ITS Monday: Edition 16 2026
ITS Monday is a small, weekly collection of curated content from the worlds of intelligent transport systems, smart mobility, and associated areas. This is the 265th edition to date, and the first for 2026.
Included this week, Californian robotaxi assessment, electric ferry for Sydney, Australia Post goes (more) electric, and more.
The article headlines below are:
- Millions of Trips, “Waymo” Empty Miles: California’s First Thousand Days of Commercial Robotaxi Service
- The first-ever electric ferry is coming to Sydney Harbour — here’s when you can ride the new Australian-made vessel
- Australia Post to expand electric fleet with $40 million investment
- The long road to a bike-friendly Australia
- Priced Off the Pump – As Fuel Pressure Rises, Britain is Turning To the Bike
This week’s articles
Now, scroll down, and see what’s in this week’s edition. Oh, and before you do, be sure check out the quickest way to receive our new content via the subscription box just below …
A new academic paper, authored by Awad Abdelhalim. The abstract:
Autonomous rideshare services, generally referred to as robotaxis, have been scaling up rapidly in the United States. However, there is very little visibility into the operations of these services and their impact on urban congestion, particularly when vehicles are cruising without passengers onboard.
We analyzed the composition of more than 86 million total vehicle miles traveled over approximately 14 million Waymo robotaxi trips, using data reported to the California Public Utilities Commission from August 2023 through December 2025. We found that only about 54% of all miles traveled by Waymos in California are driven with a passenger onboard.
Related iMOVE articles:
- Autonomous Driving: Info, Projects & Resources
- Autonomous Driving Technology: Info, Projects & Resources
Related iMOVE projects:
- CAVs and the environment: A cleaner future?
- CAVs and Australians: Attitudes, perceptions, preferences
- Safely deploying automated vehicles on Australian roads
“The NSW Government has officially locked in a 12-month trial for the first-ever Sydney electric ferry, designed and built entirely in Australia. Set to launch in early 2028, this emissions-free vessel could completely reshape the future of the city’s iconic transport network.”
Related iMOVE projects:
READ THE ARTICLE
Australia Post to expand electric fleet with $40 million investment
“Your mail and parcel deliveries are set to become cleaner and more silent as the 2026 Federal Budget has committed $40.5 million to fast track the electrification of Australia Post’s delivery fleet.”
Related iMOVE article:
- FACTS: A Framework for an Australian Clean Transport Strategy
- The Conductor Series: The electrification of transport
- Sustainable Transportation: Info, projjects, and resources/
Related iMOVE projects:
READ THE ARTICLE
The long road to a bike-friendly Australia
“When you don’t drive, a city’s building blocks reveal themselves slowly with each step, each turn of a mobility device or pedal. “You notice absolutely everything, every crossing, every traffic light, every house,” Lavigne says. What he noticed was a broken network. A litany of false starts, dead ends and missing middles.”
Related iMOVE project:
Related iMOVE articles:
Related iMOVE projects:
- Optimising multimodal transport networks: Sharing road space
- Safer cycling infrastructure: Design and policy
- Behavioural change for sustainable transport
Priced Off the Pump – As Fuel Pressure Rises, Britain is Turning To the Bike
Speking of bieability, this tale of the UK is a post on LinkedIn. “There are moments when data does more than describe the present, it points clearly towards the future. The latest British Cycling market tracker figures mark one of those moments.
For the first time, more than 30 million people in Great Britain – 55% of the entire population – have ridden a bike in the past year. That is not a marginal gain. It is an increase of around four million people since 2022, and a remarkable 2.6 million rise since summer 2025 alone.”
READ THE ARTICLEWe used to send out a weekly newsletter, ITS Weekly Roundup, a collection of ITS- and mobility-related news from across the world. ITS Monday is a replacement for that, a collection of links to news and opinion pieces, academic papers, and more. Additionally, you can follow us on Linkedin and Twitter, both of which have a focus on iMOVE news and projects, or subscribe to our bi-monthly newsletter.
*Inclusion in ITS Monday does not equal iMOVE endorsement. It’s more aimed at discovery, thought, or discussion … or all of those and more. And while for the most part I expect content to be current, a little age doesn’t mean diminished interest.
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