Tag: economics

In our third letter to Pat Ritchie, we examine the bidding system for transport projects. We also look again at council responsibility and local decision-making. Over the last couple of months, we have written two letters to Pat Ritchie, the Chief Executive of Newcastle City Council. The letters discussed council responsibility, budget transparency, working with civic society, climate change and sustainability, and costs and savings: First letter Working together for a successful outcome requires accountability Second letter What is the price we pay for our transport system? So far, we have established that for the council to succeed in creating a fair transport system[…]

Read more

Following our letter to Pat Ritchie about budget transparency and accountability for council’s transport function, we would like to continue talking to the chief executive about the transport transition and the cost of the current system. We feel this is the best way to ask for her leadership on this vitally important matter. As we have received no reply from Pat Ritchie to our last letter, we will simply continue outlining the current and future needs of the transport transition. Climate change Transport typically accounts for 25-30% of all emissions. We have no reason to believe this to be any different in Newcastle. We[…]

Read more

We at Newcycling want to support the council in their plans to turn Newcastle into a city fit for the 21st century with a transport system to boot. A city that we can be proud of and which enables everyone to travel safely and sustainably. However, there are some big barriers to our lending this support. We describe one of the most important ones here. Following the money You often hear “simply follow the money” when trying to analyse root causes, motivations or decisions taken on policy – and perhaps politics more generally. Following the money on local transport matters[…]

Read more