Transport Reform Network working groups are up and running.

Reform topics being worked on include:

1. Data for Autonomous, Electric and Connected Vehicles.
2. Increasing the support from governments for car sharing.
3. Transport equity through better data.
4. Better integration of transport and land use.
5. Improving cycling data to support better decision-making.

If you would like to get involved in these or other reforms, sign up below.

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From business cases and network planning to policy design and investment assurance, STEP Advisory delivers work that stands up to scrutiny and moves projects forward using an evidence-based approach that provides Sensible, Timely, Effective and Practical advice to support the range of Sustainable Transportation Engineer Projects, partnering with you to deliver deep technical expertise with clear, compelling analysis that gives executives confidence to act.

Our team brings national experience, global best practice, and a commitment to practical, real‑world outcomes. When the stakes are high and the decisions matter, organisations choose STEP Advisory to cut through complexity and deliver clarity, credibility, and momentum.

Active Transport

The Hierarchy That Isn't: Why Walking Stays at the Bottom

Many jurisdictions have adopted a transport hierarchy, placing walking at the top, supposedly making it a priority. Alas, when it comes to walking, the transport hierarchy is more honoured in the breach than in the observance. This research looked at why this is happening in Scandinavia.

Key Takeaways

• The research used surveys and focus groups of professionals from a range of disciplines to understand the barriers to supporting walking.
• Walking is underresearched and lacks data compared to other transport modes.
• Knowledge and data on falls and slips while walking are lacking compared to incidents involving motorised transport or cycling.
• There is a lack of understanding of why people walk, especially amongst different societal groups.
• The way walking is communicated across political, media, and social spheres downgrades it relative to other modes.
• It was generally believed that to influence politicians and decision-makers, there is a need for reasoned justification and cost-benefit analysis to demonstrate the economic importance of promoting walking and protecting pedestrians.
• When it comes to walking, there are two unconnected fields: the traditional risk (safety) field and the traditional planning field.
• The risk-based field is highly quantitative, basing its work on hard data, cost-benefit calculations, and interventions that can be assessed and evaluated using quantitative methodologies.
• The planning (urban design)-based field, meanwhile, is comparatively qualitative, basing decisions on evidence and knowledge tools such as research, principles, case studies, and design precedents.
• Many participants were well acquainted with people in their own field but had no connections with participants in other fields, even though they worked on similar issues, projects or geographical areas.

Comment

I felt that the question this paper asked about why we undervalue walking was an excellent one. However, I felt that the answers received tended to focus on the symptoms of being undervalued rather than getting to the heart of why that is the case.

I suspect the answer lies in land use and infrastructure quality. When so many of our core amenities are not within a walkable distance, the quality of the infrastructure is irrelevant.

Similarly, if people do not feel safe walking because crossing roads feels unsafe, then they will not walk even to things in close proximity to their home, such as local schools.

If people do not walk because it does not get them anywhere useful or because it feels unsafe, they will not value walking.

What Next?

Do you have a walking strategy with funding attached?

Funding

Who Pays for Transport? Managing the Multi-Funder Reality

Many transport projects and operations receive funding from, and therefore depend on, multiple levels of government and the private sector. This research, with a US context, provides a guide for managing the resulting complexity.

Key Takeaways

• The research identifies five approaches transportation agencies are using to succeed in the interdependent funding environment.

1. Get smart about options for navigating interdependency. What information do agencies need to be successful in an interdependent funding environment?
   • Understand state and regional goals.
   • Know what funding aligns with asset ownership and characteristics.
   • Identify and track opportunities.
   • Understand how other states and regions fund transportation needs.
2. Create a consensus vision that captures mutual goals.
   • Develop a visionary plan.
   • Conduct extensive outreach.
   • Implement low-cost demonstrations to garner public and decision-maker attention and support.
3. Cultivate relationships with partners at all levels of government.
   • Foster relationships and collaboration.
   • Promote a culture of trust and cooperation.
   • Create or participate in regional and subregional initiatives.
   • Encourage and participate in regional collaboration.
   • Expand the number of local planning entities to enhance coordination and foster consensus.
4. Pursue effective funding and financing strategies.
   • Pool funding strategically to leverage opportunity.
   • Align investments with federal, state, and/or regional and local goals.
   • Pursue a proactive competitive grant strategy.
   • Maximize the use of federal dollars.
   • Federalize projects selectively.
   • Validate the value of services provided.
   • Implement strategies for risk sharing.
   • Pursue regional funding opportunities.
   • Advocate for funding.
   • Pursue all options - do not be risk-averse.
   • Require or incentivize cost sharing.
   • Pursue multilateral funding agreements.
   • Leverage debt and other financial tools.
   • Use diverse revenues and cash reserves to enhance flexibility.
5. Establish and optimize practices for working interdependently with others.
   • Institute clear and formalized rules, protocols, or processes.
   • Use capital programming best practices.
   • Use conservative budgeting and programming practices.
   • Monitor revenue and project completion.

