Transport legends – past, present, future
Who have been national treasures of transport, our equivalents of Dame Judi Dench and Sir David Attenborough? Who’ll be next? Legendary railway pioneer Adrian Shooter was honoured with a statue at London Marylebone station last August Last week’s memorial service for the late railway icon Adrian Shooter made me reflect on the...
A weak response to our net zero needs
Powering Up Britain document concentrates disproportionately on energy matters with transport relegated to the sidelines Rishi Sunak visited Culham Science Centre last week Powering Up Britain. And Levelling Up too. So much weight on one preposition. So many hopes. So much disappointment. Powering Up Britain, the document, published by the government last...
Who wants to go to Old Oak Common?
If we are going to build HS2 then we should build it properly, not terminate the flagship service at an outpost in the west of London Paradisical bliss: A visualisation of what Old Oak Common will look like Every so often, I build a new line on my model railway. Apart from...
A car-free future for visitor attractions
Not owning a car, or not wanting to use one, can make it difficult to get to tourist destinations. Good Journey wants to change that Good Journey is bridging the gap between the public transport sector and visitor attractions Is this the ultimate no brainer? Everyone agrees that leisure traffic is the...
Should transport control its Linekers?
It’s a balancing act between transport employees respecting their employers online but not being limited to a corporate sales pitch What do you lot make of the Gary Lineker shenanigans this month? I’ll be honest, there’s times when I think he’s like one of those smug old school rail bigwigs that have outstayed...
Rail travel – the price is not right
Rail fares must be as affordable as possible, and airlines should be required to display their ‘true’ journey times and CO2 impact Domestic aviation produces 80g of CO2 per mile whereas the equivalent figure for rail is 24.6g Another year, another big hike in rail fares. This year’s hike of 5.9% is...
The pros and cons of consultancy
Invaluable professional help or con artists charging extortionate day rates? Our sector needs consultants, but they must play fair When I first started undertaking consultancy 12 years ago, a wise old lag in the same game, told me that the “market for free consultancy is endless” and that, as a consultant, “you’ll get...
A mission to advance women in transport
Since 2005, Women in Transport has grown from a small group to one that now has 1,200 members By Sonya Byers Women in Transport is a non profit with a mission to advance women working in transport – but we’re open to everyone. In 2005, a small group of passionate volunteers created a...
We need to widen our perspectives
Deprioritising the perspectives of minority women to a footnote in the story of female gender empowerment can feel stifling Rezwana Khanom is training to become a driver with Southern By Nafisa Nathani The Interational Women’s Day 2023 campaign theme - #EmbraceEquity – seeks to get the world talking about why “equal opportunities are no longer enough” – and...
Coming together to ‘get things moving’
Women in Transport’s Diversity & Inclusion Bus Group continues to grow – and so does its solid progress in making change happen Go-Ahead London is doing excellent work with its apprenticeships. Pictured: trainee driver Chelsea Dash By Chloe Leach-O’Connell Let’s go back to 2019, to this very publication, Passenger Transport, when I wrote...
Supporting women to achieve their goals
Abellio is making a real difference within the industry by helping women to become leaders at every level of the business Women represent over 30% of Abellio’s operations management teams, and 50% amongst the senior operations managers By Lorna Murphy On International Women’s Day it is incredibly exciting to celebrate the contribution of...
Making the most of our open top buses