Richard Owen

Fascinating insights into the community transport sector this morning at the Community Transport Association's presentation: 'Preview of the 2024 State of the Sector: Empowering Community Transport Operators'. This is presenting the data from the extensive Mapping England Survey. Some key challenges have emerged re. CT to transition to low carbon : ❌ 78% of CT operators use accessible minibuses making 55% of the fleet ❌ Three quarters of the vehicles purchased were diesel ❌ purchases of electric vehicles appears to have stalled ❌ less than 5% of vehicles purchased are 'green fuels' Pembrokeshire Association of Community Transport Organisations Community Transport Association

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Re-flow – Re-flow: The Conversation – Uncovering the Less-Understood Issues in Highways Episode 8 https://lnkd.in/eTXQ7swW

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We have updated our transport insights document for Q4 2023 Context: each quarter, the transport sub-section of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Policy & Insight Team publish a slide pack which seeks to summarise how transport and mobility is recovering / has recovered from the impacts of Covid-19. This includes metrics relating to strategic road usage, local road usage, footfall levels, air quality, car park usage and levels of active travel. Headlines from Q4 2023: Park & Ride passenger numbers overall continue to exceed 2019 levels. Vehicular flow recovery on the strategic road network continues to progress – and is now 6% ahead of 2019 levels. Multi-storey car park use is 11% below 2019 levels. This is the closest to pre-Covid since the Park Street facility closed for redevelopment in early 2022. Retail footfall in central Cambridge has dropped to 15% below pre-Covid levels, although weekends (-8%) are far closer to recovery than weekdays (-25%). https://lnkd.in/gN5A9Sbb

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🚄 Update on HS2 Hybrid Bill: Select Committee Instructions 🛤️ ▪️Next Tuesday (21st May), the Select Committee handling the High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Bill will receive new instructions, as published in today's Order Paper. This is happening due to the HS2 hybrid bill being repurposed for Northern Powerhouse Rail. Here's what this means: 🔻 Amendments to the Bill: The Committee will be instructed toremove certain provisions, specifically: ▪️The railway segment from Phase 2a of High Speed 2 south of Crewe to near Millington and Rostherne in Cheshire. ▪️The segment from Hoo Green in Cheshire to the West Coast Main Line at Bamfurlong, south of Wigan. 🔻 Petition Restrictions: ▪️The Committee will not consider petitions challenging the necessity of these railway segments. 🔻 Focus of the Bill: ▪️The Bill's focus will be on the high-speed railway from near Millington and Rostherne in Cheshire to Manchester Piccadilly Station, with no new stations except Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport. 🔻 Amendments by the Bill's Sponsor: ▪️The Committee can consider further amendments proposed by the Bill’s sponsor, as long as they align with the Bill's principle. These changes aim to streamline the process and ensure the NPR project's alignment with redefined objectives following the cancellation of HS2’s Northen Legs. Link to Order Papers⬇️ https://lnkd.in/e7mug6wa #HS2 #HighSpeedRail #UKInfrastructure #Transport #Manchester #Crewe #NorthernPowerhouseRail #OrderPaper #Westminster 🚆🏗️🌍

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A-Z of Transport Economics: T for TAG This week’s edition is a bit of a love letter to TAG, the Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom's Transport Analysis Guidance. For appraisal practitioners in the UK, this is the first point of call for all things modelling and appraisal related (not forgetting that Wales and Scotland also have their own versions of appraisal guidance, WelTAG and STAG respectively). TAG contains a comprehensive set of ‘Units’, which are documents each focusing on a separate area of appraisal – e.g. unit A3 deals with environmental appraisal, A4-3 deals with place-based analysis and so on. These units tackle a given topic in depth, outlining how they should be approached when it comes to producing a transport appraisal. It was great to see updated modelling units released recently, developed by Arup along with partners from AECOM and Systra – especially the new Agent-Based Modelling Unit M5-4, an area that our City Modelling Lab has been championing for years. There are also a range of spreadsheets and workbooks intended to assist with estimating impacts – the TAG Data Book contains loads of information about things like values of time, vehicle occupancy, journey purpose and much more, whilst the Active Mode Appraisal Toolkit can be used to appraise active travel schemes. The DfT’s Transport Appraisal and Strategic Modelling division makes refinements over time to keep it up to date and ensure that it captures the latest findings and research. A welcome introduction in the past couple of years has been the TAG Conference (aka ‘TAG Fest’) which includes a range of presentations on topical issues and hopefully will have the same longevity as Glastonbury! TAG is available from here and is very near the top of my bookmarks bar! https://lnkd.in/eN6qfyuF #WeAreArup #TransportEconomicsAtoZ #transporteconomics #TAG #TPSE #transportanalysisguidance

