ITS Monday: Edition 18, 2025

Working from home – sometimes – found to be good for the economy

“Working at home could boost productivity, the government’s own analysis has found, as a major report reviewing the pandemic economy concluded hybrid arrangements are not to blame for Australia’s stagnating growth.”

Related iMOVE articles:

• Working from Home: Info, Projects & Resources
• Prospects for Working from Home: Assessing the evidence
• Traffic Congestion: Info, Projects & Resources

On-demand technologies for public transport: Insights from a Melbourne survey

A new academic paper, co-authored by Sohani Liyanage and Hussein Dia. The abstract:

The integration of on-demand technologies in urban mobility requires a comprehensive understanding of user acceptance and willingness to pay for innovative modes like on-demand public transport designed to enhance conventional services. This study presents findings from a survey conducted in Melbourne, highlighting passenger behaviours, preferences, and attitudes towards the use of on-demand transport technologies as a sustainable alternative to conventional bus services.

Data from 510 diverse participants revealed a strong preference for private vehicles, mainly for convenience and flexibility. However, concerns regarding waiting times, crowding, and reliability in public transport highlighted the need for service improvements. The survey included hypothetical scenarios where respondents evaluated on-demand transport options with varying factors like waiting time, travel cost, and journey duration. Using binary logistic regression and neural networks (NN), the study analysed preferences for the proposed hypothetical on-demand transport scenarios, revealing that while travel cost negatively impacts mode choice, reduced waiting times positively influence it.

The binary logistic model showed classification accuracies between 64% and 72%, while the NN models achieved a high prediction accuracy, reaching approximately 91%. The results indicate that 67% would switch to on-demand transport if it offered reliability, convenience, reduced crowding, and fair pricing.

Additionally, 53% were willing to pay a 25% premium for shorter walking and waiting times, with 69% identifying service reliability as the key factor influencing their transport decisions. These insights are essential for developing transport technology frameworks that incorporate on-demand technologies within existing public transport systems, thus advancing sustainable and resilient urban mobility solutions.

Transport for the real world: Liz Ampt and David Hensher on behaviour change

42 minutes of audio content, with the key themes in the discussion being: Why marketing campaigns often fall short, The value of “unit record” and longitudinal data, Why AI can’t replace human-centred insight, How working from home is changing transport’s role, and The need to integrate transport with health, lifestyle, and well-being.

Understanding shared e-scooters from a civic stakeholder perspective

A new academic paper, co-authored by Yuting Zhang, John Nelson, Corinne Mulley, and Jennifer Kent. The abstract:

The popularity of e-scooters has introduced both new challenges and opportunities for urban mobility. This paper explores shared e-scooters’ development and regulation internationally through a civic (non-profit-oriented) stakeholder lens. Nine international expert interviews were conducted spanning different types of organisations.

Data were analysed using NVivo software. A stakeholder framework was used to identify and examine the needs of stakeholder groups, to aid understanding of behaviours, conflicts, and collaborations within the shared e-scooter ecosystem. The findings suggest that successful partnerships in the e-scooter sector require proactive government leadership, a competitive yet sustainable operator environment, and technological advancements. Clear responsibility distribution in regulation among government bodies and addressing public safety concerns are crucial. This paper also details the interests and interactions among typical stakeholders in a shared e-scooter scheme.

By presenting diverse perspectives and experiences from different regions, this paper provides comprehensive insights into the current status and potential future developments of shared e-scooters. The findings offer an evidence base for proposing recommendations to engage stakeholders effectively and foster positive outcomes for shared e-scooter schemes.

Related iMOVE articles:

• Active Transport: Info, Projects & Resources
• Micromobility: Info, Projects & Resources
• Road Safety: Info, Projects & Resources

Cracking down on loopholes: U.S. De Minimis reforms signal global shift in micromobility compliance

An article on LinkedIn by Zipidi’s Stephen Coulter. “As the global micromobility market booms, with surging demand for e-scooters, e-bikes, and lithium-powered personal transport, critical shifts in U.S. trade policy are sending shockwaves through the industry. At the heart of the change is a major crackdown on the de minimis import exemption, initiated by President Biden and now implemented by President Trump, which took effect today, May 2, 2025.”

