There seems to be a consensus that regular commuting into major cities will be a thing of the past after our experience of working remotely during the COVID-19 lock-down. It is true that a proportion of commuting added little or no value to the work previously carried out sat together in offices. It is also true however that many jobs actually require you to be physically present, jobs in health services, retail, hospitality, personal services, transportation, security, distribution etc. It is also true that we have come to realise the value of face to face contact with our fellow team members and work colleagues. So the likely new normal will be to work in a location best suited to the task requirements, and for that judgement on best location to vary from task to task and day to day.
In many ways, a pause to the endless growth in travel will be a good thing. Previously, the challenge of creating an ever-growing capacity meant never meeting demand, so crowded trains and roads have been the norm for all of my working life. No government can endlessly subsidise half empty trains but perhaps the new normal might (optimistically) settle down at a level which alleviates overcrowded services, and spreads the peak demand more evenly across the day. In this way we might have both profitable public transport operators, and a reduction in the demand for investment in increased capacity.
Commuting by train has always focussed on the train journey itself, but the important consideration is the experience and impact of the end to end commute from home to workplace, the train is just a component of that journey. Re-evaluation of the need to commute will also be accompanied by an accelerated effort to make travel truly sustainable, eliminating noise and air pollution around stations in towns and driving down carbon emissions. Electric trains are the best solution but where electrification is not deliverable, battery technology in bi-mode trains will allow zero emission travel within built-up areas.
Sustainable travel by commuters driving by road from home to the station is needed to complete the picture. Many commuter stations have more than 1,000 parking spaces, that’s 1,000 vehicles arriving and leaving the car park each day. Electric Vehicles (EV’s) can provide a solution which alleviates local pollution, and allows ultimately for the creation of a sustainable commuting model.
A small proportion of 2019 UK new car sales (38,000 vehs or 2.6% of the total) were pure EV’s. For carbon emission targets to be met, EV sales will quickly need to be ten or twenty times as large. Provision for EV’s at most stations is minimal. Commuters can play their part but anxiety about access to chargers and charging costs, allied to high vehicle purchase prices, are dampening demand. Companies like Evezy have developed a subscription model for EV rental which is cost effective and flexible, taking away the hurdle of committing to a £30,000+ purchase. The next step is to transform station EV provision so that access to a charger combined with car parking for the day removes the impediments to EV’s, in fact, done correctly, it makes EV’s easily the best option, convenient, cost effective and sustainable.
Making the correct choices post COVID-19 can give us an opportunity for a better balanced and more sustainable commuting model; less crowded services, less local pollution, lower carbon emissions, a profitable railway and a convenient solution for commuters.
MK Projects 