Comment

I have worked on several major transport projects across multiple jurisdictions, funded by multiple sources. It is far from being just a US phenomenon.

Many transport agencies are poor at leveraging all the available funding mechanisms.

One area where transport needs to improve is in leveraging value-capture mechanisms. However, it requires managing the stakeholders whose value you are capturing. This is a new mechanism for many transport professionals (and politicians), and as a consequence, they prefer to do what they already know and ask for more taxpayer funding.

Although this often works for an individual project, it reduces taxpayer funding for other projects and, as a result, for better transport overall.

What Next?

Do you leverage all available sources to fund transport?

Cycling

Pedalling Backwards: Danish Cycling Rates Drop

Denmark is arguably the best country for cycling in the world. This research looked at how cycling is faring in Denmark. The results are not encouraging.

Key Takeaways

• The research is a longitudinal study that compares data from the 2020 baseline survey with data from the 2025 survey, covering around 150,000 adult Danes.
• The bicycle is losing ground: The proportion of Danes who commute by bicycle at least three days a week has fallen from 28% in 2020 to 26% in 2025.
• Critical decline among young people: There is a drastic decline in cycling activity among 15-29 year olds. Among 15-19 year olds, the proportion has fallen from 38% to 32%, and students as a group have fallen from 41% to 36%.
• Gender parity is due to women's decline: The difference between men's and women's commuting has almost disappeared (now only 1 percentage point), but this is primarily due to a significant decline in women from 30% in 2020 to 26% in 2025.
• The electric bike is pushing boundaries: it is the most important factor in keeping Danes on two wheels. For medium distances (5-19 km), significantly more people choose an electric bike than a regular bike, making it a real alternative to the car.
• Geographic polarisation: The electric bicycle appears to strengthen the cycling culture in hilly provincial towns, while it plays a much smaller role in the flat urban centres.
• In general, all forms of cycling have declined, including leisure cycling and forms of exercise such as road cycling and mountain biking.
• The biggest barriers to cycling to and from work/education are 'the distance' and 'the time it takes to do it', according to Denmark in Motion's 2020 study. But people have not gotten any further from work/education in 2025. So that does not explain why fewer people take their bikes to school or work.
• In 2020, many people, especially men, did not cycle because they simply liked driving. For women, physical considerations kept them from cycling.
• The research could not pinpoint why cycling was declining.

Comment

The research is very interesting. It is not clear why Denmark is going backwards in cycling and why 15-29 year olds have decreased their cycling so much. Some hypotheses include:

• Overdoing a narrative on the dangers of cycling and the need to wear helmets.
• Increases in riding a scooter.
• Improved public transport.
• Significant road investment leading to increased driving.

The researchers are doing further analysis to understand what is going on.

We need better data, not just on which transport mode people choose, but also on why, so we can understand trends and invest to achieve better outcomes.

What Next?

How good is your data on why people prefer different transport modes?

Quick Adventures in Transport Wonderland

Here is what else I came across this week:

• ​The UK's Most Beautiful Railway? Settle & Carlisle Railway Celebrates 150 Years - A heart-warming YouTube video.
• ​Above the tracks: China's unique model for transit-oriented development - A Planetizen article about how China is building over its metro depots.
• ​Luas: How Modern Light Rail Came To Dublin - A fascinating podcast interview about the trials and tribulations of this light rail project.

Podcast

The Future of Long-Distance Freight Transport

The latest Transport Leaders podcast discusses the impact of autonomous trucks on long-distance freight.

You can listen here​

You can watch here​

Tools

Transit Capacity and Quality of Service

Manual

The fourth edition of the Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual from the Transportation Research Board is now available.

Innovation

Auckland Transport Access Atlas

The Atlas is a new interactive map of car dependency, accessibility, and transport equity across Auckland.

The tool asks:
Where does the car still provide a major access advantage?
Where do walking, cycling, and public transport keep up?
Where does car dependency overlap with no-car households, deprivation, older adults, or poor access to food and health services?
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And answers: what kind of intervention is likely to matter: new infrastructure, better service, safer local access, or targeted support?