Newslink January 2022

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Owning a car is ‘outdated
thinking’, says minister
A junior transport minister has suggested
the British public should prepare for a
future where owning their own car will be
a thing of the past.
Junior transport minister Trudy Harrison
told a sustainability conference in
December that private ownership of cars
was outdated ‘20th-century thinking’ and
the country should move to ‘shared
mobility schemes’ to cut carbon emissions.
Ms Harrison, who is also a former
parliamentary private secretary to Boris
Johnson, said the UK was “reaching a
tipping point where shared mobility in the
form of car clubs, scooters and bike shares
will soon be a realistic option for many of
us to get around.”
The conference, which was hosted by
shared transport charity CoMoUK, heard
the minister also say the UK needed to
embrace a transport model based on
“greater flexibility, with personal choice
and low carbon shared transport.”
A car sharing
scheme based at
Heathrow Airport
She admitted that this switch in opinion
would take time, but added that: “Many
things seem far fetched until they aren’t
and I believe the same is true for shared
mobility.”
Cars are responsible for approximately
13 per cent of Britain’s greenhouse gas
emissions and current government policy is
based around scrapping sales of new petrol
and diesel cars within eight years while
promoting electric car use and ‘greener’
transport such as walking, cycling and the
use of E-scooters.
Portsmouth trial for
Luminous road signs
Portsmouth City Council is trialling
luminous road markings designed to
enhance visibility for pedestrians and
cyclists crossing the road. The
Flowell crosswalks and cycle
crossings tech has been installed by
civil engineering and transport
infrastructure specialists, Colas.
The new crossing lights up when
triggered by sensors, in an effort to
enhance visibility for users. Colas say
it also ensures better compliance
with traffic regulations and
encourages drivers to behave more
calmly at busy intersections.
Flowell can also be adapted to give
priority to certain vehicles during
specific time times of day or allocate
space for a dedicated use such as
temporary outdoor dining spaces.
The site in Portsmouth will be
monitored to determine its impact on
behaviour, to see if its use could
improve road infrastructure in the
rest of the UK.
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