Cyclists in shared bus lanes: could there be unrecognised impacts on bus journey times?

This paper contributes to debates around improving the modelling of cycles, through an exploratory case study of bus–cycle interactions in London. This case study examines undocumented delays to buses caused by high volumes of cyclists in bus lanes. It has generally been assumed that cyclists do not noticeably delay buses in shared lanes. However, in many contexts where cyclists routinely share bus lanes, cyclist numbers have historically been low. In some such places, bus lanes are now seeing very high volumes of cyclists, far above those previously studied. This may have implications for bus – and cycle – journey times, but traditionally traffic modelling has not represented the effects of such interactions well. With some manipulation of parameters taken from models of other cities, the model described here demonstrates that cycles can cause significant delays to buses in shared lanes, at high cycling volumes. These delays are likely to become substantially larger if London's cycling demographic becomes more diverse, because cyclist speeds will decline. Hence bus journey time benefits may derive from separating cycles from buses, where cycle flows are high. The project also suggests that microsimulation modelling software, as typically used, remains problematic for representing cyclists

Motor traffic on urban minor and major roads: impacts on pedestrian and cyclist injuries

This article compares per-mile risks posed by motor traffic to pedestrians and cyclists on urban major and minor roads. Carrying out new analysis of police injury data from 2005-15, the paper finds that per billion vehicle miles, motor vehicles on minor roads create more pedestrian casualties than motor vehicles on major roads. Specifically, for KSI (killed or seriously injured) injuries the rate per billion motor vehicle miles is 17% higher on minor roads (47 versus 40 KSIs per billion vehicle miles), while for slight injuries it is 66% higher (188 vs. 123 slight injuries per billion vehicle miles). Examining the costs of injuries sustained, these are 7.4% higher for pedestrians per motor vehicle mile travelled on urban minor roads, compared to major roads. For cyclists, injury costs are slightly higher (4.2%) on major roads per mile driven, compared to minor roads. These results suggest that re-routing motor traffic to major roads in urban areas may reduce pedestrian casualties. However, if cyclist safety on major roads is not improved, shifting motor traffic from minor to major roads may result in unintended negative injury consequences for cyclists

Do institutional arrangements make a difference to transport policy and implementation? Lessons for Britain

This paper describes local government decision-making in transport in three areas of the UK, London, West Yorkshire and Edinburgh, in which major changes in local government decision-making structures have taken place over the last decade, and between which arrangements are now very different. The research discusses whether institutional change has had a beneficial or adverse effect, and whether any of the current structures provides a more effective framework for policy development and implementation. The results show that although the sites share a broadly common set of objectives there are differences in devolved responsibilities and in the extent to which various policy options are within the control of the bodies charged with transport policy delivery. The existence of several tiers of government, coupled with the many interactions required between these public sector bodies and the predominantly private sector public transport operators appears to create extra transactional barriers and impedes the implementation of the most effective measures for cutting congestion. There is, however, a compelling argument for the presence of an overarching tier of government to organise travel over a spatial scale compatible with that of major commuter patterns. The extent to which such arrangements currently appear to work is a function of the range of powers and the funding levels afforded to the co-ordinating organisation

Nothing is certain in the next pandemic:communicating about complex science during times of crisis

De 'per ongeluk' handdruk van premier Rutte, Irma de gebarentolk (niet hamsteren!), 'huidhonger' - de absurditeit van de coronapandemie was wellicht het duidelijkst voelbaar tijdens persconferenties. Gelukkig was daar de wetenschap die ons als schipper door deze roerige storm zeilde, en daarom moesten we allemaal - de Nederlandse bevolking én politici zelf - 'de feiten' blijven volgen. Maar wat als die feiten continu veranderen of méér onduidelijkheid oproepen? In dit essay reflecteren wij op de verwetenschappelijking van coronabeleid en -communicatie. We betogen hoe dit het maatschappelijk debat polariseerde, en pleiten voor het omarmen van de onzekere rol van wetenschap binnen maatschappelijke crises

The Journey Experience of Visually Impaired People on Public Transport in London

The use of public transport is critical for Visually Impaired People (VIP) to be independent and have access to out-of-home activities. Despite government policies promoting accessible transport for everyone, the needs of VIP are not well addressed, and journeys can be very difficult to negotiate. Journey requirements can often differ from those of other categories of people on the disability spectrum. Therefore, the aim of this research is to evaluate the journey experience of VIP using public transport. Semi-structured interviews conducted in London are used. The results show that limited access to information, inconsistencies in infrastructure and poor availability of staff assistance are the major concerns. Concessionary travel, on the other hand, encourages VIP to make more trips and hence has a positive effect on well-being. The findings suggest that more specific policies should be introduced to cater to the special needs of particular disabilities rather than generalising the types of aids available. It is also concluded that the journey experience of VIP is closely related to an individual’s independence and hence inclusion in society

