London Transport Awards 2018
Image Copyright Transport Times
Welcome to my blog and my website.
Since I retired from Transport for London in December 2017 I have been busy responding to approaches from organisations to secure my advice and help. As a result I have set up my own company and created a website to highlight what are my areas of expertise and experience.
From time to time in this blog I will want to talk about current issues which I hope will be of interest. On my travels this year to the Far East and Europe I have been reminded that cities the world over are facing similar problems and challenges. The growth of population and demand for transport at all times of the day and night; the demand for increased personal mobility; the need to improve air quality; the incredible speed of change brought about by technology and the difficulty in the regulations keeping up; the progress of autonomous vehicles; pressure of freight and logistics fuelled by internet shopping and very fast delivery promises, and many more. Hopefully we can share these issues here on this website.
Last week I was delighted to host the London Transport Awards on behalf of Transport Times. Before I announcing each of the awards I did give a short speech in which I highlighted the need for cities to have some overarching legislation for all transport where the public is carried for a payment. Modern innovators are working outside the traditional categories and they are frustrated as city authorities grapple with trying to licence them in an old-fashioned category. We clearly need something across all forms of transport - from large bus to rickshaw. I also highlighted that the industry was still not making fast enough progress on safety on our roads. In a year where worldwide civil aviation and UK rail have posted zero fatalities the annual death toll (some 124) plus those seriously injured (nearly 4000) are still too many and I urged transport authorities, operators and all who use our roads to put even more effort into training, design and management to make a real start towards the London Mayor’s Vision Zero target.
Please do check back in at this website and blog when you can!