Thank you, driver - MM#591
Good day my good friend.
A bit of a heads up for Monday. As I mentioned, I will not be writing anything as its a public holiday in the UK, and I will be spending the day walking around a zoo! But there is something special planned with a long time reader, so you will want to keep an eye on your inboxes for that, especially if you like maintenance.
Have a great long weekend!
If the recent announcement by the Prime Minister still has you hot under the collar, we are talking ‘changing the narrative’ on sustainable transport at Mobility Camp on 26th September 2023 in Birmingham. It would be great to see you there. Get your tickets now.
If you like this newsletter, please share it with someone else who you think will love it. I will love you forever if you do. ☺️
James
👥 Social Networking
Many of you may not remember your first ride on a bus. I do. I must have been 6 years old when my mum - who didn’t have a driving licence at the time - wanted to take me to Bideford to get ice cream (by the way, Hockings Ice Cream in Bideford is the best). To do that, we had to walk up to near the old Barnstaple Cattle Market, and wait for a bright yellow bus to arrive. After our journey to Bideford, I remember my mum saying very clearly to me “Thank the driver, James.”
Since then, I have always thanked the bus driver because it just seems, well, polite. Well now a study shows quite how much saying thank you means to drivers, and in some cases can make their day. While the study itself - of bus users and drivers in London - has got a lot of headlines, some of the statistics in it are amazing.
84% of passengers believed that [engaging with the driver] had a positive impact for drivers…But only 2 in 10 greet a driver when boarding…[and] less than 1 in 10 acknowledge the driver when alighting
30% of passengers on buses with signs greeted the driver when entering the bus…[meaning] 140 million more interactions could occur per year
That is staggering to me. But what the report also touches on is the importance of buses as social spaces. We see them too much as a functional thing to carry people from one place to another. And in doing so we don’t realise their value.
For example, a third of people in a survey by Greener Journeys said they got on the bus to literally just talk to someone. There is extensive academic literature that shows that public transport acts like a social space for so many people, and that sociability was disrupted during COVID-19.
This, for me, calls for a more qualitative understanding of the value of public transport. We see it in terms of modal shift, the number of passengers carried, number of vehicles, reliability etc. The people riding them see it differently. Imagine if we judged public transport not by the places it connects, but by the people it connects.
What you can do: Firstly, say hello and thank you to your bus driver. I am sure that you are all very nice and sociable, but a reminder is always good.
If you are designing new services, think about engaging people in a more qualitative way. Ask people how their journeys could change in terms of who they could meet up with or make connections with, as opposed to asking them whether they would use the route for work. Work with your comms colleagues on asking more social questions, and less technical ones.
Thinking about changing a route, or hearing about plans to have routes changed? Do qualitative interviews with those affected.
🙂 On the nature of optimism
Over the last few days, I managed to read a great book by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac called The Future We Choose. I recommend reading it as it introduces the concept of ‘Stubborn Optimism.’
To give a bit more of an introduction to both of them, they were the two main players behind the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Something that was forged in the smouldering wreckage of the Copenhagen Summit in 2009 - a day where I honestly thought it was all over for climate action globally.
They describe Stubborn Optimism as an input into a system or action, as opposed to a consequence of it. And that is a very clever mind hack. When faced with overwhelming odds and a lack of agency, we think nothing can be done or why bother to protect ourselves. But by being stubbornly optimistic, we can control our own actions within a context where a lot of things are out of our control. You can become the catalyst for change by changing how you act in that situation.
No doubt you may feel that way at some point. Looking at the landscape and seeing how things are not changing can be very overwhelming. But viewing that landscape and doing what is necessary anyway is a catalyst for change on its own.
This isn’t blind optimism. This is stubborn optimism, and stubborn optimists win. And there is plenty of room for being stubbornly optimistic. For every road widening scheme there is a station adoption group planting trees. For every person proudly not caring about gender equality there are 20 who are and are doing something about it. For every street designer putting in a new parking bay, there is one putting in a dropped kerb or planting trees.
What you can do: Practice being a stubborn optimist. And the great thing is that there are hundreds of ways for you to start. Here are just a few:
Share with your boss at work what your goals are - whether they be on climate, equality, whatever. Agree with them an action plan for something you will do to help realise those goals. Work out who you need to build bridges with to realise these goals
Talk to friends, family, and work colleagues about the state of the world - But turn the question around. Not to focus on how bad it is (however therapeutic that is) but to talk about how to make it happen and support each other in doing in
Look to the edge - Inspiration doesn’t come from political leaders or even business people. It comes from people on the ground making the change happen. Look at them, and take inspiration from them
🎓 From academia
The clever clogs at our universities have published the following excellent research. Where you are unable to access the research, email the author - they may give you a copy of the research paper for free.
E-commerce and local labor markets: Is the “Retail Apocalypse” near?
TL:DR - Yes, for some areas at least. Turns out people’s spending habits vary a bit.
Fare evasion in public transport: How does it affect the optimal design and pricing?
TL:DR - More fare evasion = more incentive to cut prices = more subsidies.
The capitalization and urbanization effect of subway stations: A network centrality perspective
TL:DR - Expanding subways increases land values. Shockingly.
Road traffic injury-related disabilities in geriatric population
TL:DR - Elderly people can have more severe health problems after being involved in a collision.
✊ Awesome people doing awesome things
In a world with disinformation is rife, the truth is a powerful thing. And that is what Dan Levy of Oxfordshire County Council brings. He rightly points out that Low Traffic Neighbourhoods are popular, despite various social media campaigns to the contrary. And he and his colleagues stand up for what is right.
But they are also not shy about the truth. So when such schemes are estimated to have an impact on the response times of ambulances - they share it, and say they are thinking about this means for the scheme. After all, even the good can be better.
📼 On the (You)Tube
How to do on-street bus and other public transport priority - San Francisco style. There are also some revolutionary images of bike strapped to the front of buses as well.
What you can do: Very simple. Fight for every highway scheme to be judged based upon whether or not it improves public transport reliability and journey times. Set targets for such schemes, and discount schemes that do not achieve those targets.
Not sure what scheme will work where? Review this best practice examples paper from Imperial College to get some ideas.
To get this in your plans, suggest a Design Charrette where you can develop ideas on how to achieve bus priority, and design them into schemes. Involve as many people as necessary to get it done.
🖼️ Graphic Design
How different cities have expanded outwards over time fascinates me. I have no preference of one over the other, but seeing the different types of cities is amazing, and shows that in many respects no two cities are the same.
📚 Random things
These links are meant to make you think about the things that affect our world in transport, and not just think about transport itself. I hope that you enjoy them.
Beavering Away (The Crucial Years)
This Psychologist Wants To Vaccinate You Against Fake News (Wired)
60% of Ecuadorians Vote Against Continued Oil Drilling in Critical Amazon Biosphere (Good News Network)
How to be a good listener - and how to know when you’re doing it right (The Conversation)
‘Rewiggle’ room: Lewes river channel project will create new wetland (The Guardian)
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