New TSU annual report looks back on 2022
The University of Oxford's Transport Studies Unit (TSU) has today published its Annual Report 2022, reflecting on the projects undertaken and milestones reached in the past year.
For the TSU the past year has been one of expansion, diversification and preparation. Various researchers joined us to work on a range of topics, including traffic safety, vehicle insurance, and the mobilities of key workers and people with a disability. We have also had a record number of DPhil students starting their exciting research projects in October, and ran our first executive education course tailored to the needs of a large company. Our successful 'infrastructure' course was offered separately to a group of 15 enthusiastic employees of TransJakarta, which operates the world's largest bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Indonesia's capital.
2022 has been an important year from a transport perspective. With China as notable exception, traffic levels at local, national and international scales have seen limited effects of new or ongoing policies to reduce mobility's contribution to COVID-19 infections. That is not to say though the world has returned to a pre-pandemic 'normal'. Across advanced liberal democracies teleworking remains more common and business flights have not quite picked up as much as expected. Public transport ridership also continues to lag, threatening financial sustainability and the legitimacy of much-needed investments in upgrading and expansion of existing systems.
It is now also clear that the pandemic has not become the driver to put transport on a pathway towards genuine environmental sustainability and social justice. This is no doubt another squandered opportunity, in a year where the horrible floods in Pakistan showed how weather events exacerbated by climate change can wash away entire transport systems, amidst almost everything else, on a truly unprecedented scale.
Perhaps the biggest driver of change in transport in Western Europe has been the war in Ukraine, where rises in petrol and energy prices are intensifying transport, energy and indeed general poverty among millions of households. The implications on the mobility side remain to be documented, and will constitute a fertile area for research in the coming years.
Tim Schwanen, Professor of Transport Studies and Geography and Director of the TSU said:
"Anyone looking to understand the diverse and topical research that is currently undertaken at the Transport Studies Unit should read this report. It offers an excellent overview of the work by our wonderful team."
New TSU annual report looks back on 2022
The University of Oxford's Transport Studies Unit (TSU) has today published its Annual Report 2022, reflecting on the projects undertaken and milestones reached in the past year.