LSE Cities think tank on cars, bikes and walkability: “It’s the economy, stupid.”

There’s a great quote in a recent Financial Times article from Philipp Rode, the executive director of the LSE Cities think tank, about what’s needed to encourage high tech start-ups in the city, notably “a shift towards inner-city appreciation - what we’re seeing is a return to the city,” as, increasingly, people prize perks like good transport, bike lanes, walkability and sustainability over owning a car or buying a big house.

As the FT reports, Rode reckons the next wave of technological innovations will come from companies that understand how people live in Europe’s metropolitan areas - “the hyper-urban condition created by public transport and higher-density living.” How long before our local politicians wake up and realise that if their answer is “more cars and more car parks,” then they just don’t get it. Now that's what I call stupid.

“You don’t have transport”

Or so someone said to me the other day, referring to my status as a carfree chooser and their perception that I wouldn’t be able to get to a couple of addresses (in central Brighton!).  Correction: “You don’t own a car” ≠ “You don’t have transport.” “Transport” takes many forms, including: two feet, one at the end of each leg; two wheels, frequently attached to a bike. Four wheels, which feature on all of the following: car club cars, hire cars, taxis and buses. Not to mention the wheels that run on rails which snake out of Brighton and Hove and connect us with the rest of the UK and Europe. When it comes to transport, ownership is not the name of the game.

How not to miss the bus

One of the things that puts people off public transport is not seeming to be in control. The Illusion of Control is a well-documented feature in psychology, and it clearly afflicts drivers. It’s something that public transport users are less likely to suffer from - often because we seem to have very little control over what’s going on. And that’s because exercising control means getting hold of the information needed to make the right transport choices: buses turning up when they’re not expected, or not turning up when they should do is a major turn off.

Developments in ICT (Information and Communications Technology) now mean that working your way through a timetable has become a lot less necessary. Increasing numbers of bus stops are being fitted with real time indicators which count down when the bus is due, or you can send a text using the code on the bus stop. Even better are the smartphone apps now available. I use Bus Scout, available for Android smartphones (there doesn’t seem to be an iOS version). It’s powered by Traveline, it’s free, and you can download it here. I’ve used Bus Scout all over the place, and it’s usually pretty accurate - sometimes it’s even better than the information provided by the real time indicators at the bus stop. (How can that be?). So now I know when the next bus is due - and still avoid the illusion of control.

Doctor’s advice: take public transport to avoid colds and flu’

Using public transport means catching more colds and flu’. It’s obvious, right? Wrong. And here’s the research to prove it, based on a study of 6,000 people carried out by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which found that fewer people who caught public transport got ill than if they commuted in another way. The implication is that going public means building up more immunity, and succumbing to fewer infections. Another good reason to use public transport rather than go by car.
Photo from Propaganda: Power and Persuasion, an exhibition at the British Library

Overhearings

Being a driver means being inside the box, which means you get to choose your own soundscape. On public transport there are fewer choices: you can cut yourself off with an MP3, or you can be immersed in the sounds of other people. Sometimes this is bad, as per the Racist Woman on Tram, ranting on the Croydon Tramlink, captured on someone’s phone, and then posted on Youtube (the woman is now Helping the Police with Their Enquiries). Less virulent, but also annoying is “sodcasting" - some stroppy teenager with a phone playing a tinny version of a song you don't like. But sometimes it can be very entertaining, you just never know. Here’s an exchange overheard on a recent bus ride, featuring an alarmingly cheerful (drunk?) Scotsman, and a bemused Spanish language student (he said he was from Barcelona. Where have I heard that before?):
Scotsman: “Do you know the difference between an elephant and a loaf of bread.”
Boy from Barcelona: “No.”
Scotsman, to everyone else on bus: "Whatever you do, don't send him to do the shopping."
Boom boom.