Future journeys - what will good look like?

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) recently published “Where Next? Uncertainty in transport’s path to net zero”. It highlights that, while the UK government is committed to cutting emissions by 78 per cent by 2035 on its path to net zero by 2050, we’re uncertain about how emissions from transport will be reduced.

The report makes important recommendations, particularly the calls for Government to “better define the most desirable, equitable vision of the future of transport” and “engage the public in a national conversation about the need to reduce emissions from transport”.

Creating a vision is key and I think we need to go further by broadening our conversations to help us imagine the most desirable, equitable vision of the future of low carbon journeys.  

While we know that inaccessible transport can make travel difficult for many, the design of services, environments and experiences before, during, between and after the transport can also be challenging. We need to design all aspects of our journeys to be inclusive and in context if we’re to make it possible for everyone to get out and about.

If we can’t easily plan the best route, walk safely to the bus stop, find a suitable toilet at the station or rest along the way, we might not have the option to use the bus.

And now, more than ever before, taking a more holistic view of journey design is critical if we are to lower transport emissions by encouraging and enabling greater use of public transport.

If the focus for decarbonising transport is replacing polluting vehicles with cleaner ones, we ignore the importance of making it possible for everyone to use that transport as part of their journey - the need to simultaneously design more inclusive journey planning, safer and enabling environments, clearer information and much more (not to mention making cleaner vehicles more accessible).

If we can’t easily plan the best route, walk safely to the bus stop, find a suitable toilet at the station or rest along the way, we might not have the option to use the bus.... even if it’s electric.

Many, if not all, aspects of our journeys are likely to be redesigned in the near future to be better for the planet so let’s take the opportunity to also make them more inclusive.  

But we can only do this if we have a collective vision of what we want and the report highlights why “The energy and investment that must go into reducing emissions should also align behind a vision of a better transport system. To achieve the maximum benefits from decarbonisation, we must therefore think beyond the existing transport system to imagine a wider range of possible futures”

In our Future Journeys work we help people to imagine more inclusive low carbon journeys - learning about plans for a lower carbon future in different sectors that we encounter during our travels, then imagining more inclusive versions of them and using these ideas to tell stories of entire journeys that are equitable, sustainable and desirable.

We’ve imagined different recycling systems, safer pathways, better seating, fewer charging cables, more supportive information, lower energy toilets and more.

Working through this with people who are disabled and disadvantaged by journeys today is essential if we are to avoid eco-ableism - creating solutions that address the climate emergency but continue to discriminate in favour of non-disabled people.

Let’s not replicate or amplify the barriers and injustices that already exist.

By developing these experience-based stories, we’re creating a vision for every step of our future journeys, based on peoples’ expertise and experience of exclusion, combining ideas for what’s best for people and for the planet. 

Stories can help us to describe what we want good to look like - and what the future we want might feel like.

As the IPPR points out “It is only through design that the UK government can ensure that the pathway taken is fair and that we end up with a transport system that works for everyone”.

By inviting policymakers, designers, manufacturers, innovators and others into our process, we can support more collaborative, informed design, ensuring that we create a fairer society and better travel experiences as we respond to the climate emergency.     

We urgently need to imagine more Inclusive Low Carbon Journeys together and create a vision of future journeys that are desirable, equitable and good for the planet. Only then can we can work towards a low carbon future that everyone can take part in.