Howard Collins OBE

@_MrMustard Yes the council is right. You can enter a box junction provided your exit is clear. The traffic was heavy on exit and likely to be blocked.

Debate time. Is the small greyish car with a sunroof, which comes from the right and turns right but doesn't quite exit, in contravention? Barnet Council say yes as they have sent a PCN. I don't think so. Your view?

Pre-opening day at Martin Place Sydney Metro. Caught up with the next generation of passionate rail and transport advocates!

@aaronsmith Greatly overlooked. I use it on every trip to Brisbane

Had a couple of days in Brisbane, and nobody recommended I use the train to get to the airport, despite being over the road from Fortitude Valley station. This made me curious. So I touched on with a credit card, waited 3 mins, and arrived at the airport 18 mins later.

@TransportforNSW Great to see her safely arrive in Sydney.

Welcome Frances Bodkin! ⛴️ The first of seven new Aussie-built ferries made its grand entrance into Sydney overnight, crossing the Bass Strait on the 3-day, 630 nautical mile journey up from Hobart, stopping in at Flinders Island and Eden to refuel on the way.

@xelonmuskusa There’s Hope yet

If you’ve got a road that’s taking all the traffic because it’s so much better than the alternatives, the one thing you absolutely _must_not_do_ is make that road wider. If you do, you’re making your problem worse – because the motorway’s advantage becomes even greater.

In fact, the worst thing you could do to this bit of the M25 is add another lane. And this weekend’s traffic jams will show you why. The reason this section of the M25 is so busy isn’t just about the M25 – it’s about all the things that aren’t the M25.

The stereotype of highways planners is that they always say ‘add another lane’. Not here. And because someone (not me) put a … revealing slide pack onto gov.uk, I get to tell you about it.

The road isn’t just congested. It's stuffed. Most roads have two peaks of traffic – morning and evening. The SWQ doesn’t. The traffic starts at about 6am and goes constantly until about 6pm. And because it’s stuffed, when things go wrong there's no way to fix it.

@maddTadd @Sydney_Stations Tad mad? Will do our best.

@HowieCollins @Sydney_Stations Now run the trains efficiently everyday

The Tay Tay Express from Olympic Park ran smoothly last night. I think people were around later than they budgeted for, still big crowds as it got close to last train just before 1am. Here's trains to Central, the westbound platform was just as busy. Spot the Blink 182 fans.

@Sydney_Stations Not forgetting Blink182

@Sydney_Stations 50000 Tay Tay fans safely home in 95 mins. Thank you Sydney Trains and TNSW

🎊 Exciting news! A ribbon-cutting today to mark the official opening of Rozelle Interchange. From tomorrow, motorists will be able to use the new tunnels which connect Sydney's west and south-west to the CBD and inner west 🚗🌉

@frozenearthworm @TransportforNSW Take a look at the cycle paths soon to open in the park about the tunnels.

The Rozelle Interchange is nearly open to motorists! Connecting Sydney’s west and south-west to the CBD and inner west. New roads can be confusing, so plan ahead before driving on it for the first time. You can even take it for a trial run from the comfort of your own home! 👇

@Rainmaker1973 Is it also that windshields and cars are more aerodynamic?

If you're old enough, you may recall that 20 years ago or more, you used to see many more dead insects on your car's windshield, while today you see almost none. This is called the Windshield Phenomenon. In the first years 2000s it became a commonplace observation among drivers that after a long drive, windshields no longer had to be cleaned of numerous insects. It was basically born as a meme, but in 2016, naturalist John Acorn noted that the phenomenon had real and objective proofs. Since 2017, major publications and media covered the topic of reductions in insect abundance over the last few decades and entomologists linked this withthe fact they no longer had to frequently clean their windshields. It turned out that a meme was aware of a proved trend. A 20-year study measured the number of dead insects on car windshields on two stretches of road in Denmark from 1997 until 2017. Adjusted for variables such as time of day, date, temperature, and wind speed, the research actually found an 80% decline in insects. Several factors are thought to contribute to the declining insect populations. The expansion of human settlements, agriculture, and infrastructure has led to the destruction and fragmentation of natural habitats, essential for insect survival and reproduction. The widespread use of pesticides in agriculture and urban areas has had a devastating impact on insect populations, directly killing insects and indirectly harming their food sources. Rising global temperatures and extreme weather events are disrupting insect life cycles and altering their habitats, leading to population declines and even extinctions. Artificial light at night can disrupt insect navigation and foraging patterns, reducing their reproductive success and overall survival. The introduction of non-native insect species can disrupt ecological balances and compete with native insects for resources, further contributing to their decline. One can still consider the trend and the effect as anecdotal, but the studies conducted created a connection between the global redutction of insects species and what people of a certain age can actually confirm as something more than a simple perception.

The Transport Management Centre in Sydney is not the only one checking the traffic flows out of the city - “The Eagle has landed” or should I say Australian Sea Eagle! A quick feather duster of the lens and off fishing! Happy Friday

The TNSW and Sydney Metro CEO sleep out team at White Bay Sydney ⁦⁦@TransportforNSW⁩ ⁦@VinniesNSW⁩ ⁦@CEOSleepout⁩

Last November I had the great privilege to meet Barry Humphries CBE AO for our naming ceremony of River class Ferry “Margaret Ollie”. We did joke that one of the next batch of Sydney ferries should be named “Dame Edna”!