It’s a scandal that, for one of the most important transport connections in the UK, no serious exploration of alternatives has ever been undertaken until now. Read our Essex-Kent Superlinks report here: buff.ly/41elq19

Each year we look at new housing developments to find out if there are good places to live that don't require a car. Our volunteers make this possible by making site visits and reporting back on their findings. If you're interested in becoming a volunteer, please sign up here: buff.ly/3DkU8hq

Our report, Essex-Kent Superlinks, shows there are good alternatives to the Lower Thames Crossing. Scrapping the Lower Thames Crossing and choosing solutions which address the needs of working people would be transformative for them and the economy. buff.ly/41elq19

The Essex-Kent Superlinks report highlights alternatives to the Lower Thames Crossing. Alternatives that would be transformative for working people and the economy! Read the report here: buff.ly/41elq19

the boss of Transport for London tells FT he wants employers to encourage staff to come into the office more frequently: but TfL mandates its office-based staff to be in the office only 50% of the time.... www.ft.com/content/7397...

2,500 trees felled to create two additional lanes and two new junctions on a 5.5-mile (9km) stretch of the A47 between North Tuddenham and Easton, Norfolk www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

In this short report, Keith Buchan, a highly experienced transport planner, makes recommendations for safety improvements on the A66 which could be implemented now, at low cost, rather than waiting five years for the £1.5 billion A66 scheme to be built transportactionnetwork.org.uk/wp-content/u...

Good news in Wales: Young people aged 16 to 21 will be able to ride for £1 on buses across Wales www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

making trips due to lower travel cost (mostly shifted from car); 16–24 year olds, urban; frequent bus users benefit most by more trips/perceived positives. Value for money hard to assess, but ‘low’ even with unquantified extra benefits.

EVALUATION OF FIRST 10 MONTHS OF THE £2 BUS FARE CAP January-October 2023, England assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67a5f5... Key results : Approx. 5% increase in bus pax. Savings vary significantly. Travel costs cut. Main beneficiaries probably: those who'd travel even if no cap; those

No wonder residents feel let down... www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerse...

So basically a 'Mobility Hub' is a car park with some cycle parking, which happens to be near some bus stops and 6 minutes walk from a tram stop. Sounds rather like Leith Street.🤷 citydev-portal.edinburgh.gov.uk/idoxpa-web/a... h/t @harryjwilliams.bsky.social @edi.bike

BUS STOPS MORE THAN 6 YEARS OUT OF DATE In 2018, Stagecoach West renumbered its Swindon–Oxford route from 66 to S6. In 2020, @oxfordshirecc.bsky.social reinstated route 63. The stops at Petypher Gdns, Witney Rd, Kingston Bagpuize, are more than 6 years out of date. www.facebook.com/bususersoxfo...

Good news from Greater Manchester, where in the last five years: 🚶People walking short journeys has gone up - from 52% to 57% 🚗And people driving short journeys has gone down - from 41% to 36%. highways-news.com/bee-network-...

Well done Charlie Maynard 👏🏻👏🏻 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Oxford, Witney and Carterton rail link feasibility study is published in full https://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxford-witney-and-carterton-rail-link-feasibility-study-is-published-in-full/

BUS STOPS MORE THAN 6 YEARS OUT OF DATE In 2018, Stagecoach West renumbered its Swindon–Oxford route from 66 to S6. In 2020, @oxfordshirecc.bsky.social reinstated route 63. The stops at Petypher Gdns, Witney Rd, Kingston Bagpuize, are more than 6 years out of date. www.facebook.com/bususersoxfo...

The Lower Thames Crossing scheme was predicted to cost £9bn in August 2020. Applying inflation for road construction up to September 2024 gives a new total of £11.3bn. It fails on ALL its scheme objectives and will only bring 5 years of traffic relief at Dartford for 7 years of disruption!

How does the Government intend to address the connectivity needs of SW England? Our report looks at alternative transport investment in the South West after the cancellation of the A303 Stonehenge and A358 road schemes. transportactionnetwork.org.uk/wp-content/u...

This should be a wake up call for the Government. Instead of spending £billions on new roads, funding should be prioritised for public transport and active travel.

There appears to be a mistaken belief that any infrastructure project is good for the economy. This is despite the government’s own projections showing congestion would worsen even if all the schemes in the current roads programme were built!

Focussing on removing planning constraints and reducing opportunities for legal challenge misses the bigger problems causing delays, such as poor developer proposals, or slow decision making, of which the government is as guilty as anyone else it cares to blame. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

These flaws then affect decision-making, with the government often taking far longer than the three months allocated. We should by all means speed up vital infrastructure, but we should be honest about where the problems lie. Our letter in The Times 👇🏼

including promoting roads when we need better public transport. In the case of the Lower Thames Crossing, it wasted years producing something so flawed that it had to withdraw its original planning application.

