ITS Monday: Edition 12, 2021

Sydney’s commuters will be able to spare a seat on public transport as restrictions are eased

A tale of post-COVID (?) changes to public transport in Sydney. ‘Coronavirus social-distancing restrictions will be eased on Sydney public transport and capacity will soon jump to about 75 per cent for city services, while caps will be completely lifted in regional NSW.’

Intel’s Mobileye signs deal with Udelv for driveless delivery trucks

Mobile and Udelv expect to be starting to build Transporter driverless delivery trucks from 2023, and plan to build 35,000 between then and 2029. There is already a pre-order from one company for 1,000 Transporters.

Will e-cargo bikes take over last-mile delivery?

Lingering in the area of delivery vehicles, this article takes an overall look at the benefits, and complications, of implementing fleets of e-cargo bikes. ‘While their efficiency is only meaningful in densely populated cities, e-cargo bikes could play an important role in decarbonizing the last mile.’

Health economic assessment tool (HEAT) for walking and for cycling

Subtitled ‘Methods and user guide on physical activity, air pollution, injuries and carbon impact assessments’, this document is published by the World Health Organisation. ‘Coordinated by WHO, steered by a core group of multidisciplinary experts and supported by ad hoc invited relevant international experts, this project was started in 2005, aimed at developing guidance and practical tools for economic assessments of the health effects from cycling and from walking.’ Another reference on this is the Welcome to the Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT) for walking and cycling by WHO/Europe.

Wellington City Council failing on cyclist safety, audit finds

Staying with active transport, the New Zealand city of Wellington did not fare well in a recent assessment. ‘Cyclists and pedestrian injures and deaths in crashes in Wellington were over-represented based on the number of active users and the council had not taken sufficient action to fix the problem, the audit found.’

Safety-leading e-scooter provider Neuron Mobility partners with Brake NZ

Still in New Zealand e-scooter provider Neuron and Brake New Zealand ‘… will collaborate to promote best practice for shared e-scooter safety across the country.’ Alongside assessing safety materials, Brake will be conducting independent research to compare e-scooters with other modes of transport, to assess safety and other factors affecting how New Zealanders conduct their city transport.

UK shared e-scooter fleet reaches two million journeys milestone

Last but not least this week, another e-scooter article, on the success of the Zag shared e-scooters in London. This is written by Oliver O’Brien, the very same Oliver O’Brien that pulled together the excellent piece of work that is the Tube Heartbeat, a data visualisation of usage of the London Tube system.