May 29th, 2025 Subscribe Why Is It So Hard to Fix Freight Rail? Key Takeaways Despite widespread policy commitments to freight rail growth for congestion relief and climate goals, most jurisdictions are failing to achieve a meaningful modal shift from road to rail. The commonly cited barriers: infrastructure constraints, regulatory fragmentation, passenger rail priority, and unequal competition with roads are symptoms of deeper institutional problems, not root causes. Four systemic issues...
4 days agoΒ β’Β 8 min read
Subscribe Welcome Transport Leaders Welcome to this week's edition of the Transport Leader newsletter, your 5-minute guide to strategic transport thinking from around the world. This week, I look at whether e-bikes can transform transport systems, bus network redesigns and cognitive biases. Have a great trip! In Today's Transport Leader: Why Your City's $10 Billion Road Budget Won't Fix Traffic (But a $500 E-Bike Might) How to boost bus patronage without breaking the budget Six Cognitive...
7 days agoΒ β’Β 6 min read
May 22nd, 2025 Subscribe Smart Mobility Payments: Re-thinking How We Price Transport How demand-based pricing, loyalty programs, and seamless payment systems can unlock better journeys and transform public transport. Among other things, the Transport Leader provides a forum for those working at the cutting edge of new ideas in Transport to share what they are working on. This article by David Lunt, a transport payments expert, fits that bill. In case there is any doubt, I am not being...
11 days agoΒ β’Β 5 min read
Subscribe Welcome Transport Leaders Welcome to this week's edition of the Transport Leader newsletter, your 5-minute guide to strategic transport thinking from around the world. This week, I look at whether we are missing a trick when it comes to reducing car dependency, policies for promoting walking and cycling, and the ten traits of high-impact transport leaders. Have a great trip! In Today's Transport Leader: The Missing Key to Reducing Car Dependency? Policies for Promoting Walking and...
14 days agoΒ β’Β 6 min read
May 15th, 2025 Subscribe Climbing Mount Transport Reform: Supporting Political Leaders to Become Bold Transport Reformers This blog is based on a seminar I gave at the Institute of Transport and Logistics at the University of Sydney earlier this week. Key Takeaways Transport systems must climb significant reform mountains, such as increasing congestion, climate change and technological transformation. Although there are exceptions, many of our transport political leaders lack understanding of...
18 days agoΒ β’Β 6 min read
Subscribe Welcome Transport Leaders Welcome to this week's edition of the Transport Leader newsletter, your 5-minute guide to strategic transport thinking from around the world. This week, I look at one reason why Anglosphere infrastructure is so much more expensive than European infrastructure, how Germanyβs experiments with public transport fares have been going, and how we can use simple rules of thumb to improve project leadership. Have a great trip! In Today's Transport Leader: The...
21 days agoΒ β’Β 7 min read
May 8th, 2025 Subscribe Revolutionizing Public Transit with AI: The Power of Dynamic Route Optimization One of my hopes for the Transport Leader newsletter and blog is that they would provide a forum for those working at the cutting edge of new ideas in Transport to share what they are working on. This article by Muriel Demarcus fits that bill perfectly. Muriel is the founder and CEO of Marsham Edge, a company that helps infrastructure leaders harness AI, Smart Technologies and advanced...
25 days agoΒ β’Β 11 min read
Subscribe Welcome Transport Leaders Welcome to this week's edition of the Transport Leader newsletter, your 5-minute guide to strategic transport thinking from around the world. This week, I look at vision-led planning, encouraging walking and cycling, San Diegoβs mobility roadmap and safety culture. Have a great trip! In Today's Transport Leader: Designing Tomorrow's Transport: The Vision-Led Planning Revolution Beyond infrastructure: How to get more people to walk and cycle San Diego's...
28 days agoΒ β’Β 6 min read
May 1st, 2025 Subscribe Reply to this email for a printable version. The Ten Transport Questions Decision Makers Must Ask to Prevent Multi-Billion Dollar Mistakes. Key Takeaways In transport, we are poor at choosing the right initiatives to progress. This problem is well known but persists. Part of the reason is that we do not equip decision makers with the right questions to ask. The blog contains 10 questions decision makers should ask. These include questions around problem priorities, big...
about 1 month agoΒ β’Β 5 min read