Transport Talks

The history of the building of the UK's motorways is a fascinating story. This podcast features the stories from Howard Stevens and John Carrington who were involved with the design and building of the motorway and have also played key roles in preserving the history of motorways.

CIHT Regional Voices part two - International Women in Engineering Day 2018. This podcast is about celebrating the fantastic female Commitee Members 'raising the bar' across the Regions. The podcast speaks to Stephanie Wilson of CIHT East Midlands, Hayley Palmer of CIHT North West, Michelle Wood of CIHT London and Carolyn Rollo of CIHT Scotland about their own experiences and how they are encouraging other women to take a more active role in the profession.

Dr Rachel Aldred is a Reader in Transport at the University of Westminster. Today (17 May 2018) saw the launch of a number of key reports by Rachel on injury risk. The interview with Rachel seeks to answer questions such as: 1. How many un-reported road injuries are there? Who is most affected? 2. Do drivers using residential streets put pedestrians at greater risk than drivers using main roads? 3. Is ‘safety in numbers’ observed over time? 4. What kinds of roads have higher/lower injury risk for people cycling?

Dr Nicholas Falk, winner of the Wolfson Prize for his work on garden cities talks to CIHT about the failures of successes of urban planning in the UK, what we can learn from other countries and the dire consequences of getting it wrong. The podcast is of interest to anyone involved in transport planning or the recent NPPF consultation.

Kate Carpenter, member of CIHT Road Safety Panel and Fellow of CIHT discusses the safety of autonomous vehicles following the news that Uber halts self-driving car tests. Kate was interviewed about the issue on the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme.

CIHT Regions and Nations are run by volunteers who dedicate their time to building a local support network for transportation professionals and provide the voice of the institution across and beyond the UK. Each Regional Committee is different, organising regular meetings around the latest developments in transportation as well as opportunities for CPD and networking.We had the pleasure of speaking to CIHT Regional Officers about why they decided to take a more active role with CIHT in their area.

In 2018 CIHT launched ‘Buses in Urban Developments’. This guidance builds on CIHT’s existing body of ‘Streets and Transport in the Urban Environment’ guidelines in addressing how bus services can be placed at the heart of development planning and urban transport. This podcast features an interview with Tim Pharoah, the author of the document.

This features an interview with Adam Simmons, Head of Roads Investment Strategy development and delivery, Highways England. The second Road Investment Strategy (RIS2) is the first time Highways England have run the five year planning cycle in full. They are taking a structured approach to investment planning, using this cyclical approach. Prediction becomes more difficult as we attempt to look further out, but they must still attempt to anticipate the changes that will affect how we operate.

How do we make the case for transport? This podcast provides are very clear and easily understood overview into the economics behind the decisions that are made when deciding about investment in infrastructure. The insights demonstrate that the economic case can be wide encompassing a range of factors from heritage to health. The interview is looks at how schemes are evaluated after to demonstrate that they have met their intended benefits (or not). The interview was recorded with Ivan Viehoff, Chief Economist at Cambridge Economic Policy Associates (CEPA). This topic area was suggested by a CIHT member.

Greater flexibility in financing street lighting schemes should give confidence to authorities who are looking to improve energy efficiency and save money.So if an authority is looking to upgrade its street lighting where can it turn? One option is to consider an interest free energy efficiency loan, offered by Salix to public sector bodies in England, Scotland and Wales.This podcast features an interview with Lindy Frey, programme coordinator for English street lighting. Matt Caville, programme manager for technical services and Alannah Powell, the company's PR and marketing executive.