Is micro mobility the future of urban transportation or just a fad? Would a re-introduction of national road safety targets reduce road casualties? And are the needs of women sufficiently considered in today's transport design? With over 4k responses since December 2020, CIHT’s Question of The Week (QoTW), posted each Monday on CIHT’s social media channels Twitter & LinkedIn and CIHT’s member forum CIHT Connect, has served as a pulse for the public’s current attitudes on hot industry topics. This week, as we reach our 30^th QoTW, we look back at some of the most voted and debated topics.

With regards to Diversity & Inclusion in the sector, there seemed to be very different perspectives as to how the industry is managing such matters. Here, in line with LGBTQ History Month, we asked the CIHT community: Is the highways & transportation industry doing enough to recognise and support the role of LGBTQ + people in the sector? Interestingly, the division of opinion was about 50-50, with 47% of voters of the view that the sector is sufficiently supporting LGBTQ+ people. Equally, when wanting to know whether voters had experienced gender inequality in the workplace, 58% had experienced this issue in their workplace.

Here is an overview of further voting results of QoTW on diversity & inclusion:

What is the most important strategy to achieve gender equity in the workplace?

• Blind Resume Screening - 20%
• Flexible Working - 49%
• Gender Bias Training - 21%
• Other - 10%

What do you choose to challenge to call out gender inequality in the workplace?

• Gender pay gap - 33,3%
• Gender bias – 23,33%
• Disparity – 28,33%
• Recruitment – 15%

Are the needs of women sufficiently considered in today's transport design?

• Yes - 40%
• No – 60%

How can organisations eliminate gender inequality in the workplace?

• Pay transparency – 62%
• Gender bias training – 10%
• Gender neutral hiring – 19%
• Other – 9%

Similarly, there seemed to be stark differences in perspective around the topic of road safety, particularly around smart motorways. To the question ‘Do you think smart motorways should be scrapped?’, 51% answered with ‘No’. Meanwhile, the question ‘Should 20mph become the default speed limit in all residential and urban centres across the UK?’ also divided opinions, with 59% of voters agreeing with the statement. Nevertheless, 70% of voters did agree on the matter that ‘safe-cycling infrastructure’ was the most effective way to reduce cycle fatalities.

Here is an overview of further voting results of QoTW on road safety:

With debate surrounding road casualty figures in lockdown, how can the Government ensure a progressive improvement of road safety regardless of traffic levels?

• Increased law enforcement – 8%
• Smart Road Technologies – 6%
• Car-free cycle lanes – 6%
• Road safety education – 1%

Which of the below measures would you prioritise to reduce cycle fatalities most effectively? The results from this poll are the following:

• Traffic Law Enforcement - 12%
• Safe Cycling Infrastructure - 69%
• Improved Road User Education - 18%
• Safer vehicles on streets - 1%

Would a re-introduction of national road safety targets reduce road casualties?

• Yes – 68%
• No – 32%

Should e-scooter parking be restricted to designated parking bays to reduce street hazards and risk to blind & partially sighted people?

• Yes – 92%
• No – 8%

Looking at the respondents’ views around the Covid-19 pandemic and travel, it seemed that most voters were in agreement with each other, with 74% declaring that they did not think that their pre-pandemic travel behaviours would return by this time next year. The reduced anticipated frequency of travel also correlates with the general voter expectation, 75%, to be doing ‘Some remote working’ by this time next year. 

Here is an overview of further results of QoTW on the Covid-19 pandemic and travel:

Has Covid and lockdown made the idea of Complete neighbourhoods / 15 min cities more compelling?

• Yes - 95,1%
• No – 3,6%

Despite the lifting of all Covid-19 restrictions in England, should temporary pop-up cycle lanes be made permanent? The results from this poll are the following:

• Yes - 76%
• No - 24%

Finally, the themes of decarbonisation & climate change let arise very differing views. When asked which option voters deemed most effective to decarbonise the transport sector, 49% voted ‘Green Infrastructure’, 17.5% chose ‘Freight efficiency’, 17.5% voted for the ‘Expansion of ULEVs & ULEZ’s’ and 16% felt that ‘Road pricing on the SRN’ would be the most effective policy. Similarly, when asking the community whether the UK can continue with its roadbuilding programme and meet its decarbonisation targets, 44% of voters said ‘Yes’, while 56% said ‘No’. Equally, when asked about the potential measure of road pricing to deter a car led recovery from Covid and encourage a shift towards public and active travel, voters did not see eye to eye, with 56% voting for an introduction of road pricing, while 44% voted against the policy.

Here is an overview of further results of QoTW on the decarbonisation & climate change:

With #transport at the centre of the UK’s path to netzero, how much do you expect your job to change in the next 5-10 years?

• Radically - 12%
• To some degree - 58%
• Modestly - 15%
• Marginally - 15%

Should the Transport Decarbonisation Plan include defined modal shift targets?

• Yes – 80%
• No – 20%

These 30 weeks of CIHT Questions of the Week have been incredibly interesting for us (and hopefully for you too) and have helped CIHT better understand the current views and perspectives of our members. They’ve highlighted the incredibly diverse opinions of our members from different industries and professions and helped create conversation and discussion around industry topics we all care about. Here’s to the next 30 CIHT QoTWs.

Want to get involved in the discussion? Follow CIHT on Twitter & LinkedIn and also look out for our weekly QoTW on CIHT’s member forum CIHT Connect. Every vote counts!

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