly strengthened says a new report by Greengauge 21.

The report from Greengauge 21 calls for clarity on the role and function of HS2's planned eastern arm.

Funding Transport

Written by David Bayliss, Stephen Glaister and Tony Travers
Hosted online by Transport Times
April 2020

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It will be a challenge to fund the ambitious spending committed in the 2020 Budget, especially in the light of the additional public spending in response to the Coronavirus. In this report Bayliss, Glaister and Travers seek politically and technically feasible measures that could be implemented within a few years.

The unintended consequences of freezing fuel duty

Written by Prof. David Begg and Claire Haigh for Greener Journeys
Hosted online by Transport Times
June 2018

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Increasing costs for road users is politically difficult. This is one of the reasons why we have had seven years and eight consecutive budgets where fuel duty has been frozen at a time of historically low oil prices and austerity.

The result of seven years of fuel duty freezes is that the price of fuel at the pump is 13% lower than it would otherwise have been. While the freeze has been welcomed by many road users and has undoubtedly been of benefit to people struggling on low incomes dependent on car travel, there have been some unintended consequences.

TACKLING POLLUTION AND CONGESTION

Written by Prof. David Begg and Claire Haigh for Greener Journeys
Hosted online by Transport Times
June 2017

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This report examines the Government's plans to tackle poor air quality. The key conclusion is that while it is essential to clean up diesel vehicles, it is also crucial that congestion and the continual decline in urban traffic speeds across the UK is tackled.

Congestion is not just a drag on the economy, it kills. Halving average city traffic speeds leads to a 50% increase in NOx emissions from larger vehicles.

The Factors Behind Scotland's Decline in Bus Patronage

Written by Prof. David Begg
Hosted online by Transport Times
June 2017

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There is a growing opinion that the decline in bus patronage in Scotland is down to bus deregulation and that the trend will not be reversed until franchising (regulation) is introduced..

Improving Air Quality in Towns and Cities

Written by Prof. David Begg. Commisioned by Greener Journeys. 
Hosted online by Transport Times
April 2017

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The Government will announce its new clean air strategy imminently. In response to the successful High Court challenge it will be tougher and geographically more comprehensive than previous policies. This is justified. The evidence is compelling about the harm to people's health and premature deaths from NOx emissions.

There is an optimistic and a pessimistic scenario for the future health and prosperity of our cities resulting from the introduction of Clean Air Zones (CAZs). The outcome depends on the framework set by Government and how CAZs are implemented by local authorities.

Putting Passengers at the Heart of Rolling Stock Design for High Speed 2

Written by David Fowler, Transport Times.
Commissioned by Siemens. 
April 2017

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A report based on a round table discussion that was held at the invitation of Siemens Rail Systems, organised and chaired by Transport Times. The purpose of the round table was to gather views from a range of transport industry leaders on putting the passenger at the centre of the design process for HS2 rolling stock.

Smart Ticketing for the Bus Industry

Written by David Fowler, Transport Times.
Commisioned by Masabi.
March 2017-

For this white paper, Transport Times and Masabi collaborated to investigate industry attitudes to smart ticketing. A survey was sent out to the Transport Times's 12,500 strong database, comprising
bus operators, transport planners, consultants in the private sector, local authority officers, and politicians and policymakers. The aim was to explore what they saw as the challenges facing the bus industry and its passengers and to what extent smart ticketing was seen as relevant to those challenges.

We sought to investigate attitudes to smart ticketing, including what respondents thought were the advantages of smart ticketing and what systems were preferred. For operators, the survey asked about their plans for smart ticketing, how far they had progressed.

The Impact of Congestion on Bus Passengers - Extended Version

Written by Professor David Begg, Transport Times.
Commissioned by Greener Journeys
September 2016

Traffic congestion is a disease which if left unchecked will destroy the bus sector. This is a dire and sensational prediction, but the evidence uncovered in this research leads to no other conclusion. On historical, current and future trends it's a question of when, not if. There is a distinct trend across our most congested urban conurbations in the UK of bus journey times rising by – on average – almost 1% per annum.

Over the last 50 years, bus journey times have increased by almost 50% in the more congested urban areas. Already in London some buses on some routes run at close to walking speed.

Everyone in industry, local government and Whitehall knows we have a problem. Until now it has not been properly quantified. This report makes clear the true extent to which congestion has been corrosive to the bus sector.

A 2050 Vision for London: What are the implications of driverless transport

Written by Professor David Begg, Transport Times.
Commissioned by Clear Channel.
July 2014

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If the railways transformed the way we travelled in the 19th century and the internal combustion engine in the 20th, then it is claimed that the revolution that will transform transport in the 21st century is autonomous vehicles. This report examines the merit of this claim with particular focus on the ramifications of driverless technology for London.

World Class? London's Transport: Progress and future challenges

Written by Professor David Begg, Transport Times.
Sponsored by Siemens.
March 2013

The focus of this report is on the progress that London's transport delivery agency, Transport for London (TfL), has made since it was formed in 2000 by the Greater London Authority Act 1999, and the future challenges it faces. It does not examine all aspects of transport in London, with the following modes excluded: London Tramlink, river services, the non-TfL rail network that serves London and aviation.

The report tries to examine the extent to which TfL's achievements are "world class", which has been more of a subjective exercise than anticipated given the lack, and often inadequacy, of international benchmarking data.

To identify where performance in London can justifiably be called world class, the report has used benchmarking data where available as well as testing the hypothesis with TfL stakeholders interviewed as part of this study. A survey was also conducted among 3,500 London transport professionals on the progress made in London's transport since 2000