This site is run, written and published by Dr Leon Mannings – for sins in a previous life that may well have been immense…I also have a blog called Crossroads Rider
About Leon: Academic work – I have some academic credibility in the field of Transport Policy having completed research leading to the award of a University of London PhD in 2004. My thesis was commended for the way I related empirical evidence of policy trends with the advanced theories on how policy-making works and evolves in practice. The thesis title was: From Accommodation to Constraint: An Analysis of Shifts in UK Transport Policy. My research developed fresh insight into how and why in reality, as distinct from politic spin, the primary emphasis for UK policy shifted from better accommodating legitimate transport needs to policies of constraining use of motorised road modes – on which the nation’s economic and social health depend. Unusually, my thesis was ‘unconditionally’ accepted on 3rd November 2004.
Campaigning experience – As I began my academic investigation into how UK policy is shaped in 2001, I also stepped up my efforts to do so in practice. This primarily involved expanding my role as an active campaigner for improving road safety and conditions for P2W users –aka riders of motorcycles, mopeds and scooters. In the run up to elections for the new London Assembly and Mayor I also helped negotiate the exemption of P2Ws from the Congestion Charge. Between October 2004 and 2005 I did a stint as elected Chairman of the British Motorcyclists Federation which at the time had 140,000 members. All of which gave me great insight into how lobbying for road user interests does and does not work.
Writing and reporting work – Since 2005 I began freelance writing on transport policy issues. Go here for a Telegraph feature on Congestion Charging. Published work also includes: Traffic and Roads Since 2000: Policy, Politics and Perceptions of Progress, – a paper commissioned to form a chapter in a special issue of Local Government Studies, ‘The New Government of London’, (June 2006). I also write a monthly column of commentary on the politics of transport for the international motorcycling magazine, Motorcycle Sport and Leisure.
In May 2007, I was invited to join the editorial team of LTT (Local Transport Today) – the UKs leading magazine for transport professionals – as a full time News and Features Writer. After an enriching year at LTT in which I learned more about who and what really shapes policy, I decided to expand my horizons for encouraging fresh analysis and thinking in the transport policy field.
By amicable agreement I ceased writing for LTT in March to explore options for creating a new internet based platform for expanding the scope of debate and influence in transport policy development. This R&D phase was co-funded by LM and Landor Media Group.
And now, TransportCrucible.com has emerged…