Video: US transport expert on why increasing road capacity doesn’t work

Beth Osborne, director of Transportation for America, explained why she is against adding capacity to roads during her speech at the Virtual Smart Transport Conference.

Osborne (pictured) drew on her previous experience working at the US department of transportation (DOT) to give a US perspective on transport policy.

She explained the safety and environmental implications the US has experienced as a result of its car-centric system.

Video: Osborne's presentation at the Smart Transport Conference

Osborne’s presentation was followed by a live panel debate with Richard Bruce, director of energy, technology and innovation at the Department for Transport; Lucy Mahoney, senior manager, walking and cycling at C40; and former Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker, who now works as an advisor for the Campaign for Better Transport.

The panellists discussed the key themes of the conference: decarbonisation and the future of transport post-pandemic.

Among the high-profile plenary speakers at the conference were: 

• Kwasi Kwarteng, secretary of state at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) on BEIS’s approach to decarbonising transport, particularly the electrification of the vehicle industry.
• Rachel Maclean, parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department for Transport, who will discuss the industry’s future and its pivotal role in a ‘green recovery’ from the pandemic.
• Keith Williams, author of the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, on rail’s role in integrated transport, decarbonisation and innovation.

• Huw Merriman, chair of the Transport Select Committee, who will outline the steps the committee believes the Government should take to address transport decarbonisation

The June conference also gave delegates the chance to join a number of breakout sessions on a range of topics: addressing urban air quality; place-based solutions to decarbonise transport; switching to electric; achieving modal shift; decarbonising freight; transport outside cities; data and new mobility trends; and universal and inclusive transport.

Smart Transport would like to thank its Headline Strategic Partners for their support with this virtual event including ABB, Centrica, Daf Trucks, Enterprise, FedEx, Geotab, LeasePlan, Liberty Charge, Macquarie, Raleigh, Renault and Worldline.

See below details of our next conference.