ITS Monday: Edition 13, 2022

New WFH and transport-related patterns emerge

From the University of Sydney website, on WFH, so of course ITLS’ Founding Director, Professor David Hensher is quoted, working with us on several projects in this area. And Working from Home has been a driver of significant change during the pandemic.

Mobility as a Service to reshape the automotive industry

Thoughts from Sampo Hietanen, Founder and CEO, of MaaS Global and Whim on, of course, MaaS. There’s a short text piece here, and also a 12-minute video of a talk he gave at Mexico Automotive Summit.

Consumer preferences for operator collaboration in intra- and intercity transport ecosystems: Institutionalising platforms to facilitate MaaS 2.0

Speaking of MaaS and of the University of Sydney and its Institute of Transport and Logistics studies, is this new academic paper, with authors James Bushell, Rico Merkert, and Matthew J.Beck.

Understanding the allocation and use of street space in areas of high people activity

An academic paper, from the Journal of Transport Geography. The authors are Chris De Gruytera and Seyed Mojib Zahraeeb of RMIT University, and William Young from Monash University. And yes, the research stems from work in the Melbourne CBD.

New study shows streets are safer with asphalt art

This concerns results of a US-based study. “As part of our Asphalt Art Initiative, a new study found that city streets became considerably safer for pedestrians after incorporating art into roadway redesigns. Also in this story is a link to the full report from this study, which I’ll also paste in here: Asphalt Art Safety Study: Historical crash analysis and observational behavior assessment at asphalt art sites.

Twelve best ways to get cars out of cities – ranked by new research

“In this article Associate Professor Kimberly Nicholas, a sustainability scientist at Lund University in Sweden, reports on recent research investigating what have been the most effective interventions in reducing car use in European cities.”

How climate-friendly is an electric car? It all comes down to where you live

“New research reveals having an electric vehicle would mean less emissions than a fossil-fuelled car – but the extent to which electric vehicles can lower emissions varies in each state. Much depends on how much electricity is generated from renewable sources, such as solar, wind and hydro.”

Highway removals: Restoring the urban fabric and unlocking new development opportunities

This article “…highlights various highway removal projects, discussing how these interventions restore the urban fabric, reknit communities and recover urban spaces for city dwellers.”

The influence of the built environment on pedestrians’ perceptions of attractiveness, safety and security

“Perceptions of the walking environment can encourage or discourage walking for transport. However, the influence of the built environment (BE) on pedestrians’ perceptions of the walking environment has not been fully understood. To address this gap, the present research investigates how BE characteristics of a suburban walking environment are associated with the perceptions of attractiveness (i.e., pleasantness, friendliness), safety, and security.” Authors are variously from QUT, CARRS-Q, and Monash University, and the paper is derived from research on/in Brisbane.

Cycleway and outdoor dining: Plans for new CBD promenade revealed

“One of Sydney CBD’s busiest streets will be transformed into a tree-lined boulevard under plans to widen footpaths for al fresco dining and add a separated cycleway that will provide a missing link in the city’s bicycle network.”

Electric buses to be rolled out in Queensland as Australian-first bus depot opens on Gold Coast

The headline says it all, a new electric bus depot in Currumbin will be completely powered by renewable energy, including a 56-kilowatt solar panel array.

Yara Birkeland crew to move onshore one by one as autonomous trials begin

News about the Yara Birkeland has been bubbling along for a couple of years now, but as of the week of 9 April the electric autonomous container ship had its first commercial voyage.

What will it take to change our transport behaviours?

Talk about your big questions! This is from New Zealand, written by Alan Brent, Professor of Sustainable Energy Systems, School of Engineering and Computer Science at Te Herenga Waka–Victoria University of Wellington.

How much money can you really save trading the car for an ebike?

And here we are, article number 14 in this bumper edition of ITS Monday. “Skyrocketing petrol prices are driving commuters towards ebikes in record numbers and making the switch could save thousands of dollars a year.” But just how big are the savings? Are there savings? Again this an article from New Zealand, and the amounts and data provided is from NZ.