The government has made much of its desire to speed up planning decisions, yet by focusing on the legal system it is missing where the real problems lie. This is especially true for road building, where National Highways spends years developing unsuitable and unpopular proposals

Our letter printed in The Times about the government wanting to speed up planning decisions 👇🏼

Large, polluting, dangerous SUVs are taking over our streets. But there is an alternative… The SUV Alliance are taking action with their 5-point manifesto for safer, fairer streets, without SUVs. suv-alliance.org.uk #SaferStreets #FairerStreets #WithoutSUVs

Rachel Reeves is talking about growth but wants to go ahead with the Lower Thames Crossing 🤔 It would make a poor investment and deliver little economic growth compared to its huge cost.

There is cross-party opposition to the Lower Thames Crossing, with Labour and Reform Councillors and MPs speaking out against it thurrock.nub.news/news/local-n...

BUS STOPS 6 YEARS OUT OF DATE @oxfordshirecc.bsky.social updating of bus stops has collapsed. Inspecting 39 stops between Gosford & central Oxford, we found only four on which the route numbers were up to date. And the routes that have not been updated are those that you subsidise with your taxes!

❗️It’s time for WECA to step up. Delays in devolution & lack of local control are stalling progress on public transport improvements. Let’s invest in sustainable travel, not more cuts to services. #BusServiceCuts #WestOfEngland #SustainableTransport

🚌👀 WECA’s proposed cuts are a threat to accessibility. With buses cut & routes reduced, how are those with disabilities supposed to travel? Accessible transport isn’t a luxury—it’s a right. #InclusiveTransport #AccessibilityMatters #SaveOurBuses

Scotland has made ‘minimal progress’ in reducing car use. Since the target to reduce car kilometres driven by 20% by 2030 was set: - public transport use has fallen - walking and cycling has not increased - car use almost back to pre-pandemic levels airqualitynews.com/local-govern...

Businesses will close. Jobs will go. The disabled will be imprisoned in their homes. For four years! It is utterly intolerable. The fight is only just beginning.

And asked if he would resign if the new deadline was missed, the minister Lord Hendy, till recently chair of Network Rail, said no - because somebody else might be to blame. These people don't seem to understand roadworks, or politics, or leadership.

Friday's news was awful, unbelievable. Having spent 20 months hacking just 100 yards of road, Network Rail we're going to spend another 20 months hacking at the same hundred yards of road. As in a nightmare, the same thing repeats and repeats, but nothing changes.

The venue for Reeves’ speech about growth in the Oxford–Cambridge arc is on the trackbed of the closed Witney railway, and beside the B4044, where traffic flow is restricted by a C18th toll bridge and where a cycleway for the 3.5 miles to Oxford has still not been built despite a 13-year campaign.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her keynote economic speech at Siemens Healthineers in Eynsham this morning. It included a pledge to invest in the Oxford–Cambridge “Growth Corridor” and support for a third runway at Heathrow – the latter attracting a crowd of protestors outside the building.

Over the last few days, the footbridge over Botley Road at Oxford station has finally been removed. This has been delayed a couple of times, the most recent being due to a recent storm.

In the unlikely event that private investors can be found, they will require costly guarantees from taxpayers. With tolls at Dartford and the Lower Thames Crossing set to be equalised, they will inevitably rise even higher to pay back investors.

Fundamental flaws of the Lower Thames Crossing: ❌ Generating more traffic and harmful emissions 🛤️Devastating the market for international rail freight ❌Damaging the competitiveness of our seaports north of the Thames

The Lower Thames Crossing is the worst possible solution to solving congestion at Dartford, kickstarting growth, meeting Net Zero commitments or supporting the wider UK economy. Exploring options for privately financing the LTC does nothing to address its fundamental flaws.

While we are disappointed to see the Chancellor supporting the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC) today, it is far from a done deal. Private finance has not been secured and the planning application is yet to be approved. 🧵

We campaign against expensive, damaging road schemes that just push the congestion problem away for a few years... Like the Lower Thames Crossing, mentioned by Rachel Reeves this morning. Stay up to date by signing up for our monthly newsletter transportactionnetwork.org.uk/sign-up/

Transport for Wales (TfW) will officially open its brand new bus interchange in Rhondda Cynon Taf this week in readiness for Stagecoach to begin operating bus services from the site

Our local buses all have audio and screen announcements when they’re new, then within a month or two they stop working, never fixed. Most don’t stop at every....stop, so I find it difficult to work out when my stop is at night, not being able to see any landmarks. 🫤

We’re all tucked up in bed. Ava is off duty, had her bathroom break & settling down for the night with her chew. Overall a good evening, no total disasters but average minor access barriers & inconvenience.

We had to navigate the roadworks blocking our usual crossing point. Luckily there are audible crossing signals & lights. Guide Dog Ava also enjoyed doing “fox patrol” on the way home. They’re quite frisky at this time of year.

Our favourite member of staff met us off the train. I was pleased to find the platform already gritted for the icy weather overnight. Straight onto a bus! Guide Dog Ava may have jumped the queue. 🤫

We’re now on the train home. Depending on the length of time between buses I might get a taxi. As a disabled woman alone at night I don’t like waiting long times at bus stops even in busy areas. Ava is a bit grumpy & tired. She doesn’t love working in the evenings now she’s in her mature years.