Transport
Who first classified ‘working people’?
Working people Government ministers may have had trouble defining what was meant by ‘working people’ in the Labour manifesto, but…
How much do we spend on workwear?
The first nimby Who coined the term ‘nimby’? — The expression, from ‘Not In My Backyard’, entered the political sphere…
Why being anti-car is a luxury belief
It happened six years ago on a flight back from the United States. ‘Sir, I’m pleased to say you’ve been…
Train wreck: HS2 destroyed the countryside I love
The countryside where I grew up has been destroyed by HS2
Just stop HS2!
I have two suggestions for HS2. Either stop it or make it stop. The spiralling cost and delays are reason enough…
When is a train strike not a train strike?
The first LNER train I booked on Sunday from Durham to London was cancelled due to ‘action short of a…
As seductive as Chagall: Sarah Sze’s The Waiting Room reviewed
Exiting Peckham Rye station, you’re not aware of it, but standing on the platform you can see a mansard roof…
The hidden benefits of smart motorways
In 2015, Holborn Underground station was suffering from serious overcrowding at peak hours, with a bottleneck forming in the space…
The authoritarianism of British Transport Police
When our freedoms are being taken away we are like the proverbial frog boiled alive in water where the temperature…
The rail strikes could be the end of the line for Boris
Here I go again, in my occasional role as your intrepid transport correspondent. Last week I reported on airport chaos,…
Why sat navs are a conversation killer
When my daughters learned to drive, I suggested they take their tests in automatics as driving manual cars would soon…
The strangeness of station names
In Kyiv they have voted to changethe names of some metro stations. Heroes of the Dnieper is to become Heroes…
Is the Elizabeth line worth the cost?
It’s 8.16 on Tuesday morning and I’m actually writing this on a moving Elizabeth line train. Moving in the sense…
The pernicious creep of Big Nanny
The creep of nannying announcements
My solution to unfair traffic fines
My driveway now lies in the middle of an ‘Average Speed Check Zone’. It’s a wonderful arrangement – for me…
How controversial was Basic Instinct?
Stone me Boris Johnson threatened to unleash the ‘terrors of the Earth’ on an unidentified Tory MP who claimed that…
How do Russian and Ukrainian military forces measure up?
Facing the music Police in New Zealand played Barry Manilow records to truck drivers in an attempt to persuade them…
My horse is allergic to beige carpet
The horse lorry arrived and lowered its ramp — and I stood in front of it knowing that my thoroughbred…
E-everything is heading your way
Trends in New York City tend to foretell trends in London, whose fashions in turn set the pace for smaller…
Where in the world will you find the cheapest petrol?
Whole-life sentences How many prisoners are serving whole-life sentences? — There are currently 74 prisoners in prison with whole-life tariffs;…
Taking charge: it’s time to buy an electric car
As a wise colleague once said: ‘Yesterday is a great time to buy a computer, because you have already enjoyed…
Which countries still haven’t had a single case of Covid?
French lessons France’s former president Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to three years in jail, with two of them suspended, for…
The war on cars is backfiring
For most London-based politicians, there’s a threat that’s worse than Covid. You’ll begin to notice it as we ease out…
Meet the woman who designed Britain's revolutionary road signs
Laura Gascoigne meets Margaret Calvert, the designer who dragged British signposting into the modern era
