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David Metz

Honorary Professor of Transport Studies, UCL
I am Honorary Professor in the Centre for Transport Studies at UCL. I was formerly Chief Scientist at the Department for Transport. Earlier in my career I was a member of the scientific staff of the Medical Research Council and a civil servant in various Whitehall departments.

My research interests focus on the growth of travel demand, particularly as this is influenced by demographic factors, and on how this demand is met by investment in the transport system, as this is influenced by transport policy and new technologies.

Road building is supposed to cut congestion and boost the economy – my research suggests otherwise

Apr 11, 2021 12:33 pm UTC| Economy

British politicians, national and local, tend to like investing in roads. The Treasury believes that the Department for Transports approach to economic analysis is sound, and so is willing to award substantial funds. The...

Why a UK 'cycling and walking revolution' won't reduce car travel

Aug 26, 2020 11:35 am UTC| Insights & Views

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced 2 billion to create thousands of miles of protected bike lanes and pedestrian space. There are lots of good reasons to encourage walking and cycling active travel, as its...

HS2: the government has failed to value the real benefits – expert

Feb 13, 2020 00:11 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

A new high-speed rail route between London and the north of England has finally been given the go-ahead. Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, announced the governments decision, despite the dramatic escalation in...

Driverless cars won't deliver a transport revolution – and the auto industry stands to lose out

Oct 20, 2019 10:17 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

The breathless hype around driverless electric vehicles once promised an urban transport revolution, with claims that new technologies would ease congestion and eliminate harmful emissions. The potential benefits of these...

Economy

Beyond the spin, beyond the handouts, here’s how to get a handle on what’s really happening on budget night

Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, TV or news websites on budget night. The quickest way to find out what...

What if the Reserve Bank itself has been feeding inflation? An economist explains

Heres something for the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia to ponder as it meets next month to set interest rates. It has pushed up rates on 13 occasions since it began its attempt to restrain inflation in May...

China’s new world order: looking for clues from Xi’s recent meetings with foreign leaders

There is broad consensus that Chinese foreign policy has become more assertive and more centralised in the decade since Xi Jinping has ascended to the top of Chinas leadership. This has also meant that Chinese foreign...

How India’s economy has fared under ten years of Narendra Modi

More than 960 million Indians will head to the polls in the worlds biggest election between April 19 and early June. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is seeking a third...

EU enlargement: What does the future hold?

To widen or to deepen. This has been one of the longstanding dilemmas throughout European Union (EU) history, and a perennial sticking point in the unending process of European integration. In its time, the UK...

Politics

Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board

To say that the Labour party is flying high in the polls is something of an understatement. But despite its consistent lead against the Tories, the opposition finds itself in a rather odd position: on the cusp of power but...

Joe Biden Proposes Record 44.6% Capital Gains Tax in Latest Budget Plan That May Favor Cryptocurrencies

President Joe Biden has proposed raising the capital gains tax to an unprecedented 44.6% in a bold fiscal move, targeting the wealthiest Americans. This hike is part of his 2025 budget proposal to reduce income...

Georgia is sliding towards autocracy after government moves to force through bill on ‘foreign agents’

Georgias ruling party attempted to pass a controversial bill on foreign agents in March 2023. The law would have required civil society groups and the media to register as being under foreign influence if they receive...

Opening statements are the most important part of a trial – as lawyers in Trump’s hush money case know well

Though Hollywood movies about courtroom dramas often glamorize the closing arguments given by lawyers, in reality the opening statement is likely the most important single event of a trial. Such was the case in the hush...

South Korean President Yoon faces foreign policy challenges after the National Assembly election

South Koreas parliamentary election of April 10, 2024, was widely seen as a referendum on President Yoon Suk Yeols first two years in office. That being the case, the nation collectively expressed its strong...

Science

Peter Higgs was one of the greats of particle physics. He transformed what we know about the building blocks of the universe

Peter Higgs, who gave his name to the subatomic particle known as the Higgs boson, has died aged 94. He was always a modest man, especially when considering that he was one of the greats of particle physics the area of...

Could a telescope ever see the beginning of time? An astronomer explains

The James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST for short, is one of the most advanced telescopes ever built. Planning for JWST began over 25 years ago, and construction efforts spanned over a decade. It was launched into space on...

US media coverage of new science less likely to mention researchers with African and East Asian names

When one Chinese national recently petitioned the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to become a permanent resident, he thought his chances were pretty good. As an accomplished biologist, he figured that news...

If life exists on Jupiter’s moon Europa, scientists might soon be able to detect it

Europa is one of the largest of more than 90 moons in orbit around the planet Jupiter. It is also one of the best places to look for alien life. Often termed an ocean world by scientists, observations to date strongly...

Exploding stars are rare but emit torrents of radiation − if one happened close enough to Earth, it could threaten life on the planet

Stars like the Sun are remarkably constant. They vary in brightness by only 0.1% over years and decades, thanks to the fusion of hydrogen into helium that powers them. This process will keep the Sun shining steadily for...

Technology

Mercedes-Benz to Release Luxury Electric Van in China

Mercedes-Benz, the German luxury and commercial vehicle manufacturer, plans to release a luxury electric van model in China. This information was shared by the companys head of the vans unit, Mathias Geisen, to the local...

Elon Musk vs Australia: global content take-down orders can harm the internet if adopted widely

Do Australian courts have the right to decide what foreign citizens, located overseas, view online on a foreign-owned platform? Anyone inclined to answer yes to this question should perhaps also ask themselves whether...

BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Sees Zero Inflows; SEC Delays Ether ETF Decision

BlackRocks Bitcoin ETF registered zero daily inflows for the first time since its inception. At the same time, the SEC delayed its decision on a major Ether ETF, highlighting uncertainty in the cryptocurrency...

Samourai Wallet Founders Arrested, Crypto Markets Tumble Amid Regulatory Heat

The cryptocurrency market dipped significantly after the U.S. Department of Justice arrested Samourai Wallets CEO and CTO, exacerbating volatility amid geopolitical tensions and the recent Bitcoin halving. Bitcoin and...

Post-Halving Surge: Standard Chartered Predicts Bitcoin to Hit $150K on Reduced Market Leverage

Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered Banks analyst and head of digital assets research, believes bitcoin (BTC) would likely trend upward following the halving due to lower leveraged market positions. In an interview with...