[sustran] The Seven Simple Truths of Sustainable Mobility (Come argue with me)"

[eric britton]

Thanks Paul. I like your comments and your challenges very much. It is in
this way that we will be able to bring this far closer to the bone. A couple
of remarks in turn:

1. Is VM/KT the key? I really do feel it is, because as we reduce these
totals both locally and systemically, we in fact accomplish the rest -- but
only if the sticks are accompanied in a powerful and timely way by the
necessary and many carrots. 

2. Enrique Rebolledo suggested yesterday that we also give attention to
offering modes and services that will reduce TMT (Trip Minutes Travelled).
I could not agree more, but I do not want to create too many levels of
complexity here (after all the title is something about a small number of
"simple truths" which when taken together can get us moving on a better path
for policy and practice in our challenging  sector. And I really do believe
that if we dig far enough into our new transportation and policy philosophy
we will be cutting down TMT as well. 

3. As to your point about the 'everything is known' mantra', once again I
agree with your caution but stick to my guns here. That is not to say that
we do not have plenty to learn, but good new mobility projects -- and your
work on Express Carpooling is right in the middle of this philosophy/policy
-- what is interesting about them is that in almost all cases you can look
around for best available experiences, query them closely, adapt for local
conditions, and off you go. Now in all cases these are services,
arrangements with an almost immediate feedback on performance, meaning that
you learn and adjust as you go along. (After all this is 2011 and we are on
the leading cusp of a century of logistics). That is harder to do when you
are working on a third massive ring road construction or a new metro project
that will come on line in only 15 or more years.  Under the New Mobility
Agenda and this new wave of projects and services it is built on, we can
handle both learning and bad news, because when there is bad (or good) news
we have the huge advantage of getting it early. And time to adjust. But this
all presumes of course not only that we are responsible and brave, but also
able  to learn.

Thanks so much Paul and believe me I await with real interest the next
generation of Express Carpooling projects (bearing in mind that a generation
now is 18 months, eh?)

Eric