Travel

A report from the Centre for Cities finds that 8 of the 10 largest British cities have seen private sector jobs become more concentrated in their city centres. The result is that more than one third of jobs in large city centres are in knowledge intensive service activities, such as finance, law and marketing. In London this figure is almost 50 per cent. And in turn they are less reliant on retail, with retail jobs making up 9 per cent and 5 per cent of all jobs respectively.

But the opposite has occurred in medium and small sized cities. These cities, on average, have seen an increasing number of private sector jobs being based away from their city centres, with out-of-town employment sites playing a larger role in their economies. And fewer of their city centre jobs are in knowledge intensive activities – one quarter of jobs in the city centres of medium size cities are in this area, while the figure is one fifth for small cities. This in turn makes them more reliant on retail, which makes up at least 16 per cent of all jobs in each.

These findings are relevant for transport provision. The larger cities are becoming less reliant on the car for travel to their centres, where interaction between people is inhibited by traffic flows and parked cars, and where rail-based public transport offers speed and reliability.

There is ongoing debate about the benefits to be expected from the proposed high-speed rail route north from London, known as HS2. The standard transport economic analysis, which recognises the value of time savings from faster travel, yields a very modest benefit-to-cost ratio, even assuming that time spent on trains  is completely unproductive. Accordingly, the proponents of HS2 commissioned a different analysis from KPMG which attempts to estimate productivity gains, put at £15bn a year. However, Professor Henry Overman, an expert on this topic, is very critical in two recent blogs (12 and 13 September). He concludes: ‘So, on my reading, [the KPMG report is] technically wrong and possibly out by orders of magnitude.’

It is to be expected that a consultant commissioned by a proponent of a major infrastructure scheme will look for evidence of benefits sufficient to justify going ahead. What is needed is an appraisal of the costs and benefits of HS2 by an impartial body competent to explore the range of valid methodologies.

 A Roads Task Force (RTF) was set up by the Mayor of London in July 2012 to tackle the challenges facing London’s streets and roads.It has recently issued a substantial report which repays careful study. Street and roads are for movement, of course, but they are also places in their own right, where things happen and people interact. In fact, streets account for 80% of London’s public space. The aim is to improve the efficiency of movement, to encourage walking, cycling and use of public transport, and to provide better, safer places for all the activities that take place on street. These potentially conflicting aims are a real challenge, particularly given expected population growth.

The RTF has looked at what other cities around the world are doing. In successful cities, there is a clear trend towards reducing the impact of motor traffic to improve the quality of life and make them more attractive to live in and to do business. A conceptual framework involving nine street types is advocated, ranging from the arterial road to the city place, depending on the relative importance of movement versus non-movement activities.

One particularly interesting proposal is that consideration is given to shifting motorised traffic underground, in order to maintain capacity for vehicular movement while increasing surface capacity for sustainable modes and delivering transformed places. Examples are cited from Paris and Oslo where this has been successful.

Those with a particular interest in urban travel should look at the impressive set of technical analyses compiled by Transport for London (TfL) to support the RTF, which includes a set of international case studies.

The RTF report has been endorsed by the Mayor and by TfL.

Earlier this year I participated in a study visit to social enterprises in southern India organised by Journeys for Change. It was an excellent experience which I recommend. There is now a video of a similar trip.

The British Museum has announced a record rise in visitor numbers, up 42% in May compared with the previous year. The BM is the most visited attraction in Britain with 5.57m visitors in 2012. The free-to-enter museum is on the itinerary of one in four overseas visitors to London.

My recent experience is that the BM is uncomfortably crowded, even for special exhibitions with paid and timed ticketing. We may not be far from the point where the demand exceeds capacity of this and other key London attractions, which in turn may slow the growth of overseas visitors to London. This is relevant for future projections of the demand for air travel and for airport capacity in southeast Britain.