ITS Monday: Edition 7, 2026

Electric trucks are finally ready for prime time. Could high oil prices speed up the shift?

Professor Hussein Dia in The Conversation. “For years, long-range electric trucks seemed impossible. But much has changed in a short time. Rapid improvements to batteries and chargers mean battery electric trucks are already viable for urban and short-range trucks. In December, battery-electric and hybrid trucks outsold conventional trucks in China for the first time.

Australia relies heavily on road freight. Trucks move more than 250 billion tonne-kilometres of goods each year. Most run on diesel, which has to be imported.

That’s now become a problem. The war on Iran has triggered spiking oil prices and warnings of fuel shortages. Trucking goods will get more expensive, pushing up the cost of food, consumer products and construction materials.”

Related iMOVE articles:

• Alternative Fuelst: Info, Projects & Resources
• The Conductor Series: The electrification of transport

Related iMOVE projects:

• FACTS: A Framework for an Australian Clean Transport Strategy
• Zero emissions heavy vehicles: Analysis, planning and policy

Network Origin-Destination Estimation using Percolation

A new academic paper, authored by David Levinson. The abstract:

This paper presents a network origin–destination estimation (NODE) method for trip distribution that applies a percolation-like graph search to allocate trips from origins to destinations. Expanding in cost order from each origin, NODE matches productions to available attractions, depleting destination capacities as they are filled. Multiple origins compete for the same destinations; later arrivals may be diverted to more distant alternatives.

The result is an OD matrix spatially constrained by network topology and impedance, without a global gravity function or logit structure. NODE can replicate gravity results in some settings, but departs in cases of destination capacity constraints, network bottlenecks, and heterogeneous acceptance, offering a simple, network-aware alternative to conventional models.

Related iMOVE project:

• National road freight OD inference and visualisation platform

Queensland government considering age limits and licensing requirements for e-bike and e-scooter riders

“Queensland’s transport minister says existing laws around e-bikes and e-scooters are not “practical”, as the government weighs up recommended age restrictions and licensing requirements for the devices. The committee has made a total of 28 recommendations covering the issues of safety, the risk of lithium-ion battery fires, the retail of devices, enforcement and community awareness and education.

If enacted, the state would follow South Australia and Western Australia in imposing an age limit of 16 for all e-mobility devices — and would be the first jurisdiction to require riders to hold a licence of some kind.”

Related iMOVE article:

• Micromobility: Info, Projects & Resources

Related iMOVE project:

• Road use activity data: Cyclists, pedestrians and micromobility

E-Bikes: Convenience, Annoyance, or Menace?

a second piece this week from the University of Sydney’s David Levinson. “The answer depends on your point-of-view. If you are a e-bike user, such as a commuter, recreational traveler, or deliverista, it must be a convenience (otherwise why do it). If you are the consumer of warmed over restaurant meals delivered by e-bikes, you probably agree. But, if you are not, the answer is less clear.”

An Insurance Expert Appraises the Safety Record of Self-Driving Cars

“Are autonomous vehicles operated by companies like Waymo and Tesla making the streets safer? The insurance industry’s research arm is watching closely.”

Related iMOVE articles:

• Autonomous Driving: Info, Projects & Resources
• Autonomous Driving Technology: Info, Projects & Resources

Related iMOVE projects:

• CAVs and the environment: A cleaner future?
• CAVs and Australians: Attitudes, perceptions, preferences
• Safely deploying automated vehicles on Australian roads

Bikes over cars: Inside Sydney’s radical new suburb

“The New South Wales government have revealed detailed plans for Bays West, a harbourfront precinct between Balmain and Pyrmont, with Premier Chris Minns announcing one of the most ambitious urban transport policies the state has seen.

Bays West will consist of a community of 8,500 homes where cycling, active travel and public transport do the heavy lifting, and private vehicles are the exception.”

Related iMOVE article:

• Active Transport: Info, Projects & Resources

Related iMOVE projects:

• Safer cycling infrastructure: Design and policy
• AI-powered data dashboard for cycling safety and planning
• RideScore: Safe cycling routes to school

Safety, identity, and inequity at the last mile: a qualitative study of app-based bicycle delivery riders in Spain

A new academic paper, co-authored by Sergio A. Useche, Francisco J. Llamazares, Cristina Marin, and Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios. The abstract:

The expansion of the gig economy has led to a growing number of urban workers engaged in app-based food delivery. This sector, often seen as flexible, conceals complex occupational, legal, and psychosocial risks. Recent evidence suggests that delivery riders’ safety is shaped not only by infrastructure or individual behavior, but also by precarious work conditions, limited legal protections, and forms of social exclusion that remain largely unaddressed.