World Sustainable Transport Day

You would hardly know it as you try to negotiate your way around Edinburgh’s potholes and roadworks, but it’s World Sustainable Transport Day. It’s a new venture, created last year by the UN and will be celebrated annually on 26th November. This is a day for reflecting on how we can make transport safer, more efficient and greener.

How can we integrate transport options into our natural environment? How can we plan to move people around more quickly, comfortably and reliably while preserving habitats, migrating to cleaner fuel systems and causing the least disruption to our communities?

These are taxing questions, to be sure. Here at Edinburgh Napier, we’re committed to answering them. Our Transport Research Institute has been teaching, consulting and researching since 1996, and in the last few years has included low-carbon transportation and new technology solutions for the future of UK transport and city solutions as part of its thematic focus. If you’d like to know more about our TRI, see here: Transport Research Institute

On a wider level, Edinburgh Council has ambitious plans to commit to their general sustainable transport options. These include encouraging residents, by 2030, to increase their walking by 3% per week, cycling by 35%, journeys by bus or tram by 26% and rail by 12%. This assumes, of course, that residents will be happy to ditch their cars, and that the alternative transport options will be attractive ones. You can monitor the stats and gauge the results here: Targets for a sustainable transport future – The City of Edinburgh Council

Meanwhile, we would encourage you to move around our campuses by foot, bike or bus. We have a wealth of information on bike access and safety, bus timetables and route planning here: Cycling to campus. 

Have a look at the research and innovation that our School of Computing, Engineering and Built Environment on their blog.

By Lesley McRobb