LowCVP's James McGeachie: Transport's green recovery

Feature

Following what is a once-in-a-century event, the world is going to be a different place. Quite what the ‘new normal’ is going to be remains unclear, but I feel it’s that uncertainty that provides a real opportunity to shape and influence the future of road transport for decades to come.

By LowCVP's James McGeachie

When I accepted the role of Technical and Programme Director at LowCVP last year, the world was operating in what is fast becoming known as “old” normal mode. You remember the sort of thing; venturing outside to travel to work, physically meeting people, kids going to school, Zoom was something you did with a camera and Teams referred to whoever you supported or played for at the weekend.

Fast forward several months, notice period served and here I am, very much the new boy at LowCVP. This is week five for me and it’s fair to say I hadn’t quite envisaged starting a new job in the middle of a global lockdown! From my previous role as Engineering Director at Prodrive Advanced Technologies, I bring with me some knowledge on the electrification and hybridisation of a wide range of vehicles but there’s still a great deal for me to learn and get up to speed on. Trying to do this virtually is an interesting challenge and certainly involves acquiring some new digital skills!

Several friends and relatives have commented, what unfortunate timing to be doing this now in a period of unprecedented upheaval and change. It’s true that it may well have felt a little easier in the ‘old normal’ but I actually think this is an ideal and exciting time to be joining LowCVP.

Inevitably, following what is a once-in-a-century event, the world is going to be a different place. Quite what the ‘new normal’ is going to be remains unclear, but I feel it’s that uncertainty that provides a real opportunity for LowCVP and its membership to shape and influence the future of road transport for decades to come.

The signs are certainly there that transport and the environment are going to remain front and foremost in the restoration of the UK economy, perhaps more so than ever before. Both regularly feature in the daily Covid-19 briefings, while Government requests for consultation currently range from the role of micromobility (eScooters,etc ) in the future of transport through to decarbonisation of transport as a whole in order to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

So, perhaps it comes as no surprise that the title for this year’s LowCVP conference is “RESET 2020: Driving the Green Recovery”. Taking place in July, virtually of course, the main theme for the conference is understanding how the UK can seize the opportunity for an investment-led green recovery as the country emerges from the pandemic.

Perhaps it’s a touch of lockdown madness on my part but it feels like a truly historic moment is upon us in the transport sector; we have a unique opportunity to change things for the better and to create something positive from a difficult time for the country as a whole.

On that note, I’ll head off now as I need to explain to my 6-year-old how Dad knows best when it comes to maths homework and clearly his teachers have been doing it wrong!