Transport Talks

Professor Carlos Moreno, is the architect of the idea of the 15 minute city – this was picked up last year by the World Economic Forum and as part of a global TED talk conference. The idea of being able to get all our urban necessities within a 15 minute walk has clearly gained traction across the world. This podcast explores how the idea is being implemented, focusing on the Corona pistes for cycling in Paris and on recent measures to trial schools as multi-purpose buildings.The impact of Covid is part of the discussion and looks at imaginative ways of rethinking how art and shopping can interact.

Despite the recent Government announcement to phase out sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, the UK is currently not on track to switch all new vehicles to fully battery-electric by 2030. Beyond 2030, significant questions remain that need to be addressed – such as the increased demand for electricity and where this will come from, sourcing and supply of rare earth materials for battery production and capacity for battery recycling.Featuring an interview with Professor Sergio Matteo Savaresi. He is the Full Professor in Automatic Control at Politecnico di Milano since 2006 . He is Deputy Director and Chair of the Systems&Control Section of Department of Electronics, Computer Sciences and Bioengineering (DEIB), Politecnico di Milano. He is author of more than 500 scientific publications. His main interests are in the areas of vehicles control, automotive systems, data analysis and system identification, non-linear control theory, and control applications, with special focus on smart mobility. He has been manager and technical leader of more than 400 research projects in cooperation with private companies. He is co-founder of 8 high-tech startup companies.This is the second episode of a two part podcast on the future of mobility.

This podcast is looking at the future of our global carbon budget, the impact of the autonomous car on future mobility and other things including the world’s first race of autonomous cars.This is the first of a two part podcast by CIHT, the second will focus on impact of electrification on future mobility. Featuring an interview with Professor Sergio Matteo Savaresi. He is the Full Professor in Automatic Control at Politecnico di Milano since 2006 . He is Deputy Director and Chair of the Systems&Control Section of Department of Electronics, Computer Sciences and Bioengineering (DEIB), Politecnico di Milano. He is author of more than 500 scientific publications. His main interests are in the areas of vehicles control, automotive systems, data analysis and system identification, non-linear control theory, and control applications, with special focus on smart mobility. He has been manager and technical leader of more than 400 research projects in cooperation with private companies. He is co-founder of 8 high-tech startup companies.On the Indy Autonomous Challenge:https://www.indyautonomouschallenge.com/

Bridge collapses and Grand Challenges. What are the lessons from the Genoa Bridge collapse? In this episode there is an interview with Richard Fish, a chartered bridge engineer with extensive experience in the industry.In the year of a pandemic, understanding risk has become part of our public discourse. Today we try and answer the question: what risk do bridges in the UK face and what are the grand challenges for bridges.The Morandi motorway bridge in Genoa collapsed on the 14th of August 2018, killing 43 people. The reasons for the collapse are explored as well as the wider lessons from this. As Richard Fish said: 'A big risk is a fact that people become complacent...they say: "this bridge has stood there for decades it's not going to fall down, is it?' and sadly, occasionally things do fall down' The interview explores what happened with the closure of the Hammersmith Flyover and the Forth Road Bridge. The BOF Grand Challenges are also explored, recently published. The first of the five Grand Challenges is on preventing bridge failures, as the document states:Polcevera Viaduct, Genoa collapsed on 14th August 2018 making headlines around the world. 43 people lost their lives and the disruption is estimated to have cost the economy around €600 million. Since 2000 there have been 125 bridge collapses worldwide that have claimed at least one life, resulting in 982 fatalities and significant economic loss.Catastrophic bridge collapses occur too frequently even though, with hindsight and timely investment, most could have been predicted and prevented.The human, financial and reputational costs of such incidents, which frequently make international news, are unacceptable by any reasonable measure. Can we be more successful in preventing them?Responsible bridge owners have robust regimes in place to inspect and manage their bridges in line with prevailing good practice and yetcatastrophes are seldom anticipated or, when they are, the risks are underestimated or ignored.As bridge stocks continue to age, the likelihood and frequency of bridge collapse can only increase, along with the financial and reputational damage. It is therefore crucial that we find better ways of meeting the challenge.BOF Grand Challenges: http://www.bridgeforum.org/bof/meetings/bof64/Grand%20Challenges%20-%20Bridges%202020.pdf

