ITS Monday: Edition 29, 2025

His shop is covered in sand, crushed by the trams outside. He worries about the health risks

“Trams. An endless fleet of trams, dinging as they pass. And as they pass they drop sand, which shatters under their steel wheels and, Moore says, turns into large dust clouds.”

And it just so happens iMOVE has a project running that looks directly at trying to solve this issue. Read more at: Feasibility of replacing sand with aluminium oxide for tram use<

E-bikes could slash our reliance on cars – but overpowered illegal models on the roads make us all less safe

Richard J. Buning and Dorina Pojani‘s piece in The Conversation. “E-bikes aren’t bikes as we’ve known them – they perform more like a car, motorbike or e-scooter. We need to start thinking of e-bikes as a distinct form of transport.”

Related iMOVE article:

• Active Transport: Info, Projects & Resources

Related iMOVE projects:

• Safer cycling infrastructure: Design and policy
• Modelling cycling investments in regional areas
• OneDock: Supercharging e-micromobility

Commercial e-bikes and the application of regulations

This link goes directly to a downloadable paper from Monash University, the authors Associate Professor Alexa Delbosc, Professor Geoff Rise, and Dr Brendan Lawrence. “This report presents findings from a research project commissioned by the Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce (VACC) to quantify non-compliant behaviours among commercial delivery e-bike riders in inner Melbourne. The study responds to industry concerns about the operating speeds and riding practices of delivery e-bikes, many of which, even on casual observation, appear to fall outside legal definitions yet face little enforcement.”

Healthy ageing and active travel: Identifying age-related barriers to walking and cycling

A new working paper from a team at the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, the co-authors Natarsha Vukalovich, Stephen Greaves, Katherine Owen, Anne Tiedemann, and Melanie Crane. The abstract:

In a period of increasing mobility technologies, sustainable transport options, and healthy ageing concerns it is timely to better understand the barriers to active travel, particularly for older adults. Drawing from a survey of 1,522 Sydney residents, we compare travel patterns and perceived barriers to walking and cycling for older adults (60+) and younger adults (18-59).

Car/motorbike/Uber use and walking have frequent and consistent use across both age groups. In contrast, public transport and bicycle/e-bicycle use both decline with age. Perceived barriers to walking and cycling are analysed across age groups using logistic regression. Relative to younger adults, older adults are more likely to identify an injury or disability (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.02 to 2.04) and the convenience of driving (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.73) as barriers to walking/walking more.

Conversely, older adults are less likely to identify no-one to walk with (OR 0.47, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.68), personal safety (OR, 0.28, 95% 0.17 to 0.45), traffic (OR 0.26, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.41), inadequate street lighting (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.90), no footpaths (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.70), and distance (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.96) as barriers to walking/walking more.

For cycling, lack of access to a bicycle (OR 2.74, 95% CI 2.15 to 3.48), and insufficient skills (OR 2.9, 95% CI 2.1 to 3.99) are key issues for older adults, while sociocultural and built environment barriers are again perceived as less of a barrier. Practical issues (distance, transport availability, skills development), personal limitations, and potentially the nature/purpose of travel are key factors associated with active travel among older adults in Sydney. Policymakers need to ensure sociocultural and built environment barriers are lowered to ensure those already walking and cycling maintain this into old age.

Transport for the real world: E-scooters: From childhood toys to a serious transport mode

Stephen Greaves from the article above appears also in this podcast, interviewed by David Brown. Discussed is the rise of e-scooters and what they mean for the future of urban mobility. A stand out aspect of the conversation is that it moves beyond the usual headlines and centres on the bigger land-use and transport planning picture, with a clear eye to community benefit.

Related iMOVE article:

• Micromobility: Info, Projects & Resources

Related iMOVE project:

• Road use activity data: Cyclists, pedestrians and micromobility

Traffic pollution contributes to more than 1,800 premature deaths per year, study estimates

“Operator Metro Tasmania has celebrated its trial of three hydrogen electric buses with key partners and stakeholders. The three bright green zero-emissions buses are part of Metro’s Hobart fleet during its zero-emissions bus trial.”

Related iMOVE articles:

• Traffic Congestion: Info, Projects & Resources
• Sustainable Transportation: Info, Projects & Resources

Related iMOVE project:

• FACTS: A Framework for an Australian Clean Transport Strategy