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Thomas Ableman

@freewheeling.info

2.2K followers 390 following 1.5K posts

🚇 Was Strategy & Innovation Director Transport for London 🖊️ Freewheeling Blog / Podcast www.freewheeling.info/blog SUBSTACK: Freewheeling Bitesize: https://freewheelingbitesize.substack.com/ & History of Europe in 75 Railway Journeys http://bit.ly/3EQNOPA

freewheelingbitesize.substack.com

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Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · May 4

My happy place is the compartment of a European train, with a cup of coffee in one hand and a history book in the other.

Hence a Substack exploring European history based on my travels.

Each month the story of a different period through the prism of a ride.

open.substack.com/pub/historyo...

Welcome to A HISTORY OF EUROPE IN 75 RAILWAY JOURNEYS

Riding the rails through 1,000 years of European history

open.substack.com

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Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 17h

I love the way Gare du Nord is being gradually surrounded by branches of Boulangerie Bayat. It’s like they’re preparing for a siege.

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Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 19h

Not at all. I agree with you that being condemned for his actions “by the standards of the time” is key. Things can be wrong based on what was known then, but it’s just not realistic to judge based on what is known now. We don’t have to suspend judgement of the past, just not base it on the present.

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 19h

That is an argument for judging the past, not judging individuals. Judging individuals by modern standards because we now know things they didn’t is like saying that Christopher Columbus was a bit dense because he didn’t fit a diesel motor to his boat. We have the knowledge so why didn’t he?

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 1d

Never say my blog isn’t current: today I’m reviewing a TV show that aired closer to the Second World War than today. Yet, terrifyingly, it’s still remarkably current.

The hairstyles, bow ties and restaurant decor are retro but the issues are unchanged.

www.freewheeling.info/blog/tv-revi...

TV Review: Yes Minister, The Bed of Nails — Freewheeling

The transport episode of Yes Minister is only one year younger than I am. Yet nothing has changed… Here’s a my first Freewheeling TV Review.

www.freewheeling.info

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Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 2d

Have now read the International section. Good piece. Many of the examples you quote (Paris, etc) needed considerable political courage. Same here in Walthamstow. The frustration is that, of course, these people tend to win re-election. But the cycle repeats. www.freewheeling.info/the-freewhee...

Mini Holland and The Transformation of a London Suburb with Clyde Loakes — Freewheeling

Mini Holland is the poster child for the transformation of an urban area. As the first Low Traffic Neighbourhood of the modern era, council reps from across Britain (and Europe) have visited to learn...

www.freewheeling.info

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 2d

There’s also incredibly difficult communications nuance from people like me saying “I think it would be better for society if the suburb you live in had originally been built very differently so that you weren’t reliant on a car“. It sounds very like me criticising their choices, which it isn’t.

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Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 4d

I am an Economist subscriber (and, more than that, I’m an Economist reader), though I’ve not read this yet.

Why Transport is at the centre of the culture wars is a really interesting question.

I’ve been trying to figure this out.

Why are the St George Cross flags being painted on *roundabouts*?

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Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 4d

Still the best thread ever.

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 5d

Maybe there is a “verify“ article somewhere that gently explains it, but I do think that the BBC is irresponsible in credulously reporting a plan is to fund all of these policies with £47 billion worth of savings without unpacking the consequence of £47 billion of cuts
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Conservatives would scrap stamp duty, Kemi Badenoch announces

The Tory leader says the move would help millions buy a home, in her annual conference speech.

www.bbc.co.uk

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 6d

Someone check if I’ve got this right: I think (for the first time ever) there is a cohort of voters who have lived a majority of their life under a Labour government.

Specifically, people born 17 March to 17 June 1997.

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 7d

The share is irrelevant. What matters is the amount of coal (and carbon). If we're still burning large amounts of coal, it doesn't make any difference that we're also generating a large amount of renewables: the atmosphere doesn't care.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Renewables overtake coal as world's biggest source of electricity

Developing countries lead the historic clean energy charge but the US and EU rely more on fossil fuels than before, a think tank study shows.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 9d

Feels like we might need some additional capacity on that route.

