It is with great sadness that Highways reports on the passing of David Metz, former chief scientist at the Department for Transport (DfT), and hugely influential figure in modern transport studies.
Dr Metz was an honorary professor in the Centre for Transport Studies at UCL, where he carried out research into how technological, behavioural and demographic shifts influenced travel demand.
He was also the author of many celebrated books analysing transport trends and travel demand. His notable popular works include Travel Fast or Smart? A Manifesto for an Intelligent Transport Policy (2016) and Peak Car: the Future of Travel (2014).
Mr Metz is reported to have died suddenly at the age of 85.
Earlier in his career he was a member of the scientific staff of the Medical Research Council and a civil servant in various Whitehall departments. He spent five years as chief scientist to the DfT from 1992-1997, after which he left government.
He is probably best known for his radical approach to reconsidering how transport is appraised in this country, effectively arguing for a complete reinvention of how Whitehall values schemes.
While the DfT's analysis of benefit cost ratios uses time savings as a foundation, Dr Metz argued that such benefits were transient and the real long-lasting benefit of schemes was the uplift it gave to land values.
Advertising guru and co-author of Transport for Humans: Are We Nearly There Yet? Rory Sutherland, said: 'This man was a giant, and his book Travel Smarter not Faster was sensational. Actually it had wider implications for the whole area of modelling and economics which went far beyond the transport sector. Pete Dyson and I are both hugely saddened by his death.
'The bizarre thing was that his arguments were pretty much unassailable - yet the whole planning process seemed unaffected by them. People, it seems, would prefer to be precisely wrong than vaguely right.'
Tom van Vuren MBE, visiting Professor at the University of Leeds, and co-chair of the DfT Joint Analysis Development Panel, said: 'I was saddened to hear about the passing of David Metz, ex DfT Chief Scientist and more recently vociferous challenger of transport modelling and appraisal methods used for, particularly, road investment. We did not always see eye to eye - but he asked the necessary questions and was always up for a debate.'
Glenn Lyons, immediate past President of the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation and Mott MacDonald Professor of Future Mobility at UWE Bristol, said: 'Very sad to see this news. David brought very welcome challenge of orthodox thinking into our sector which will be greatly missed.'
David's family announced that his funeral will be held on Sunday 28th June at Golders Green crematorium at 11 am, after which attendees can go to the Lord Palmerston pub in Dartmouth Park Hill. All are welcome. No RSVP required.
