Monday’s Friday Reads – 17 August 2020

On By In Accessibility, Buses, Friday Reads, New York, Pedestrians, Pollution, Technology

• Underground accessibility updates from the lockdown (StepFreeLondon)

• Noise cameras coming to UK to silence thunderous exhausts (NewAtlas)

• BAM Nuttall facing another claim over Cambridge Guided Busway flaws (ConstructEnq)

• Travel the Parliamentary New North Main Line train (AnotherStationMile)

• NYC buses 34% faster with automated bus lane enforcement (PriceTags)

• Florida Brightline railway drops Virgin name and affiliation (IntlRailJ)

• The pedestrian-saving car tech no government wants (CityLab)

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20 comments

  1. The title “NYC buses are 34% faster with automated Drivers in Bus Lanes” is a bit misleading, since there are no automated drivers involved – it’s enforcement, not driving, that’s automated.

    I suggest “NYC buses are 34% faster with Automated Bus Lane Enforcement”.

    [Good point – corrected. LBM]

  2. Not the “guided busway” AGAIN!
    Most people simply wanted the railway back – & – as it turns out, not only would it have been faster than the buses, it would have been cheaper too ….
    Unfortunately, AIUI, both DfT & the Treasury were in one of their more extreme anti-railway phases at the time & were determined to pick the wrong answer

  3. The “Noise cameras” article refers to “failing Grayling” as being at the DfT – “shome mishtake shurely” as Private Eye would say?

  5. The New North Main Line is interesting, but someone should tell the presenter that it’s ‘Bister’ not ‘Bichester’.

  6. The need for pedestrians to lobby effectively for basic safety measures goes back a long way. In the UK, for example, both the driving test and 30mph speed limits were only introduced after furious lobbying by the Pedestrians Association in the 1920s. It’s noteworthy that US car designs, even passively, are very pedestrian unfriendly to the extent that UK/US trade negotiators are struggling to find a way in which US SUVs can be imported into this country without breaking UK construction and design regulations and without being seen to weaken them. I’d keep my eye out for little publicised changes to the regs in the name of ‘reducing red tape’.

  8. Quinlet
    “NNML” – well some of us have started at Birkenhead Woodside & arrived at Paddington – chnge of locos & reversal @ Chester & steam-to diesel @ Shrewsbury.
    I do hope they put the link back close to “OOC” after the HS2 work is done …

    [Snip! LBM]

  9. @Quinlet – US car designs, even passively, are very pedestrian unfriendly .

    It’s probably the opposite of that. Features such as low impact ends, low height below the knee, no protrubances, smooth headlights all originated from the requirements of the US Highway Safety measures.
    The US manufacturers were able to adapt through the volume of their domestic market and European makers could not afford the cost of adoption. Many withdrew from North America including Peugeot, Citroen, Renault and previously popular UK models.

    The eventual outcome has been the homologation of car design to a bland requirement that consumers rejected. Almost no cars are produced by US companies except continuing with some old models for fleet use, with the vestiges of demand met by Asian models.

    The trade publicity was in reference to US Light Trucks, currently non-US trucks are taxed at 25% (chicken tax) leaving a comfortable margin for US producers. Free trade would lead to more exchange of production that could see more Utility vehicles over here, a fashion that is growing regardless of price or source.

    There are pressures in US to stem the growth of vehicle sizes with Fuel Efficiency requirements and classifying utility use. Road sizes and fuel prices are the constraint on volumes in the European mass market where there will always be the exceptional 1%.

    A light truck vehicle class is REQUIRED by US law to have utility to haul half a ton of property, or be able to operate off pavement, or to be a derivative of such a vehicle. Hence Utility Vehicle, not primarily for carriage of persons for personal use (car).

  11. @quinlet – tabloids had similar banners also.

    In relation to free trade the Range Rover specifically is a product disadvantaged by the tax. It’s (SUV) design is the format copied by others though predated by the more downmarket Jeep Wagoneer.
    I assume there is a reciprocal tax so if eliminated both ways it is possible that some US models including Jeeps would be relatively cheaper and become more popular but in place of what – Audi Q, Bentayga, Cullinan or a Corsa/Fiesta. There are already many heavy vehicles operated here such as UK SUVs, MiniVans/buses so the road design barrier argument is ridiculous.
    The most popular UK manufactured model is the Qashqai already made in the US so no economic benefit there.
    Another pedestrian safety feature of vehicles is the collapsible bonnet with a crush zone above the engine, likely US origin but certainly not UK as it caught out some of our models.

