Mobility Matters Daily #66
Your daily dose of what matters in the world of transport
We may be thinking about the impacts of COVID on employment land all wrong
The common narrative in transport planning circles is that home working will become more popular in some professions post-COVID, or at least hybrid working. And as a result, there will be less demand for office space. Sounds logical. But what if post-COVID, demand for employment space actually increases in the future?
Think of this another way. What if everyone in a company requests to come in on the same day each week, and spends time working together while they are there? Many offices (particularly in local government) have already downsized to the point where some home working is assumed. But in this scenario, this may lead to more employment space being needed. This is notwithstanding new office concepts being considered that will impact on office capacity, and subsequently travel demand.
Google’s plan for the future of work | What will the office of the future look like?
Could electrification of the transport network make pollution worse in Africa?
Notwithstanding the whole life pollution impacts of electric vehicles, or how polluting the electricity source is, due to a lack of tailpipe emissions electric vehicles are seen as less polluting than their fossil-fuel powered counterparts. But this ignores how automotive supply chains work, including the second hand market.
Plans to electrify the vehicle fleet in developed nations could result in a mass dumping of fossil fuel powered vehicles into developing markets, notably Africa. African transport systems arguably need electrification more urgently than developed nations, and so strong regulation is needed to ensure an unintended consequence of electrification does not come to pass.
Africa should develop its own electric vehicle agenda | A report into the regulation of the used vehicle market in Africa
Wheelchair accessibility is still a battle being fought, and its not right
It has been 26 years since the Disability Discrimination Act passed into law in the UK. Whilst the experience of disabled persons is, i am reliably informed, a different world compared to 1995, the progress in transport has been glacial since that point. For instance, in the Republic of Ireland, the National Transport Authority estimates it will take €328 million minimum to make the public transport network accessible.
All over the world, disabled persons are still having to fight for scraps to make transport networks accessible. Yes, its hard work, and its a lot to do. But come on, we have had 26 years to do it. Lets pull our fingers out, for Pete’s sake.
Making public transport in Ireland accessible will cost €328 million | House of Commons report for 2019 on how accessible Britain’s railway stations are | World Bank Report from 2013 on improving accessibility for people with limited mobility