Blog ARCHIVE
The Great Train Robbery?
People are crying out for better transport choices across the country, whether it be better buses, reliable railways, or safer streets. They are also fed up with litter and potholes becoming an all too familiar sight. They want our roads and pavements kept in good order, as the polls keep...
True cost of traffic delays from building major roads
There is concern that National Highways is routinely underestimating the impact and cost of delays caused by the construction of new road schemes. It does this to skew the business case and secure approval. When planning “enhancement” works on its network, National Highways is obliged, as with any other major...
Net zero undermined by DfT
As over 40% of all UK’s emissions down to transport Transport remains a huge problem when it comes to sector emissions in the UK, despite its full impact being underestimated. Since 1990, carbon emissions for domestic transport have only fallen by 13%, showing how woeful the Department for Transport’s (DfT)...
A bumpy road ahead?
In a volatile world where things are changing fast and the economic outcome is uncertain, now is the time to invest in resilience and looking after what we’ve got. And when we say resilience, we don’t mean an excuse to add another lane or build another road to cope with...
Welsh Roads Review: Two years on
Two years ago on Valentine’s Day, Lee Waters, the Deputy Minister for Climate Change at the time, published the Welsh Roads Review and the Welsh Government’s response. It received widespread international attention and praise for adopting a forwarded thinking approach. There were, of course, some critics, but despite their claims,...
A year of two halves…
The start of 2024 was surrounded in a cloud of uncertainty, but also anticipation of a General Election. Would the Conservatives go early in May or hang on for as long as possible? In the end Rishi Sunak surprised everyone, including many in his own party, by holding the election...
Five tests for integrated transport
The announcement of the vision for an Integrated National Transport Strategy on 28 November 2024 marks the first time in decades that England has sought to join up different ways of getting about. This is a welcome move as the last government failed badly in this area1. However, just publishing...
Lower Thames Crossing decision
Delaying gives Louise Haigh the chance to think long term The Dartford Crossing is one of the most unreliable sections of our road network. Something needs to be done, but the solution is not the Lower Thames Crossing. By delaying the planning decision, we hope Louise Haigh will realise the...
Large road schemes in the Transport Infrastructure Review
On 30 July 2024, the Transport Secretary Louise Haigh announced a Transport Infrastructure Review. This will include all road schemes in National Highways' roads programme, many of which are unaffordable and outdated, trying to solve 20th century problems. The funding would be better used for vital rail freight, public transport...
Filling the holes
Rachel Reeves might have a huge hole in the country’s finances to plug, but road users are rightly concerned about the large number of potholes that need filling. The latest findings from the RAC’s annual survey shows that the majority of drivers are fed up with the state of Britain's...
Lower Thames Crossing Myths and Facts
(click on a Myth to take you to more detailed evidence below) MythsFactsIt is going aheadThe LTC does not have any funding secured, nor a financial model agreed. It is far from a done deal.It would relieve traffic at the Dartford Crossing by 20%Any reduction in traffic at Dartford would...
King’s Speech Analysis
Labour has hit the ground running since the election in July. Forty Bills were announced in the first Kings Speech of this Parliament, setting a challenging timetable. It will be interesting to see whether the new Government can keep up this pace and deliver. In terms of surface transport, there...
Bridge infill scandals
When British Rail was broken up for privatisation, its assets were dispersed amongst various players in the rail industry or flogged off, often with little thought to their wider value or importance. For some bizarre reason National Highways, a company solely focussed on maintaining and developing the strategic roads network,...
Healthy travel is good for wildlife
This blog is part of our healthy travel choices series. Previously, we looked at road safety and giving children more freedom. Here, we are focusing on how healthy travel helps wildlife. This is very timely given the Restore Nature Now march on 22 June in London and elsewhere around the...
Comparing Party Manifestos on Transport
In this blog, we try to look under the skin of each party’s manifesto to work out what they are really saying while comparing them where we can to the other parties. While there are some expected differences such as on road building, there is a surprising amount of commonality...
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