ITS Monday: Edition 40, 2021

Sydney’s traffic returning to pre-COVID levels as driving skills deteriorate

This article is derived from data from Transport for NSW and Apple Mobility, showing increases in both road use and public transport patronage. As for the deterioration of driving skills, that’s not drawn from the data, rather it is anecdotal, and its (possible) existence is covered off via an included quote from Professor David Levinson.

Transport for NSW’s driverless rideshare plans

More news out of NSW in this story about Transport for NSW partnering with ‘… Motional, a driverless technology company, to launch a plan to investigate driverless rideshare services and opportunities.’ We’re excited to be working with Motional to start laying the foundation for a driverless future in NSW. Today’s studies may very well shape how our communities move around in years to come,’ said Joost de Kock, Deputy Secretary Customer Strategy and Technology, Transport for NSW.

Safer roads for cyclists, pedestrians would get us back on public transport

This is written by Marion Terrill, the Transport and Cities Program Director at the Grattan Institute. It discusses her observation of what’s happening as Melbourne begins to emerge from lockdown life, soon-to-be-released new Grattan Institute research, and her hopes for ‘… a greener, safer, more liveable future’ for Melbourne.

Australia could save nearly $500 billion with big switch to electric vehicles

‘Stronger policies to drive the uptake of electric vehicles in Australia could deliver huge savings for Australian drivers, reaching almost $500 billion out to 2035.’ This article then discusses a Deloitte Access Economics report commissioned by The Australian Conservation Foundation. This report looked at assessing expected expenditure on road transport, comparing different levels of electric vehicle uptake.

Technological boost for Transperth bus stops

Perth is about to begin a trial of new electronic bus stop display screens, displaying up-to-the-minute information on when the next bus will arrive, plus ‘… real-time messages on any unexpected delays encountered due to issues like unusual levels of traffic congestion and road works.’

New ‘Induced Demand’ Calculator shows exactly how much driving your city’s highway expansion will encourage

RMI, Transportation for America, the National Resources Defense Council, and others have put together ‘… a calculator gives advocates the tools they need to instantly show the real impacts of proposed highway expansions in their communities.’ ‘We definitely felt a sense of urgency to get this out, especially with the prospect of a historically large investment in highway funding coming down to state DOTs that have a track record of not accounting for how much driving and pollution their highway projects will create.’

Future of mobility: last mile urban freight

This is a downloadable report from the UK Government Office of Science, and is ‘An evidence review exploring the trends in UK last mile urban freight, and how users and technology interact with the changing system.’