The surprising benefits of greener travel
The family and I have been on a journey towards to greener travel. About 18 months ago we traded in two old petrol vehicles, for one multi-purpose electric vehicle for…
Mice and elephants – what really matters in the decarbonisation of transport
At the end of this year I am going to retire from teaching and researching sustainable transport. Since I stopped flying in 2005 I haven’t been outside Western Europe, so…
We need direct action to overcome the government’s inaction on decarbonising transport
After Extinction Rebellion’s XR actions in 2019, where I was arrested, parliament declared a climate emergency and passed the net zero legislation. Climate change raced up the political agenda. I…
Can we stop 20 years of urbanisation from unravelling?
20 years ago, a little-noticed change in government policy helped to radically transform British cities, mainly for the better. Today we stand at another pivotal point, where many of those…
A better future for transport after the pandemic?
The government is worried that as the economy recovers this year, “the move away from public transport during the crisis will cause unmanageable levels of car traffic, slowing some areas…
Is opposing HS2 the best use of the left’s political energy?
Unlike most infrastructure projects, HS2 has potential ecological benefits, which means that environmentalists have to choose between two harmful options. Yet we cannot consider HS2 in the abstract: we must…
If the left is serious about tackling climate change, we need to back HS2
Sections of the UK’s terminally incoherent environmental movement have chosen High Speed 2 (HS2) as their latest object of opposition. The planned high-speed rail system was first proposed in 2009…
The green movement should support the HS2 protestors
Three weeks after contractors discovered a network of tunnels beneath the HS2 works in Euston, the evictions of the remaining protestors have begun. HS2 and high-speed rail in general have…
Climate conspiracy theorists in transport – and in government?
A third of Britain’s carbon emissions come from transport. Decarbonisation of transport is now the biggest environmental challenge we face – and progress has been glacially slow, so far. While…
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Strikes against low pay at Leeds-based bus manufacturer Optare to extend into 2021
Optare bus. Image credit via charles cars, CC BY On Monday 14th December, Unite announced that strike action at bus manufacturer Optare, which began in October 2020 over ‘broken promises’…