Transport for Humans: Are We Nearly There Yet? by Pete Dyson

Transport for Humans: Are We Nearly There Yet? Reviews

• 
  Katerina Arch

  An easy-readable collection of essays on behavioral economics applications in transport industry
• 
  Popup-ch

  The domain of public transport has long been seen as the business of shipping bodies, but a lot could be gained by optimizing the experience of the travellers.
  
  There is a whole lot more to public transit than mere time-to-destination. Depending on the trip purpose, human travellers sometimes prefer a low-variance reliable connection to one that's on average faster, but with occasional long delays. And when delays occur, the way it's announced can make a huge impact on the perceived disruption.
  
  As I was reading about this on my commute, the train suddenly stopped outside the station. Within fifteen seconds there was an announcement, stating that the train was delayed, due to the arrival platform not yet being ready, but that it shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes, and it shouldn't be any problem with connecting trains. That's a perfect announcement according to the book. It was brief, stated the facts, and gave an estimate of the duration. And didn't involve any kind of non-apology like "we apologize for any inconvenience caused".
  
  There are lots of interesting nuggets here, such as the fact that waiting time is seen as (roughly) three times more annoying than travel time, and that time spent on clean trains is twice as nice again.
  
  The writing style is a bit uneven, and the last half seems like it was thrown together in a rush.
• 
  Jesse Wise

  Perfect book for my course - should be compulsory reading for AAPS CDT. Very inspiring. Also intimidating because I know I am stuck at the “nudge” level seeking marginal gains - that level of analysis is just how my brain works. But I should be thinking about larger transformations. Must talk to Pete more. Must revisit this book when choosing my thesis. Must remember to look at further reading, I have highlighted in the book.
• 
  Hilary May

  Found first half fascinating but dragged a bit towards the end and probably not really for a non specialist. Lots of interesting ideas. I came across it through a radio 4 programme and most of the best bits were already in that.
• 
  Aziff

  Transport for Humans is an interesting read but aims for a potential I felt it never reached. P. Dyson sets up an interesting premise: what if we reflected on how people think/feel and applied it to transportation? P. Dyson makes an argument at the beginning of the book, saying how transport is designed to transport cargo, and its goods are human users. But humans aren't cargo, and transportation design doesn't reflect that. This is a good starting point, in which I was ready to expect deeper analysis as we moved along.
  
  However, Transport for Humans appears more as a collection of essays covering different aspects of transportation and how it could be improved. The essays (or chapters) read like 'problem, solution' in quick-fire rapid successions. P. Dyson doesn't leave much room for deeper thought, thinking about the historical or human aspects of the why. To be fair, he does - but doesn't do it enough that it feels like a satisfying read.
  
  But this criticism aside, Transport for Humans is great if you want a starting point to begin thinking about transport design and, by extension - urban design and how we adapt to it. The book's purpose, having completed it, makes the user curious enough to think deeper for themselves and start noticing their built environment and research for solutions. It's less of a manual but more of an appetiser, in which the rest is up to you.