Transport planners pay tribute to John Fearon

David Thompson remembers the accomplished and widely respected transport planner and modeller John Fearon

It was with great sadness that friends and ex-colleagues report the recent passing of John Fearon. John was an extremely knowledgeable and capable transport planner and modeller with an exceptional range of skills.

After completing a BTech (Hons) in Civil and Structural Engineering at the University of Bradford, John’s first job was at Hertfordshire County Council, working on highway feasibility studies and economic assessments. He then returned to academia and attended the University of Birmingham, gaining an MSc in Transportation and Traffic Planning in 1974.

Between 1974 and 1979 John worked for MVA Consultancy. From 1979 to 1991 he was at Transportation Planning Associates (TPA) in London, rising to the level of director. He managed and directed numerous projects. John was involved in the development and application of the Docklands Public Transport Model for LDDC. 

He worked on the planning of the A36 Salisbury Bypass, and on a transport model for public transport services on the proposed Jamuna Bridge in Bangladesh for the World Bank. This was one of the longest bridges in the world when it opened in 1998. In this period, John also undertook important work on the development of trip matrix validation techniques, the development of software for trip distribution modelling and for economic evaluation, and the derivation of accident indices for interurban roads. 

From 1991 until his retirement John acted as an independent consultant. Whilst I was at Arup (from 1992), he regularly acted as a consultant to our transport modelling teams. He provided valuable assistance on the West Midlands to North West Multi Modal Study for DfT in the early 2000s. He also assisted Arup with Peer Review of a Four-stage model in Wellington, New Zealand in 2003. From 1997 onwards, John undertook a considerable amount of groundbreaking research on forecasting and appraising Travel Time Variability for DfT. This was collaborative work involving John Bates, Ian Black, Arup, Mott MacDonald and TRL.

John was known in the profession for his expertise in strategic freight studies. He was involved in international freight demand forecasting and assessment of the reactions of commercial vehicle operators to road pricing. 

In his later career, John collaborated with a team at Hyder modelling flow breakdown at merges on congested motorways on behalf of DfT. This research work is recorded in various PTRC papers published and presented between 2008 and 2013.

At John’s funeral on 15 September his wife Gill and daughters – Emily and Anna – told us about his love for Luton Town FC and delight on their recent promotion to the Premier League. John grew up in Bedfordshire and went to school in Luton. He was a keen and intrepid hiker.

John was one of the most knowledgeable and conscientious people that I have encountered in almost 40 years in transport planning.

Thanks to Steve Miller, Mike D’Alton and Tom Van Vuren MBE for their help and reflections in compiling this tribute.