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📢 This. Is. Not. A. Drill. This is a call to climate action for members of the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT). We are delighted today to announce the launch of an important new initiative called ‘CIHT CLIMATES’. I can’t wait for the broad church of our members to step up and engage. Last night I was in London. At 8pm it was sweltering at 28C. I couldn’t imagine being in Delhi where it recently sailed close to 50C …. in 2024. Thanks to the billions of tonnes of CO2 each year still pouring into the atmosphere from human activity, global warming is continuing. New temperature records will be set and broken. Even when annual emissions peak, the CO2 already in the atmosphere will continue doing its work. So where is the world heading? Will global climate action be enough to bend the emissions curve? Or will we follow one of the possible paths depicted by the IPCC that leads towards a catastrophic 4C+ future? What does this mean for the transport sector and the organisations and individuals involved? By exploring possible futures, what insights can we bring back to inform our actions in the present? CIHT CLIMATES – ‘Changing Landscapes for Infrastructure and Mobility: Assessing Transport and Environment Scenarios' – will involve a series of 8 UK workshops from September to December 2024, followed by further online workshops in early 2025. They are open to CIHT members and free to attend – but you need to book a place to secure your spot. Don’t delay! Head to https://lnkd.in/eU2KuhtW The more diverse the attendance at workshops is, the better – whether or not you feel well-informed about climate change and climate action, whether or not you are seriously concerned about the future, whether you are in contracting or consulting, in planning or engineering, or love heavy metal or not – you would be very welcome at one of the workshops. Workshops are day-long allowing participants to fully engage in shared thinking and insights as they explore their views, travel forward as CIHT scouts to 2035, and home in on the priority actions for the different actors in our sector back here in 2024/25. The initiative will later include a survey to gather wider views on where we might be heading and what we should be doing to equip ourselves and our sector for what may be approaching. Please don’t pass this initiative by – spread the word and consider attending. I am looking forward to each and every workshop and can’t wait to see who comes along and what we learn from each other. Thank you Mott MacDonald for sponsoring CIHT CLIMATES and making possible the journey ahead we are about to embark on. P.S. If you're taking part please feel free to bring your authentic self and wear what you like. #climateaction Andrew Crudgington Annette Smith Janice J. Daniel Isichei Andrew Theobald Nikki Van Dijk Sharad D Kerai Swati Mittal Emily See Peter Molyneux Sue Percy Stephen Cragg Thomas Knight Greg Marsden Jillian Anable Kim Yates

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'Do we really value our passgengers?'. This is the question asked by our RSSB colleague, Anup Chalisey, in this feature in Rail Business Daily. Read more here https://brnw.ch/21wO02c

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Transport for Wales (TfW) has completed its future timetable review following a change in rail travel demands post-COVID. Following a comprehensive review of current rail demand and predicted future growth, TfW has developed a new long-term strategy to better align with the new travel habits and requirements of customers, whilst becoming a truly multimodal operator. As a result of the review some rail routes will see more services and longer trains with more seats, particularly during seasonal peaks. Other routes will see slightly different calling patterns better targeted to current needs. 

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Are you wanting to equip yourself with new knowledge and skills to contribute to changes ahead in the transport sector but wondering about how to fund taking steps to to do so? If so perhaps the new RJRF scheme "Ready for the Future" can help.... #continuingprofessionaldevelopment

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Today was an impromptu #VideoBlog (Vlog) day........ I spent a couple of hours this afternoon with our Network Rail 'Wales and Borders' #IntelligentInfrastructure team in Cardiff. And it was high time that the #SelfieStick and #WirelessMicrophones were put into action! We remotely monitor thousands of railway assets across our railway: Switch & Crossing layouts, track circuits, axle counters, power systems, air conditioning, coolers, points heating, flood risk sites, drainage systems, security systems, cables, track geometry, earthworks, structures and more....... Why do we do this? To keep the railway safer, more predictable, more reliable and to better understand our assets in order to optimise our asset inspection, maintenance and renewals programmes. It was good to meet the team, to chat through the progress being made, to see the latest assets being monitored and to talk through our next trials and future ideas. Nicola, our #ReliabilityImprovementSpecialist lead, and I decided to do an impromptu Video Blog and nailed it in a single take. Thanks to Nicola Morgan and the team for the visit today! Cheers Nick. PS: I have now completed the upload of my whole back catalogue of video blogs (100s of them) here: https://lnkd.in/eXaxy2Hh #RailwayFamily #IntelligentInfrastructure #ReliableRailway #TrackWorkerSafety #PredictAndPrevent #RiskBasedMaintenance #TheNicolaAndNickShow #OneTakeWonders #NetworkRailNick #LifeIsBetterInOrange

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So this could be quite interesting. Analysis I have done (if slightly rudimentary) seems to indicate that successful parking and traffic policy interventions need buy in across the board, so politically, media and sector. See Scotland for a good example of this and 20mph as a bad version. So this Bristol intervention is one to watch. It’s local so allows the rest of England to have a contrary opinion. Politically should be ok, Greens support it, Labour and the Lib Dems probably do too. But messaging worries me. Telling people to reconsider having a car or ‘just walk a bit further’ could easily alienate people. I would urge them to speak to councils in Scotland who have implemented pavement parking recently. They have some great example of how they have managed to implement it and keep residents onside. Oh and if anyone can tell me the mechanism Bristol will use to implement this please do, if successful seems it would negate the need for a centrally legislated order.

