We were very pleased to welcome 74 delegates and see that they found the day enjoyable and interesting – 85% gave an overall rating of 80/100 or above, and levels of satisfaction were high across the content, networking opportunities, and organisation.
We would like to share with you a summary of the key take-aways from the event, as well as links to the recording of the different sessions, in case you missed the event.
CTS Director Professor Graham Parkhurst opened the proceedings by briefly introducing the revised CTS research themes as:
Travel behaviour and the mobility experience
He then invited Professor Enda Hayes, Director of Research and Enterprise for the School of Architecture and Environment in which CTS is based, to welcome delegates on behalf of the University.
Keynote speaker
The Symposium opened with a keynote by Councillor Ed Plowden, incoming Chair of Bristol City Council’s Transport and Connectivity Committee, employee of Sustrans, and former UWE Master’s student.
Ed presented “Transport in Bristol – Regaining momentum”. Some key lessons learned from Ed’s presentation are:
- Balancing evidence-based policy with innovative approaches – there is a need to integrate solid evidence into transport policy while also considering innovative, less traditional approaches to create a more sustainable transport system. Ed highlighted the challenge of moving away from the conventional “predict and provide” model towards a more flexible and forward-thinking “decide and provide” approach. Ed emphasised that we have a lot of evidence-based policies and possible projects, but it is difficult to determine which ones will be the most effective and affordable mix to take forward to decarbonise transport in Bristol at pace, whilst keeping the City moving and bringing the majority with us.
- Addressing transport and accessibility issues – Ed acknowledged that there are significant transport issues in Bristol, including high car ownership, congestion, poor air quality, and issues with bus services. He stressed the importance of improving transport accessibility, particularly for disabled people, to enhance the overall transport system for everyone.
- Collaborative governance and urban planning – with the transition to a committee-based system in the City Council, Ed advocated for better collaboration across parties to address transport challenges. He outlined several priorities, such as managing demand, enhancing public transport, and focusing on urban planning to reduce reliance on cars and promote more sustainable transport modes.
Here you can find Ed’s presentation and video recording.
CTS’s research showcase – break-out sessions
We then had two break-out sessions, to share some insights from our latest research projects and interests.
Travel behaviour and the mobility experience
This was one of the two parallel break-out sessions and examined active travel as daily practice and potential.
Dr Ben Clark presented a review of evidence on the extent to which new cycling infrastructure increases levels of cycling and encourages modal shift from car travel.
If you want to see Ben’s presentation, click here.
Dr Asa Thomas introduced ongoing research as part of the Optimised Walking School Bus Planning project, and highlighted several trends related to school travel in the UK with a focus on the long-term decline in walking, particularly for distances over a mile.
If you want to see Asa’s presentation, click here.
Tom Eadie examined the implications of designing 15-minute cities for all population groups, including, for example, older people, and assessed the accessibility needs of different social groups.
If you want to see Tom’s presentation, click here.
Here you can find the video recording of this session.
Governance and technological change
This was a parallel break-out session, and considered a diverse set of topics related to governance, including drone deliveries, electric cars, and more inclusive Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans.
Dr Eda Beyazit shared insights on her research and experience of gender equality and social inclusion in sustainable urban mobility planning, drawing upon her experience in Istanbul. If you want to see Eda’s presentation, click here.
Dr Daniela Paddeu discussed specific uncertainties related to governance for drone last-mile deliveries, mainly related to regulations and liability issues, but also public acceptance, social benefit, and integration of drones to the wider transport system, especially in a mixed-traffic environment. If you want to see Daniela’s presentation, click here.
Professor Graham Parkhurst explored scenarios in which transitioning from ICE to EV is most likely to achieve emissions reduction targets while maintaining a viable future for the auto industry. If you want to see Graham’s presentation, click here.
Here you can find the video recording of this session.
Plenary sessions
During the second part of the morning, we had two plenary sessions.
We heard from our new appointed Professor Justin Spinney, who presented “Driven to care: types of caring, journey qualities, personal mediating factors”. In his presentation, Justin reflected on the increasing demand for cars from a sociological perspective, drawing on a small RTPI funded project in collaboration with Andrew Ivins at Cardiff University. He highlighted the significant impact of ‘social acceleration’ leading to tight schedules and the lack of routinisation in modern life, driven by technological advancements such as smartphones and automobility.