Related iMOVE article:

• Liar, liar, e-Bikes on fire

Council boosts PBOT budget with increase to Uber and Lyft fees

A tale from the US city of Portland. “A sharp exchange about transit, a councilor’s rideshare regret, and a substantial bump for Vision Zero and the transportation budget were among the notable moments from a marathon, 12-hour Portland City Council meeting Wednesday.”

Electric vehicle charging disadvantage: a social justice perspective on charging with implications to accessibility

A new academic paper, co-authored by Isrrah Malabanan,Patrícia Sauri Lavieri and Iderlina Mateo-Babiano. The abstract:

Electric vehicle (EV) charging access is an important component in the transition to electric mobility, yet access disparities exist across user groups, creating distributive, recognition, and procedural justice gaps. In this paper, we introduce the term charging disadvantage, denoting challenges users face in accessing EV charging.

We develop a conceptual framework, the EV charging capabilities (EVCC) framework, grounded on the social justice perspective of the capabilities approach, to illustrate the determinants and impacts of charging access, considering both transport and energy contexts. We conducted a literature review to inform the development of this framework. While previous literature extensively studied the impact of charging access on EV adoption, we further explore the effects on users’ travel behaviour, activity scheduling, and accrual of energy-related assets. By shifting the viewpoint of charging access from spatial infrastructure distribution to the provision of capabilities, we can identify the roles of financial capacity, personal conditions, social roles and relationships, physical environment, and wider structural conditions on charging disadvantage and its consequences.

The EVCC framework can be applied as a tool to systematically identify users vulnerable to charging disadvantage and to guide the analysis of EV charging policies and practices. Using the same literature review, we demonstrate one of these applications by identifying highly vulnerable groups and providing recommendations to address their vulnerability. We underscore the need for EV charging infrastructure planning and deployment that is user-centred and captures activity and energy access, rather than solely relying on physical proximity to facilitate a just electric mobility transition.

Related iMOVE articles:

• FACTS: A Framework for an Australian Clean Transport Strategy
  
• Electric Vehicles: Info, Projects & Resources
  
• Alternative Fuels: Info, Projects & Resources
• The Conductor Series: The electrification of transport

Related iMOVE projects:

• EV batteries: Repair, refurbish, repurpose, recycle
• Second lives for electric vehicle batteries

Electric trucks overtaking diesel on lifetime cost, as tipping point nears

“In some regions and vehicle categories – such as heavy- and medium-duty trucks in China, and vans in India and China – electric vehicles are already cheaper over their lifetimes than their diesel counterparts. “In other regions, cost parity is expected before 2033.”

Related iMOVE projects:

• Zero emissions heavy vehicles: Analysis, planning and policy
• Investigating the viability of hydrogen fuel for heavy vehicle use

The impact of omitting key built environment factors on the potential health outcomes of active travel to school

A new academic paper co-authored by Laya Hossein Rashidi, Jennifer L. Kent, and Emily Moylan. The abstract:

Active travel to school (ATS) programs promote walking and cycling because of the proven health benefits, which underpin the economic and social justifications for these initiatives. ATS programs often focus on improving the built environment (BE) around schools to encourage active accessibility. However, BE variables are frequently intercorrelated, making it challenging to include all relevant factors in choice models.

Additionally, they are strongly associated with home-to-school distance, the primary determinant of ATS. Overlooking these interactions increases the risk of omitted variable bias (OVB) in travel mode choice models, reducing their effectiveness in accurately evaluating and informing ATS policies.

Related iMOVE projects:

• The TRavel, Environment and Kids (TREK) Study: 15 years on
  
• Impacts & community benefits of a regional active travel network