People need to get around. But how we do it has a huge impact on the communities we live in and the global climate. The types of transport we choose shape how clean will be the air that we breathe, how safe are the streets where children walk and play, how convivial our towns and cities are. Vitally, it also determines whether affordable, safe and clean mobility is available to everyone who needs it.
Globally, in recent decades, the resource-hungry and energy inefficient private car has been favoured by politicians and planners. High levels of street pollution, divided communities, and deaths and injuries have been the cost, not to mention the contribution to global warming.
Story of change
All aboard the electric bus – modern public transport powered by electricity is coming back quickly, to the benefit of people and the climateIn 2011, the electric-vehicle manufacturer BYD Auto unveiled an early model of an electric bus at an industry conference in Belgium. The head of BYD in Europe, Isbrand Ho, later recalled in an...
But attitudes to travel and transport show signs of turning a corner. Modern mass urban public transport is increasingly seen as an answer to congestion, poor air quality, and economic revival. And, where travel for tourism is concerned, interest in slow travel and the ‘staycation’ is changing attitudes. In the global North and South, cities are reinventing how we get around so that our choice of transport doesn’t drive us over a climate cliff.
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Story of change
European sleeper trains are waking upAfter a slow and steady decline, the sleeper train – a vital link to more sustainable, connected transport systems – is waking-up and getting back on...
Reset series
Cars – the end of the love affairAs an enabler of people meeting and gathering together, transport found itself in an unprecedented and existential crisis during the global pandemic. From...
Commentary
An alternative energy strategy to stimulate rapid transitionAll around the world, governments’ energy policies are at a crossroads. In order to insulate themselves from dependence on Russian oil and gas, tackle...
Reset series
Commuting (not) to a healthier and happier futureThe global pandemic not only transformed how we work, but also where and how we get to work. For many people that were instructed to work from home, and...
Reset series
The starring new role of urban micro-mobilityFrom travel restrictions and border closures, to the pedestrianisation of roads and the creation of pop-up cycle lanes, our mobility has been forever...
Reset series
The Great ReallocationPolluting car use has been locked into the lives of many because towns have been planned to favour and encourage cars. But, when the pandemic took hold, the...
Reset series
Cargo bikesThe pandemic caused huge disruption to global supply chains. As the world was told to stay at home, people had to turn to the world of e-commerce to provide...
Reset series
The staycation is here to stay
Holidays are sacred for many, and have long
been so. When Covid-19 began to spread, the
dramatic growth of global tourism, which had
gone unimpeded since...
Reset series
Getting on your bikeThe climate-friendly bicycle – still overlooked by many city planners – enjoyed a revival throughout lockdown. Bike suppliers struggled to keep up with...