Justin pointed out that these societal changes have reshaped the qualities people value in transport systems, emphasising time-saving, flexibility, and load-carrying capacity. Justin argued that our current transport systems often fail to accommodate the intensified and diversified schedules of modern life, leading to increased car dependency. He also emphasises the importance of rethinking what motivates our transport choices in non-wage mobility contexts to prioritise care over traditional metrics like time and productivity . The need to recognise the changing motivations and qualities that citizens require is essential if we are to develop public and active modes of transport that fit for the 21st Century. Here you can find Justin’s presentation and video recording.
The plenary followed with a presentation from Professor Glenn Lyons, our Mott MacDonald Professor of Future Mobility at UWE Bristol. Glenn presented: “Triple Access Planning – A fairytale new beginning?”. Within his presentation, Glenn caricatured the rather gloomy sense of the paradigm of ‘predict and provide’ in which traditional transport planning has sat before pointing to the colourful new ‘kingdom’ on offer. He told us about his experience with the New Zealand Ministry of Transport (which happened ten years ago), where a shift to the “decide-and-provide” approach was identified as necessary.
This led to the development of Triple Access Planning (TAP), which integrates transport, land use, and digital connectivity while also accommodating uncertainty. TAP promotes a more holistic, resilient, user-centric, and collaborative approach to planning. Glenn also shared the publication of the “Triple Access Planning for Uncertain Futures Handbook” which serves as a guide for practitioners to implement this new approach. TAP challenges conventional methods, advocating for visionary, inclusive, and sustainable transport solutions that better address the evolving needs of society, marking a significant paradigm shift in transport planning. Here you can find Glenn’s presentation and video recording.
‘Yes Minister’ Panel discussion
The plenary session followed with a panel discussion in which the panellists were asked to imagine themselves as special advisers for the new Government and had to brief the new Secretary of State for Transport.
In the King’s speech at the state opening of parliament on Wednesday 17th July the incoming Labour government laid out its five strategic transport priorities, supported by the Secretary of State for Transport’s new motto for her department, “our purpose is simple: move fast and fix things”:
- Improving performance on the railways and driving forward rail reform
- Improving bus services and growing usage across the country
- Transforming infrastructure to work for the whole country, promoting social mobility and tackling regional inequality
- Delivering greener transport , and
- Better integrating transport networks.
Emeritus Professor Phil Goodwin (who helped write ‘A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone’ for the last incoming Labour government in 1997) thought that “fixing things” required some time to reflect. He proposed that all planned major road schemes for England that the government has inherited should be independently reviewed against the five strategic priorities and only taken forward if the schemes help to deliver them. It is a time to reboot.
Steve Gooding (Director of the RAC Foundation, and former Director General of the Roads, Traffic and Local Transport Group at the Department for Transport) warned that proposing time for review would require careful framing as it might be seen at odds with “moving fast”. He also pointed out the reality of competing priorities faced by government and the expectations of the public and business. Scrapping major road schemes might save money that could be directed elsewhere, but also risked undermining the Government’s desire to get on with infrastructure and get the economy moving. Steve went further and pointed out that achievement of some government objectives would require more funding for roads: improved bus services require investment in roads as do Angela Rayner’s (the new Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government) plans for new homes and even new towns.
Phil responded that the government could move fast with the things in its manifesto but should review any projects that might undermine its strategic priorities. The other panellists underscored the need to bring people with them and suggested that this required being frank with the public about the challenges.
Professor Helen Bowkett (Senior Technical Director at Arcadis, experienced in transport modelling and appraisal of transport schemes) railed against three popular transport obsessions that need to be exposed. The obsession with speed, despite our knowledge that lower speeds can reduce carbon emissions and lower road speeds such as the 20-mph default urban speed in Wales can reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured. The obsession with rail, despite the huge subsidy from central government received for every trip only benefiting a limited, generally wealthier demographic. In contrast bus subsidies are the responsibility of local government but are more likely to reach people who are socially and economically deprived. Finally, the obsession with benefit cost ratios and the weight given to them, when they should be one of multiple inputs considered to inform planning and investment decisions. Helen argued that we need to move away from disjointed scheme appraisals to a system that enables us to establish what we want to do in each area. We need an approach that enables us to think before we plan. Helen highlighted that adverse environment impacts are often governed by legislation and the project has to be changed to avoid or mitigate them but there is often not a similar force behind the consideration of social impacts in transport appraisal This needs to change.
