Emerging leaders in transportation must speak up and act on the environmental challenges facing the sector, according to speakers during day one of CIHT’s week long Young Professionals Festival of Learning.

During a session titled ‘Our Climate Future’ on Monday, Friends of the Earth’s head of science, policy and research Mike Childs said it is “incumbent on young professionals to remind their elders of the criticality of putting (the climate) at the front of mind rather than at the back of the queue”.

Highways England’s sustainable development and design team leader Dean Kerwick-Chrisp said young professionals “need to speak up” on the climate issue, and CIHT South West’s chair of its Exeter emerging professionals group Alex Thomas of Devon County Council urged young people “to join the conversation; your voice is paramount”.

Monday’s session was chaired by CIHT President Martin Tugwell and also featured contributions from the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders’ environmental manager Sukky Choongh and CIHT’s director of policy and technical affairs Andrew Hugill.

The session also saw Martin Tugwell announce that Vickie Bathe, an apprentice civil engineer with FM Conway, had been chosen as CIHT Apprentice of the Year 2020. “Vickie impressed us with not only her knowledge of the sector but with the ideas and enthusiasm she showed throughout our interview process,” Martin said.

Friends of the Earth’s Mike Childs started the session by describing climate change as “the definite issue of our time” and added that the world is reaching a series of ‘tipping points’ that could see multi metre sea level rises from an accelerating loss of meltwater from ice sheets and a depletion of wildlife and carbon storage from the loss of the Amazon rainforest.

For transportation, it means a rapid switch to electric vehicles by 2030 and encouraging more people to get out of their cars and to travel in a different way, he said. Mike called for a comprehensive network of cycleways in every town and city and for a greater take up of electric bicycles and scooters.

He added: “We need to see more people travelling by bus once Covid has moved on” and suggested that some places might like to consider introducing free buses. The UK needs to invest in new trains, open up more lines closed by Dr Beeching in the 1950s and create some new rail routes but, he added, they “don’t have to be ultra fast”.

Mike also called for a renaissance of trams and for every large town with a population of over 200,000 people to have a tram system. “What it doesn’t mean is £27Bn spent on roads,” he added, referring to the amount allocated for Highways England’s second road investment period.

Alex Thomas responded by saying that emerging transportation professionals should consider Mike’s points and ask if enough is being done as an industry to address the climate challenge.

Sukky Choongh was asked what role the car may play in a future where carbon is an even greater factor. She said that both the motor industry and consumer behaviours are changing and noted that car sharing was becoming more popular prior to the pandemic, since when people have become less willing to share a vehicle.

She also suggested that public transport of the future does not always need to be about mass transit, but might see smaller vehicles taking people on demand to where they want to go.

 Dean Kerwick-Chrisp of Highways England said he applauds cycling, walking and tram journeys for local trips, and asked if the car always has to be the preferred mode of travel for longer journeys. He was asked if so much money needs to be spent on roads going forwards, given the rise in remote and flexible working. Dean replied: “It is right that society asks questions” but pointed out that the £27Bn for the second roads period is not all being spent on new roads, but that much of it will be allocated to maintaining the strategic network.

Andrew Hugill asked whether the profession understands enough about who uses the transport networks and Sukky agreed that there was a need to know more about who uses the network, when and how.

CIHT’s Young Professionals Festival continues today with sessions about emerging technology that promise to change the world. To find out more and to watch sessions from all five days of the festival, click here.

(Photograph: Ian Stewart - Shutterstock)