Home > People > Stephen Potter
Stephen Potter
Stephen Potter is Professor of Transport Strategy, undertaking work on the design processes involved for the diffusion of cleaner transport technologies cleaner vehicle technologies, low carbon transport systems and more sustainable travel behaviour. This also includes work on specific topics such as travel plans and the design of transport environmental taxation. As well as transport research, Stephen also undertakes studies in other sustainable design issues.
Stephen works in both the Design Innovation Group and in the Energy and Environment Research Unit (EERU). Stephen is active in postgraduate training work and in 2007 was appointed Chair of the Research Degrees Committee.
Contact Information
Email: s.potter@open.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)1908 652634/ 652103
Fax: +44 (0)1908 654052
Room: N2007, Venables building
Current and Recent Research Projects
Taxation Futures for Sustainable Mobility: Work includes a project in the ESRC Environment and Human Behaviour New Opportunities Programme 2003-4. Conducted jointly with Graham Parkhurst (UWE), Ben Lane and Barry Ubbels (VU Amsterdam), this project explored strategic options to reform the road taxation regime to address modern environmental and transport policy objectives.
For a copy of the final report, click here.
For details of the EHB programme see http://www.psi.org.uk/ehb.
This research has continued, including a Parliamentary presentation in 2008, a chapter in a major new book [pdf of book chapter] and a presentation to the 2008 Global Conference on Environmental Taxation. Research is ongoing via membership of the Green Fiscal Commission and work on tax measures to support travel plans, including research for the National Business Travel Network.
Delivering Sustainable Waste Management: improving uptake through partnership? (Co-applicant with Professor David Wield and principal applicant Dr. Jim Frederickson) ESRC STS programme, 2003-5 [details]
Innovations in Transport Systems and Services: This includes research into Travel Plans, supervising projects on Evaluating Alternative LRT designs, and participation in the CEC U-STIR project on user-led innovation of sustainable transport innovations. He is part of Milton Keynes consortium that successfully bid for inclusion in the Joined Cities project to develop public electric car charging infrastructure. He has also contributing to projects on Demand Responsive Transport Systems [see DTR Intermode Report and Publicly-funded DRT Schemes. He also contributed to a Carbon Connections project led by the University of East Anglia on broadening participation in car Liftshare schemes.
People-centred Ecodesign: a DIG programme with Professor Robin Roy and Dr Sally Caird on factors influencing the adoption and useof low carbon products and systems. This includes work funded under the Carbon Connections research programme in partnership with the Energy Savings Trust. For further details and publications see the DIG page.
Teaching
Recent teaching work includes:
T172 Working with our Environment Technology for a Sustainable Future
T890 Technology Policy and Innovation Research
T206 Energy for a Sustainable Future
DT840 Introduction to Research
Research training work includes being joint chair and author of the OU's new U501 Doing Postgraduate Research (right), a co-published book with Sage. [link to book's website]
GT013 Introduction to Travel Planning , GT014 Travel Plan Development , GB017 Social Marketing and GT032 How to Design and Analyse Surveys, which are part of the new CPLD Certificate in Travel Planning.