Cycling and disability: A call for further research

© 2017 Cycling can offer health benefits, and these benefits are relevant for disabled people. Few disabled people cycle, and disability is under-researched in cycling studies. This paper (i) reviews current research into disabled cycling, and provides a critique of inclusive cycle design guidance; and (ii) reports on a recent study which highlights some of the significant issues faced by disabled cyclists in accessing cycle infrastructure and using designated cycle networks. A semi-structured focus group was conducted with eight inclusive cycle scheme users, seven care providers supporting the majority of the cyclists, and the scheme organiser. We conclude that the needs of disabled cyclists are increasingly being taken into consideration in infrastructure design guidance, but there are many issues to be resolved before cycling is accessible to and usable by disabled people. There is little research on understanding the experiences of disabled cyclists, and hence there is a knowledge gap concerning the efficacy of current design guidance. The data presented in this paper provide a useful first insight into the experiences of a group of disabled cyclists, but these data are limited to the specific context of that group. Further research is needed

Re-enacting the mobility versus accessibility debate: Moving towards collaborative synergies among experts

The benefits of the accessibility approach in transport planning are well-known and widely documented in the literature. However, in practice, most transport planning processes are focused on improving mobility and not on improving accessibility. Recent research has made it clear that what is blocking the accessibility approach are not the technological dimensions of transport planning, or the lack of knowledge about how to perform accessibility planning in practice. This approach is being blocked instead by institutional barriers. This article critically identifies some of these barriers. Adopting a cross-disciplinary and international perspective, two rounds of in-depth interviews with accessibility experts were conducted. This allowed gathering insights not only about the institutional barriers to the adoption of the accessibility approach in transport planning practice, but also about possible pathways to make accessibility a more central concept in decision-making

Phytotoxicity, cytotoxicity and genotoxicity evaluation of organic and inorganic pollutants rich tannery wastewater from a Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) in Unnao district, India using Vigna radiata and Allium cepa

The leather industry is a major source of environmental pollution in India. The wastewater generated by leather industries contains very high pollution parameters due to the presence of a complex mixture of organic and inorganic pollutants even after the treatment at a Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) and disturbs the ecological flora and fauna. The nature, characteristics and toxicity of CETP treated wastewater is yet to be fully elucidated. Thus, this study aims to characterize and evaluate the toxicity of CETP treated tannery wastewater collected from the Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, India. In addition to measuring the physico-chemical parameters, the residual organic pollutants was identified by GC-MS analysis and phytotoxicity, cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of the treated wastewater was evaluated using Vigna radiata L. and Allium cepa L. Results showed that the treated wastewater contained very high pollution parameters (TDS 3850mg/L, BOD 680mg/L, COD-1300mg/L). GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of various types of residual organic pollutants including benzoic acid, 3-[4,-(T-butyl) Phenyl] furan-2-5-dione, benzeneacetamide, resorcinol, dibutyl phthalate, and benzene-1,2,4-triol. Further, toxicological studies showed the phytotoxic nature of the wastewater as it inhibited seed germination in V. radiata L. and root growth of A. cepa. Genotoxicity was evidenced in the root tip cell of A. cepa where chromosomal aberrations (stickiness, chromosome loss, C-mitosis, and vagrant chromosome) and nuclear abnormalities like micronucleated and binucleated cells were observed. Thus, results suggested that it is not safe to discharge these wastewater into the environment

Are All Measures of International Reserves Created Equal? An Empirical Comparison of International Reserve Ratios

Using available annual data of 174 economies since 1957, we examine the similarities and differences of seven international reserve ratios. While individual international reserve ratios display substantial variations across economies, they are associated with an economy?s characteristics including geographic location, income level, stage of development, degree of indebtedness, and exchange rate regime. The association pattern varies across time and type of international reserve ratios. Interestingly, there is only limited evidence that Asian and non-Asian economies have significantly different international reserve hoarding behavior. Our results suggest that the inference about whether an economy is hoarding too many or too few international reserves depends on the choice of international reserve ratio. Further, different international reserve ratios exhibit different persistence profiles, but the evidence of dependence on structural characteristics is rather weak