ITS Monday: Edition 34, 2024

Queensland’s 50c public transport fares to remain with support of both major parties

There’s really two pieces of news here. One, as you’ll see at the link above, is about the Queensland opposition saying it will match the (current) state government’s commitment to keep 50c public transport fares in place beyond the October election.

In other news on this, iMOVE has just commenced a project directly related to Queensland’s public transport fare drop/ Find out more at: Implications of large-scale price reductions in public transport fares

Related iMOVE articles:

• MaaS (Mobility as a Service) in Australia: Info, Projects & Resources
• MaaS: What have we learned, and where to next?
  

Related iMOVE projects:

• Behavioural change for sustainable transport
• Mobility landscapes: Mobility as a Service customer impact trial
• Gippsland community e-Bus pilot
  

New mode of transit heading for Brisbane streets

Staying in both Queensland and on the topic of public transport, a new type if vehicle is set to be rolled our on Brisbane streets, the HESS lighTram 25. What is it? Well, imagine that a “bendy” bus and a tram were people, and they loved each other very, very much. It’s 24.5 metres long, electric, and offers “… operators high passenger capacity similar to a tram or light rail and the manoeuvrability and flexibility conventionally associated with an articulated bus.”

It was trialled in Brisbane in 2022 and, is due to commence Brisbane Metro passenger services later this year.

Related iMOVE projects:

• Gippsland community e-Bus pilot
• Electric school buses for regional WA: Challenges and solutions

Are shared automated vehicles good for public- or private-transport-oriented cities (or neither)?

A new academic paper, co-authored by Andrés Fielbaum and Baiba Pudāne. The abstract:

Simulation studies suggest that Shared Automated Vehicles (SAVs) could reduce the total vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) thanks to efficiently pooling multiple users in one vehicle. However, mode choice studies indicate that SAVs would attract mostly public transport users, leading to an increase in VKT.

This paper is among the first to combine these operational and behavioural expectations and the first to do so analytically. In our theoretical set-up, travellers choose between car, public transport, and SAVs, depending on their individual valuation of private travel and other attributes of each mode.

We find that the introduction of SAVs lead to a VKT change in public-transport-oriented cities ranging from a small decrease to a large increase, where the latter is true for plausible parameter settings and hence is a cautionary point for SAV-introduction policies. Conversely, SAVs would attract only few travellers in private-transport-oriented cities and therefore would not significantly impact VKT.

Related iMOVE articles:

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

Related iMOVE projects:

• C-ITS national harmonisation and pre-deployment research
• Environmental impacts of Connected and Automated Vehicles
• Safely deploying automated vehicles on Australian roads

Addressing transport disadvantages in regional and rural areas through integrated mobility services

Another new academic paper, this from the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies‘ Haoning Xi, John Nelson, Corinne Mulley, David Hensher, Chinh Ho, and Camila Balbontin. The abstract:

This paper explores mobility barriers and the impact of transport disadvantage on vulnerable individuals (e.g., the elderly, disabled, and low-income) in regional and rural areas, including the limited transport options, inadequate infrastructure, information gaps, affordability issues, safety concerns, and preference for car over public transport. We conduct qualitative analysis using the data collected from community group discussions in three regional towns in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, and identify a significant gap in the literature concerning the potential for integrated mobility solutions to address mobility barriers of the transport-disadvantaged in regional and rural settings.

Our findings highlight the need to strive for the “gold standard” including better infrastructure, integration of services, increased safety, comfort, and convenience, and greater availability, affordability, and flexibility of mobility services. The insights from the discussions suggest that integrated mobility solutions, such as Mobility as a Service (MaaS), have significant potential to ameliorate these barriers, improve the quality of life and promote social inclusion for rural populations.

The paper provides policy implications on improving the appeal and adoption of integrated mobility solutions more generally in regional and rural settings.

Related iMOVE articles:

• Equity in Transportation Info, Projects & Resources
• Vulnerable Road USers: Info, Projects & Resources
  

Related iMOVE projects:

• What should MaaS be in regional towns and rural hinterlands?
• Modelling cycling investments in regional areas

E-scooter riders flouting rules, blocking footpaths and causing accidents? We need to use smart solutions (and bust the myths)

We really have been talking quite a bit these past few weeks here on the subject of e-scooter and trouble. Here, in this article from The Conversation, and co-authored by the Universty of Queensland’s  Richard Buning, Narelle Haworth, and Scott Lieske, we can stop, take a breath, and have a considered look at what’s going on, and what can be done.

“There have been calls for tougher policing of e-scooters. However, recent research and innovations in the industry offer better, more cost-effective solutions that will ease the pressure on police resources. These solutions include using readily available technology, including geo-fencing and speed-limiters, and educating riders. Our research has found many of them simply don’t know the rules that apply to e-scooters in their city or state.”

Related iMOVE articles:

• Micromobilty: Info, Projects & Resources
• Active Transport: Info, Projects & Resources
  

Related iMOVE projects:

• OneDock: Supercharging e-micromobility
• Road use activity data: Cyclists, pedestrians and micromobility
• Impacts of eRideables on the transport task in WA

It’s time to accept e-bikes for what they are: electric vehicles

An op ed from the Bicycle Network’s website. “By broadening our vision to consider e-bikes part of the electric vehicle landscape, we can greatly accelerate our efforts on climate action, help clean up our cities and encourage active lifestyles all over Australia.

Related iMOVE article:

• FACTS: A Framework for an Australian Clean Transport Strategy

A Map That Visualizes Walkable Neighborhoods Across the US

Geographer Nat Henry has built a map, called Close, that allows users can explore the walkability, bike-ability or transit accessibility of any place in the United States. In this article Henry is interviewed about his work.