Selected Publications
Ubbels, Barry, Enoch, Marcus, Potter, Stephen and Nijkamp, Peter (2004):Unfare solutions .. local earmarked charges to fund public transport, Taylor and Francis, London
Potter, Stephen (2004): Transport Energy and Emissions: Urban Public Transport, Chapter 13, pp 247-262 of Hensher, David and Button, Kenneth (Eds) Handbook of Transport and the Environment, Volume 4, Pergamon/Elsevier [text of chapter] [link to book's website]
Potter, Stephen, Parkhurst, Graham and Lane, Ben (2005): European perspectives on a new fiscal framework for transport, Chapter 16 (pp 319-333) in Reggiani, A and Schintler, L (Eds): Methods and Models in Transport and Telecommunications: Cross Atlantic Perspectives. Springer, Berlin and New York. [text of chapter] [link to book's website]
Potter, Stephen and Parkhurst, Graham (2005) Transport Policy and Taxation Reform Public Money and Management Vol 25, No 3, June pp171-178. [pdf]
Roy, R., Potter, S. and Yarrow, K (2008): Designing low carbon higher education systems: environmental impacts of campus and distance learning systems. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education Vol. 9 No. 2, 2008 pp. 116-130 [pdf]
Roy, R., Caird, S., and Potter, S. (2006): People Centred Eco-Design: Consumer Adoption and use of Low and Zero Carbon Products and Systems, pp 41-62 of: Murphy, J (Ed) Governing Technology for Sustainability, London, Earthscan [ORO link with pdf]
Lane, B and Potter, S. (2007): The adoption of cleaner vehicles in the UK: exploring the consumer attitude-action gap. The Jornal of Cleaner Production, Vol 15, pp 1085-1092 [pdf]
Potter, S and Bailey (2008): Transport and the Environment. Chapter 3, pp 29-48 of Knowles, R., Shaw, J., and Docherty, I (2008): Transport Geographies, Oxford, Blackwell [ORO link]
Potter, S (2008): Purchase, Circulation and Fuel Taxation. Chapter 2 (pp 13- 27) of Ison, Stephen and Rye, Tom (Eds) (2008): The Implementation and Effectiveness of Transport Demand Management measures: An International Perspective, London, Ashgate. [pdf]
Laws, R., Enoch, M., Ison, S. and Potter, S (2009): Demand responsive transport: a review of schemes in England and Wales. Journal of Public Transportation, Vol 12, No 1, pp 19-37. [pdf copy]
Potter, S (2010): Transport Intergration: an impossible dream? Opening Plenary paper, Universities Transport Study Group Conference, University of Plymouth, January. [pdf of paper]
Other publications (including downloads of some) are available at Full List of Publications
and recent publications are also on my section of Open Research Online
Summary CV
Education and Career
BSc (Econ) joint honours degree (Class 2-1), Economics and Geography, (1974) University College London
PhD ('The Transport Assumptions Underlying the Design of Britain's New Towns, 1898-1976'), 1977, The Open University
1976-1984: Research Fellow and Lecturer in Social Sciences Faculty, The Open University
1985-87 Researcher at the Federation of London Dial-a-Rides
1987 - 1997 Research Fellow in Department of Design and Innovation, Technology Faculty, The Open University
1997-2005 Senior Research Fellow in Department of Design and Innovation, Technology Faculty, The Open University
2005 Appointed Professor of Transport Strategy, Department of Design and Innovation, Technology Faculty, The Open University
Membership of professional bodies
Town and Country Planning Association
Transport Planning Society (conferring Associate Membership of the Institution of Civil Engineers)
Government and Public Committees
Member of the External Research Advisors for the Department for Transport's Cleaner Fuels and Vehicles and Environment and Taxation divisions since 2000.
Member of the Advisory Group for the Office of Science and Technology’s programme: Knowledge Transfer Funding for Universities & Research Institutes 2001
Member of the Milton Keynes Sustainable Transport Working Group, (joint Milton Keynes Council and MK Economic Partnership) 2001 -
Member of Energy Savings Trust Transport Advisory Committee, 2006 - 2007
Member of the Green Fiscal Commission 2007 -
Reviewer and Expert Advisor Work
Chair of the Editorial Board of Town and Country Planning.
Reviewer of articles for academic journals in the UK, Europe and USA, including Technology Assessment and Strategic Management, Design Studies, Design Journal, Research Policy, Transport Policy, Transport Reviews, Resaerch in Transport Management , European Journal on Transport and Infrastructure and Transportation, Transportation Planning and Technology, Journal of Transport Geography, Journal of Transport and Land Use.
Reviewer of book proposal for Cambridge University Press and book chapters for Elsevier
Reviewer of research grant applications for the ESRC, AHRC, EPSRC and Leverhulme Foundation.
Referee for World Conference on Transport, 2004.
External Examining
External Examiner for PhD theses for Lund University (Sweden), University of Oxford, University of Manchester, University of Leeds, University of the West of England, Brunel University, London Metropolitan University, University of Glamorgan, University of Central England, De Montfort University, Cranfield University, Napier University and University of East London.
Internal PhD examiner for OUAB Rennes Business School, France. Also internal examiner of PhD and Masters Thesis for the OU.
External Examiner for: De Montford University’s BA in Design Management and Innovation 2001-04; Napier University’s MSc Transport Planning and Engineering course, 2002–07; Cranfield University’s MSc Environmental Management for Business 2005-08
Other Life
Among other things, plays viola in the OU Orchestra. Sings in the OU Choir and the a capella group Quorum. Secretary of the OU Christian Forum and member of Christ the King Church, Kents Hill.
Page Last Updated: 15 January, 2010