This year the BBC wrote a piece on the rest and be thankful with a headline that included the phrase: an infamous road through a mountain in torment. That description of torment was from 1913. Indicating, that the challenges of the location, perhaps the most challenging site that Transport Scotland manages, have been long running. The A83 runs for almost 100 miles from Loch Lomond to Campbletown at the foot of the Kintypre penisula. The one section, near the rest and be thankful– has become infamous for landslips, closures and long diversions. This podcast features an interview with Professor Mike Winter exploring what we can learn from elephants in Burma to what trees in British Colombia might tell us about managing rainfall. Featuring research:A83 Rest and be Thankful: Ecological and Related Landslide Mitigation Options: https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/13533/a83-rest-and-be-thankful-project-ecological-related-landslide-mitigation-options.pdf The economic impact of landslides affecting the Scottish road network: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303885334_The_economic_impact_of_landslides_affecting_the_Scottish_road_network CIHT's podcast feature in the Top 10 Transportation Industry Podcasts https://blog.feedspot.com/transportation_industry_podcasts/

Policy impacts from new research exploring the issue of light pollution and how reducing it can help to address major societal challenges are discussed in this latest episode of the CIHT Podcast, featuring Dr Christopher Kyba of the German Research Centre for Geosciences.In conversation Dr Kyba explains the research which involved measuring from satellites the contribution of street lighting to night time light emissions from urban areas.The findings indicate that most wasted artificial light does not come from street lights but from other sources.Direct measurement of the contribution of street lighting to satellite observations of nighttime light emissions from urban areas - published in journal of Lighting Research & Technology: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1477153520958463 Radiance Light Trends:https://lighttrends.lightpollutionmap.infoCIHT's podcast feature in the Top 10 Transportation Industry Podcasts https://blog.feedspot.com/transportation_industry_podcasts/

It is difficult to avoid the pandemic at the moment, it affects all our lives in some way. Today’s podcast will look at what lessons we might learn for how we plan the future of our homes and neighbourhoods as a result of it. The podcast features an interview with Matthew Carmona Professor of Planning and Urban Design at The Bartlett School of Planning at UCL and Chair of the Place Alliance. Lockdown shrank many of our worlds physically to our homes and their immediate neighbourhoods. Research out this week looking at our experience of lockdown with an interesting finding - those in the newest dwellings reported the lowest levels of comfort – we will explore why this is and what this can tell us about how we plan for the future.Home comforts: stress testing our homes and neighbourhoods during the Covid-19 lockdown – was published this week. What does this research tell us about how we live now, and perhaps how planning and transport need to be designed in the future?Report available here: http://placealliance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Place-Alliance-Homes-and-Covid-Report_2020.pdf

In January 2019, ADEPT - the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport - which represents place directors from county, unitary and metropolitan local authorities, secured £22.9m funding from the Department of Transport for the SMART place Live Labs programme. Eight Live Labs projects led by local authorities with university and private sector partners are piloting innovation across SMART communications, transport, highways maintenance, energy, materials and mobility.This episode features an interview with Deborah Fox who is the Head of Demand Management at Transport for West Midlands. Deborah is leading a project using innovative video analytics to find better ways to manage congestion. This is funded by a £2.65m grant from the Department for Transport.

After 24 years, the UK Government has announced the end of the rail franchising system. The move is expected to significantly shake things up within the industry.This episode involves an interview with Sim Harris, Managing Editor at Railnews who brings his insights into the rail industry. The interview explores the legacy of franchising, what will replace it, and what have been the impacts of Covid-19 on the rail sector. Sim also gives an insight into what we are likely to see come out of the Williams Rail Review. Finally, with the recent Stonehaven derailment when the Aberdeen to Glasgow service crashed after heavy rain and three people sadly died the interview looks at how the rail sector is managing when faced with climate change.

As part of a focus by CIHT on the future of transport, this episode explores how micromobility could change the way we move in the future. As this is high on the government agenda, with trials of e-scooters currently underway in the UK, this podcast features an interview with Philip Ellis, CEO of Beryl. Beryl is the UK's largest bike share provider outside of London. Beryl has recently been announced as the e-scooter provider for a DfT trial in Norwich.The interview explores safety aspects, international lessons on e-scooters and the global market for micromobility.