Last week I mentioned Blackfriars station and its solar bridge, but the station redesign has been in the news for a different reason this week. Cyclists are disappointed about the re-design of the roads around the station, arguing that they have been planned entirely with cars in mind. They will be taking to the streets [...]
Archive | travel and transport RSS feed for this archive
Work begins on the world’s largest solar bridge
On my way into London I cross Blackfriars Bridge, which is undergoing something of a transformation at the moment. It’s a Victorian rail bridge adjacent to Blackfriars station, and it dates back to the age of steam. When work on it is finished, it will have been brought decisively into the 21st century and will [...]
Why 80 mph speed limits won’t help the economy
“Britain’s roads should be the arteries of a healthy economy and cars are a vital lifeline for many. Now it is time to put Britain back in the fast lane of global economies and look again at the motorway speed limit.” That was Transport Minister Philip Hammond last week, staking the future of the economy [...]
Another reason to give up your car
A couple of months ago I listed ten reasons to give up your car. Here’s one I missed: the cost. According to a recent survey, the annual cost of running a car has risen to £3,089. That’s a 21% rise on last year, down to high oil prices and some bizarre shenanigans within the insurance [...]
Britain’s trains: Let’s undo the Beeching legacy
Last week, the British government lowered the price of petrol, and put £100 million towards fixing potholes on the roads. Falling back on car culture is a tried and tested way of boosting the economy, although in the past it was geared towards the car industry,rather than just driving them about. It’s not a growth [...]
The best cure for a hangover is not to sober up
Today’s newspapers are all reporting on yesterday’s budget. Fairly predictably, most of the front pages champion the change to fuel duty. The chancellor’s speech was written to highlight that very measure, saving it to the end. ”We have put fuel into the tank of the British economy”, he concluded, and the nation’s journalists looked no further [...]
Ten reasons to give up your car
I recently found myself explaining to a friend why I don’t have a driving licence, and have no intention of getting one any time soon. I claimed I could give them ten good reasons not to drive. I was making the point rhetorically, but then I thought I should actually try it… 1. Climate change [...]
Why ending the ‘war on motorists’ is bad news for drivers
The government has announced an end to the so-called ‘war on motorists’ this week, with a series of new pro-car policies. But are they actually counter-productive, and in danger of making things worse for drivers?
You are traffic
There’s a great billboard up in Luton, down by one of the busy streets by the station. In simple black letters on a bright green background it reads: You are not stuck in traffic. You are traffic. It would have been nice if the billboard had left it with that bubble-busting little truth. It’s never [...]
Moveable Feasts, by Sarah Murray
Italy exports over 60% of Europe’s olive oil, but only grows half of it. How can Italy export more than it grows? Because it imports it from Spain and Morocco, puts it in a fancy bottle with a Tuscan landscape on the label and sells it on as Italian. It makes more money that way, [...]
Books
No data found