    US vehicles have generally been larger than European ones since the 1930s so there is no design size argument for recent safety stats. Increasingly inexperienced, inattentive, and poorly trained drivers and walkers are more significant. More automated safety features promise a reversal of the trend.

    My view is that irrespective of the terms of any US/UK trade deal the design, size, and style of UK vehicles will follow the preference of UK market consumers with government incentives and taxes. Some German models with no tariffs may be assembled in the US rather than Germany and be more competitively priced against Land Rover and Jaguar.

    The populist “US vehicle safety standards are much lower than those permitted for vehicles sold in the UK.” is patently wrong. Car safety standards are broadly identical, they are older and lower in for example Africa, and South America. Similarly light trucks have broadly similar standards hence Range Rover/Land Rover.

    The article references this farther down with Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council, which represents US carmakers, who said cars made in the US were just as safe as European vehicles “Cars, SUVs and other light trucks that meet US safety standards achieve equivalent safety performance to the safety standards applied in the European Union.”

    The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) said the number of pedestrians killed by vehicles had risen by 53% over a decade. Size of vehicle and visibility is a factor (whatever design style and origin), likely Range Rover sales in the US are also up by 50% over a decade with the Evoque.

    In the UK the SUV share of the vehicle market will also have risen by 50% over a decade.

  12. @ Greg

    re busways… generally I would agree that rail is a better solution, but would it really be in the case of the line to St Ives. At best it would have been a DMU every 30 mins, to the station in Cambridge which virtually needs the old GWR addendum of ‘Road’. Instead there are buses every few minutes heading directly (if not quickly) into the centre of the city. The construction may be seriously flawed but that’s a separate issue. I’m not convinced the service offered is worse than if it were heavy rail

  13. Alex
    “US vehicle safety standards are much lower than those permitted for vehicles sold in the UK.” is patently wrong”
    The safety standard for folk inside a US-spec light truck perhaps. The much higher average mass and higher frontal area means the outcome is much worse if the other party to the accident is walking or cycling.
    “US models including Jeeps ”
    Most Jeep models sold in Europe are American in brand image only – they’re assembled in Italy. (Jeep is a brand within the Fiat crysler group)

  14. Herned
    The 1922 GER steam local service was faster than the current buses (!)
    [ Source: reprint of 1922 “Bradshaw” ]

  15. @IslandDweller – Jeep is now a Peugeot family brand. The First and Only ‘Jeep’ built in Europe is the Renegade rebadged Fiat Panda 4×4. Jeep sells on it’s all american image, like RangeRover’s Britishness.

    The global car industry achieves efficiency by operating to the same vehicle design standards in the major markets Europe. North America, Japan, Korea.

    The impetus for a US-UK free trade deal is to rescue manufacturing jobs in the Midlands, sending our SUVs to North America.

    Vehicle size has grown due to safety enhancements like side impact protection and safety cage strength, with curtain air bags. A Polo is now larger than a mk1 Golf.

    Vehicle mass is getting heavier with electrification batteries.

  16. Correction – Daimler Chrysler did build their RHD and diesel Grand Cherokees at Magna-Steyr Austria from 1994 to 2010. Also the 3 row Commander variant 2006-10.

  18. @Greg

    The 1947 LNER timetable gives a time of 32 minutes for Cambridge to St Ives, with services less than hourly. The current busway timetable gives a time of 35 minutes to central Cambridge, having already called at Cambridge North station, running every 10 minutes, and in normal times it’s more frequent. There is no way a revived rail line would offer as good a service

  19. The Cambridge busway also bought us one of the only good cycle lanes in the UK – and a very heavily used one.

    I’m sure they could build similar cycle lanes next to railway lines, but, they don’t.

  20. The car manufacturer ownership discussion is now way off topic, so I’m ending it here. Further such comments will be removed without warning. LBM

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