Blog ARCHIVE
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 This will include all road schemes in National Highways' roads programme, many of which are unaffordable and outdated, trying to solve 20th century problems.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...
Plan for Drivers revelations
From active travel to backing drivers With Conservatives announcing a “Backing Drivers Bill”, it’s time to shed light on how ministers went from strong support of healthy travel to hindering it in a matter of months. While excerpts of these ministerial briefings have been quoted in the media, they have...
Rishi’s Road to Ruin
This Conservative Government seems determined to leave the country far worse than it found it and to tie the hands of the next Government as much as it can. This year we will, more than likely, have a general election and have our say at the ballot box. In the...
Labour’s rail reforms could get us back on track
Last week saw the Labour Party start to set out its stall for transport should it be elected as the next Government, when it published Get Britain Moving: Labour’s plan to fix Britain’s railways. This is quite a significant development as to date Labour has been very cautious about what...
Why bus cuts hit women hardest
Women use buses more than men in most countries around the world. The journeys they make tend to be more complex too. Many are non-work related, and are often done with children or older people. Yet transport planning and infrastructure largely overlooks these needs. In the UK, women make 30%...
Can Local Transport Plans get Britain moving?
Low Traffic Future is an alliance set up by Transport Action Network in 2022. It aims to promote the benefits of less motor traffic. In this post, Edward Lamb shares what the alliance achieved in 2023 and how you can get involved. Well, 2023 was an exciting year for...
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