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A new form of personal rapid transit has been developed from research which began at the University of Bristol in 1995 and has since been commercialised by a University spin-out company. The ULTra system is now in operation at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 and constitutes a world first for the UK. Since opening in 2011, passengers have benefited from a personal, fast, reliable and low cost driverless transport system, that has removed the queuing and inefficiencies associated with bus transfers to the terminal. The Heathrow pods completed a million miles of fully driverless operation within two years of the system opening and have the highest satisfaction rating of any passenger service at Terminal 5, which itself is rated as the best in the world. The success of the system has led to a plan to extend it to Terminals 2 and 3.
Research on sustainable transport conducted by Hickman et al at UCL has contributed significantly to a major shift in UK and international transport policy during the last decade. Whereas such policy previously included little, if any, consideration of climate change, the desire to reduce transport CO2 emissions is now often its primary objective. Findings from and methods developed through the research have been used at city, regional, national and international to support and implement revised strategies and investment programmes promoting sustainable transport. As such, they contributed to increased use of public transport, walking and cycling, and reduced dependence on car usage. The methods have also been widely used by international consultancies and other researchers.
The research into green freight transport and logistics has had several key impacts. It facilitated freight transport becoming part of the London Mayor's Transport Strategy (which aims to improve efficiency and reduce negative impacts of freight) and that this strategy incorporated van-based activities as well as heavier goods vehicles. It provided evidence for policy makers and industry of the potential for modal shift to rail freight and new methods of measuring rail freight activity to inform decision making. The joint development of a technique for calculating fuel consumption and carbon emissions of road goods vehicle activities was adopted by the Department for Transport (DfT) and DEFRA in guidance to industry about emissions reporting.
A key element of the Plymouth Centre for Sustainable Transport's (CST) work since 2007 has been leadership of a major project to introduce and roll out smart card ticketing technology across South West England. Such technology brings significant sustainability benefits, but is extremely difficult to deploy in the UK's deregulated public transport operating environment. Professor Jon Shaw and Dr Andrew Seedhouse created with colleagues South West Smart Applications Ltd (SWSAL), a region-wide public / private not-for-profit company launched by Transport Minister Norman Baker in October 2010. The company is supporting the delivery of new smartcard ticket machines on all registered local buses in the South West. This has delivered significant improvements to public transport service delivery, shaped the roll-out of government transport policy and produced direct stimulus for the development of new public transport ticketing products and practices.
The research outlined in this case study has led to (1) an understanding of the complexities of shipping containerisation in the real world, embracing container fleet sizing, container leasing, repositioning of empty containers, ship scheduling, and shipping emissions; (2) innovative concepts and approaches such as inventory-based threshold policies and integrated container management; (3) development of a formal model and associated decision-support tools for use in the management of containers by key industry players - shipping companies and port authorities - in collaboration with local academic partners. The research has been translated into impact on shipping lines and container ports in several countries.
This research by the University's Transportation Research Group (TRG) has contributed to the development of sustainable road transport networks both in the UK and other leading cities worldwide. In summary:
Research at the University of Sheffield has led to the development of a Reverse Logistics Toolkit that enables companies in the retail sector, together with members of their supply chain, to improve management of the flow of surplus or unwanted products returned by customers. Companies using the toolkit have seen a reduction in returns of up to 40%, a significant figure given that total UK retail returns have been valued at around £6 billion per annum. The toolkit has enabled companies to reduce costs, improve service provision and reduce transport movements.
Development and validation of a novel supply chain model at Surrey has improved performance for fast growing companies.
Validated with an international food manufacturer, it has been applied in a different sector with similarly promising results. Plans are in place to roll out to other companies seeking fast growth. Impact:
These benefits allowed the companies to structure growing customer bases and expand new markets.
The Transport Research Institute at Edinburgh Napier University (TRI) recognises the importance of taxi research, developing a series of models since 2002. Parallel pressures within the regulation of the mode, and disruptive forms of access, necessitate measurable and repeatable analysis. Beneficiaries include the travelling public, as regulations are developed and applied, regulators, informing policy direction; operators and drivers as the market for services changes.
TRI models provide detailed analysis of the market. The market-model, with its economic, cost and operational sub-models, has developed to support live issues, and is applied in the UK, EU and North America.
80% of all government policies are delivered through large-scale projects and programmes. In the private and the public sector alike they are key to innovation, change, and growth. However, they often go wrong. The research has impacted on the performance of a number of projects by changing the way projects are planned, managed, and assured. The impact is the result of the research programme of the BT Centre for Major Programme Management (BTC), a research centre of the Saïd Business School. The research has had an impact on a wide range of management and policy issues in the UK and internationally. This case study highlights three examples. The first is impact on the UK government's assessment of projects through work with the National Audit Office (NAO). The second is innovation of professional services at McKinsey & Company. The third is impact on the largest infrastructure investment in the developed world - the California High Speed Rail project.