Finally, Dr Jo Barnes (Professor of Clean Air, UWE) urged caution when moving fast to implement change intended to fix things, citing the example of a National Highways proposal to replace bitumen for road surfacing with recycled plastic. While this might appear to contribute to “delivering greener transport” it would throw up a whole new problem of air pollution and the health hazard of microplastics in the atmosphere. Jo would urge that we engage more with industry, the public and other departments to improve air quality and there should be an open public debate about the transition from cars with internal combustion engines, to electric vehicles. She thinks that government should stand up to motor manufacturers that lobby for lower emissions standards and challenge the rising number of SUVs in urban areas. There needs to be more collaboration between departments (Transport, DEFRA, NetZero, OHID and Energy) to tackle air pollution.
In sum, our panel experts were broadly supportive of the five strategic priorities. However, whilst recognising the political imperative to make swift progress they would urge caution that the Secretary of State’s stated ambition to move fast should be tempered by taking steps to ensure the evidence-base is clear, in order to be confident of fixing those things that would deliver equality and social mobility, and to take people along with them through transparent communication.
Here you can find more info about the panellists’ speeches.
NET walk
During the lunch break a sizeable group of the symposium’s participants split off to explore UWE’s campus – digesting the morning’s presentations and perhaps also the generous hunks of carrot cake that accompanied the buffet. The purpose of this ‘Net Walk’, an idea of Dr Juliet Jain, was to provide an opportunity for networking outside of the spaces that are typical of conferences and symposia. Stepping out of the Engineering Building, the route visited the Bristol Robotics Lab and the new bee-friendly garden space by the farmhouse building, while avoiding the numerous holes in the ground caused by UWE’s ongoing heat decarbonisation project. During the walk, participants got a chance to meet other attendees in an informal setting, expanding their networks beyond the familiar faces one might gravitate towards on the conference floor. At designated stops there was a chance to switch walking partners and make another connection.
We had a good response to the Net Walk from participants, with several mentioning it as a highlight of the day. We will take this forward in future editions of the CTS Symposium and encourage participants to join us on the next one – although we cannot guarantee the lovely weather experienced this year.
Workshops
Workshop on Local Bus Automation
Around 20 delegates took part in a workshop responding to the question ‘Can the Automation of Local Buses Add Value to Delivering Sustainable Transport?’. Prof Graham Parkhurst began the workshop by introducing the MultiCAV project (a summary of the project featured in an earlier CTS blog). Participants then took part in a ‘carousel’ of four 15-minute guided discussions on the themes of:
- the user perspective, and the challenges that unstaffed automated buses might bring, coordinated by Dr Billy Clayton
- the role of the safety operative, led by Dr Jonathan Flower
- stakeholder perspectives on how automation might realistically be applied, with Dr Ben Clark
- the sustainability implications of automated buses drawing on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal indicators, proposed by Prof Graham Parkhurst
The coordinators then gave summary feedback. The following are highlights:
- Billy’s groups felt that passengers would quickly get used to the experience of riding without a driver controlling the vehicle but thought it unlikely that operators would be content to send an unstaffed bus out into an unpredictable fully mixed urban road environment.
- Ben’s groups highlighted some scepticism amongst participants that we will ever reach full automation.
- Jonathan’s groups considered benefits of partial automation like programming smooth driving styles which complied with speed limits, to reduce tyre pollutants and driver fatigue.
- Graham’s groups thought automated buses would be well suited to offering more flexible routes if operating costs were lower, and this would influence performance against some indicators.
In Billy’s break-out group focusing on the passenger experience of autonomous buses, participants felt that passengers would quickly get used to the experience of riding without a driver controlling the vehicle, but questioned the safety and cost benefits of autonomy in the bus context. Discussion centred on passengers’ preference for an “official” presence on board the vehicle, be this in the form of a driver or a conductor, and on the operator side, it was thought unlikely that operators would be content to send an autonomous bus out into a fully mixed urban road environment without any official human presence on board, due to the high possibility of unforeseen circumstances in which it would be necessary to have someone present on the bus to manage the situation.