A new line, maybe?…

If only some preparatory work had been done to make that happen.

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Adam Hill 🚇🚏🚶‍♂️🚃🛴🚙🚲 @itseditoradam.bsky.social · 10d

📰 Excellent piece in this issue of www.itsinternational.com by @freewheeling.info on the ‘Mini Switzerland’ integrated transport concept… 🇨🇭

+ the brilliant @beatekubitz.bsky.social on #realtimedata and #Oasis gigs

Also #trafficmanagement, #V2X and #VisionZero

i.e. something for everyone 🫶🏻

ITS International: We ♥️ ITS @itsinternational.bsky.social · 10d

Latest issue of the brilliant* ITS International is OUT NOW‼️

Go to www.itsinternational.com & click on ‘MAGAZINE’ in top bar

There’s V2X v C-ITS … Big Ideas in Mini Switzerland … smartphone tolling pros & cons … Masters golf traffic management… and even some Oasis 🎸

*Yes, we’re biased but etc.

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Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 10d

Absolutely. His transport analysis is generally terrible.

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Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Iain Roberts @slowbikeiain.bsky.social · 12d

I bumped this up my playlist - definitely worth a listen. The case for AV buses is stronger than AV cars.

I didn't quite get the practicalities for use. If there are no staff, how will they ensure enough people pay, and how will they deal with anti-social behaviour? @freewheeling.info (1/3)

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 12d

Paris is getting on and delivering autonomous buses.

On the latest podcast, I talk with James Dick of RATP (Paris's transport agency) about the work they're doing.

Autonomous public transport has so much more potential for social good than robotaxis!

www.freewheeling.info/the-freewhee...

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Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 10d

To be fair, it was Simon Jenkins in the 1990s who first alerted me to the increase in centralisation (and gutting of local government) that you have subsequently written about in Failed State.

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 12d

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 13d

Now, the relationship is more of hiring employees, not electing leaders. We have a list of demands, and we expect results. "They work for you" culture.
The focus on "delivery" is counterproductive as it reinforces this sense that voters can expect results without tradeoffs. Liz Truss exemplifies.

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 13d

I was reflecting recently that the relationship between voters and Government has changed in my lifetime.
When I was a kid, we elected leaders: the person we wanted to set the national direction. We were expected to follow.
Thatcher was such a person, Blair didn't quite dare. Brown could have been.

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Iain Roberts @slowbikeiain.bsky.social · 14d

We already have a system where unwilling, unpaid "volunteers" are made to do work in the community. It's called Community Payback, undertaken by convicted offenders.

So Labour's message to people wanting to come to the UK and build a life is literally "We'll treat you like criminals."

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Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 14d

Transport changemaking requires a willingness to try things and figure out what they do.

Role model kids.

freewheelingbitesize.substack.com/p/play-isnt-...

Play Isn't Just for Children

Thanks for reading Freewheeling Bitesize: Moving Forwards Faster!

freewheelingbitesize.substack.com

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 14d

If immigrants need to volunteer in the community to earn a right to live here, shouldn’t British citizens have to do the same?

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Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 15d

Coffee looks cheerful this morning

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 15d

Made in America!

US car culture created the modern world. Thanks to the power of Silicon Valley, it is also shaping our future.

Today’s blog…

www.freewheeling.info/blog/motorno...

Motornormativity in Tech: Coding Car Culture into All Our Futures - part 2 — Freewheeling

Europe might be learning the lessons of car-dependence but the future is still being built in Silicon Valley. From AI to autonomous vehicles, we’re coding car-first thinking into the systems that will...

www.freewheeling.info

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Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 15d

To get things done, find the people in organisations that know other people

open.substack.com/pub/freewhee...

Find the Connectors. They Move Things Faster

Welcome!

open.substack.com

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