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Here is a case study of TfW's Climate Change Adaptation Plan. A year on from the plan's first publication, we are now working on our annual update providing progress against our strategic objectives stated within the plan. #climateadaptation #transport #climatechange

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Essential road safety actions for any government formed in UK.

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Are you ready to reimagine Bristol's mass transport system proposals? When you think of mass transit in Bristol, what comes to mind? Buses, Metrobus, and perhaps the tantalising idea of an Underground System. But let's face it, the current network lacks integration and falls short of meeting the needs of this vibrant city. In Enroute’s latest blog post - "Bristol Mass Transport: An Alternative Vision" – our new transport analyst, Jacob Cook, delves into and challenges the status quo. While we fully support existing Underground proposals, Enroute believe it's time to explore fresh perspectives on this politically sensitive issue. Curious to learn more? Dive into our blog to discover our recommendations and join the conversation on reshaping Bristol's transportation future. We welcome your feedback and comments. Read the full blog here: https://lnkd.in/e-KsW_-T Together, let's pave the way for a brighter, more accessible Bristol. #BristolMassTransport #TransportationRevolution #SustainableTransport #publictransportrevolution #publictransportinvestment

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Customer service week: The Future of Service #CSW24   Whilst I work in the Highways sector working on roads and motorways, improving safety, journey times and biodiversity, we can all relate to the impact roadworks can have on customers of which includes ourselves!   At Balfour Beatty we have an outstanding Customer Team working across the whole country trying to make things as easy as we can when it comes to roadworks, however, is this enough?   Over many years the use of technology has increased and plays a crucial role in how we communicate and plan our lives - this new technology can also help us shape the customer service scene to make it even better.   On the M25 junction 10, we’ve already started to look at AI and trend analysis. The use of a tool called Wordnerds. This tool tracks words on its platform and feeds back on the customers sentiments, which then allows the customer team to evaluate any key trends and shape the communications for the future. You can see how it works here.   Our colleagues in Connect Plus Services (CPS) are also using technology called Alchera to plan their future works better. Using advanced machine learning, it finds opportunities to optimise operations, detect incidents and "sweat the asset" for cost savings without compromising customer experience or safety. You can find out more here.   As we move towards the future, we’ll look to use far more technology to help us understand our customer needs and sentiments allowing us to plan and execute projects in a way that’ll minimise the impact on customers even more – here’s what to look out for: Customer service trends.   https://lnkd.in/eu8hAuKE

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The National Centre for Accessible Transport (ncat) has recently released a report titled, 'Understanding and identifying barriers to accessing transport'. The report highlights that 92% of disabled people in the UK face barriers with at least one mode of transport. Key issues include poorly designed infrastructure, unreliable step-free access, and insufficient staff assistance. These barriers result in reduced travel frequency and negative physical and mental health impacts. The report advocates for improved accessibility through design, regulations, and inclusive decision-making, with disabled individuals playing key roles. At Ardent, we're committed to breaking down barriers to accessible transport. This report emphasises the urgent need for solutions that make travel inclusive for all. We aim to create safer, more reliable journeys, empowering passengers and fostering independence. Let's collaborate for a future where no one is left behind. #TheArdentWay #SafetyandAccessibility #Inclusion #Innovation https://lnkd.in/e3sHcwnC

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Check out my article "Unlocking Smart Cities' Potential" on pages 39-40, what are your thoughts on how we can leverage the presence of ITS infrastructure to become a centrepiece of Smart City deployments?

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Did you know that each month we host a platform for Senior Transport Officers from our 9 local authorities and stakeholders like National Highways and Network Rail to share their updates on all things transport? This helps align local and national priorities for a better connected and reliable #transport network.

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Do you know of a historic railway item that should be preserved? As explained in this Rail Director article 👇 this is the job of the Railway Heritage Designation Advisory Board. They need help understanding what should be preserved once it is no longer required operationally. Recent examples include HST power cars, but they are interested in the whole range of potentially historic items. Please complete their short questionnaire to help them understand what is out there. https://rb.gy/w7hnda

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