Workshop on Are we serious about net-zero? Understanding current and future systems to achieve NetZero freight
About 18 people participated in the net-zero freight systems workshop and tried to address the question: “What factors influence the demand for goods in local areas while considering
net-zero targets?”. Despite the great financial benefits companies might have from increased online shopping, inefficient management of local freight flows would be expected to generate increased road congestion, poor air quality, increased road traffic collisions, increased costs for freight companies, and a general negative impact on accessibility, with direct impacts on accessibility for people as well as for goods.
Credit: Mabel Still
After a brief presentation to set the scene and explain why understanding and embedding freight into our thinking is important and drawing upon the recently published Triple Access Planning for uncertain futures handbook, Dr Daniela Paddeu invited participants to work in groups and co-design their mental models (Causal Loop Diagrams) of local freight systems. Participants were encouraged to use the Triple Access System approach, which encourages planners to consider the main factors that influence end-consumers’ choices when they buy products online, especially with respect to the way they have their products delivered, and how areas can respond to these needs while designing and planning for an efficient system.
It was interesting to see how participants considered different aspects of local freight, including economic growth of local areas, as well as air quality, public health implications of freight movements; but also social inequalities, considering winners and losers of online shopping and last-mile deliveries, looking into how neighbourhoods and local areas should be designed to improve access for goods, but also limiting or mitigating the negative externalities due to goods movements in those areas.
Workshop on What is the relation between walkability and governance?
If you were in charge of delivering walkable cities, what would you do, and what resources or tools would you need? The workshop examined walkability from a policy and governance perspective.
Credit: Jim Walker
To kick things off, Dr Tamara Bozovic provided insights gathered from case study analyses of successful walking improvements, examining contributors to implementation, encountered barriers, ways outcomes were monitored and how they aligned with strategic intents.
Some 40 participants, active in administration, advocacy, or academy, first brainstormed to define “the problem” at hand. The discussions reflected the complexity within which walkability operates. Many interlinked dimensions of “the problem” were noted, including lack of leadership, lack of value given to walking experiences, siloed decision-making processes, walking as a mode of transport overlooked, inherent practices, or issues of ownership of space.
The participants brainstormed recommendations for decision-making. The discussions at the group tables and across the room were extremely rich and insightful. Participants took a systems approach, examining leadership and governance, walking experiences, redesign of urban environments to support walking, or ways to normalise walking as a mode of transport.
Closing
Ben Clark (MSc Transport Engineering and Planning Programme Leader) presented a UWE prize of £300 for the best dissertation submitted by Tom Eadie, a student on the programme in the previous academic year (2022-23).
Prof Graham Parkhurst closed the conference by observing that a theme that had been important to him across the day was the need for professionals in the transport sector to lead the decarbonisation mission but, in a time characterised by polarised politics, remembering the importance of consensus-building and UN’s principle of ‘leaving no one behind’. He thanked the organising team and the delegates for their engagement.
Delegates were then asked to complete an online feedback survey. Later analysis showed that 85% gave an overall rating of 80/100 or higher, particularly enjoying the keynote speakers and the panel discussion.
Some quotes from our participants:
I have thoroughly enjoyed the whole day. The inclusion of students, the focus on sustainability (while thoughtfully following it up with a request to bring water bottles and having plant-based food) and the content have all be superb. The NET walk was valuable and such a lovely addition. I’m looking forward to attending again. Thank you!
Loved the panel discussions, the presentations were a good mix of technical and fun!
Smoothly ran, engaging presenters and broad range of topics. Workshops went well too.
Such a great day, really interesting, great to hear about so many ideas and research, also to talk to new people, share ideas.
Enjoyed the workshop discussions and the Netwalk (networking opportunities).
Catering was fantastic and great to see it was fully plant based given the impact of animal agriculture (even more than transport!) Fantastic event. Thank you to organisers and speakers
We are very pleased that our attendees enjoyed the Symposium. We would like to thank everyone who presented and attended. Active participation, insightful presentations, and strong engagement were key in making this event a great success.
We are really looking forward to meeting you all next year at our 2025 CTS Symposium!
