ITS Monday: Edition 30, 2024

Meet the now up-and-running Sydney Metro

Autonomous cars receive the lion’s share of press, debate, and interest, but of course it’s not the only driverless mode being explored. There’s also trucks, boats, warehouse and agricultural bots. and of course trains. Here’s a selection of stories on the sparkling new Metro line in Sydnay.

• Sydney Metro line between Chatswood and Sydenham to open Monday, August 19
• A review of Sydney Metro: Sydenham to Chatswood
• Transport enthusiasts ride on board the Sydney Metro City’s first train between Chatswood and Sydenham

Related iMOVE articles:

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

Related iMOVE project:

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

Dr Jennifer Kent (University of Sydney): “The case for qualitative methods in transport research”

A recording of a recent webinar from the TransportLab at the University of Sydney. “The urgency of problems associated with unsustainable transport in cities, particularly the deeply entrenched cultural attachment to private cars in Australian cities, demand deeper understandings of why we travel the way we do. This depth can only be achieved when transport research extends beyond existing empirical and theoretical zones of comfort.

In this presentation, I will review the dominance of quantitative research in transport scholarship, and progress to provide an overview of the epistemological aspects of qualitative approaches. In doing so, I will etch out space for more effective use of qualitative methods, demonstrating that qualitative approaches are rigorous, viable and highly applicable to transport problems. The presentation will go on to describe a case study of the use of qualitative methods to understand an extremely complex and emotionally charged expression of car dependency – parenting and private car use. The presentation will ultimately conclude that the gold standard of our research should not defined by either a qualitative or quantitative methods, but by a skillful melding of the two.”

First accessible passenger train mock-up Tested in Brisbane

“The draft design for Australia’s most accessible passenger trains has been put to the test at a Low-Fidelity (Lo-Fi) train mock-up in Geebung, Brisbane. members of the disability sector, train passengers, train drivers and bike users have had a chance to inspect the mock-up of the new Queensland Train Manufacturing Program (QTMP) trains.”

Related iMOVE articles:

• Equity in Transportation: Info, Projects & Resources
• Public transport & frictionless ticketing: Technology opportunities
• CAVs: Barriers and opportunities for people with disability

Related iMOVE projects:

• Connected and Automated Vehicle accessibility guide
• See Me: Transforming passenger experience on public transport

National Heat Vulnerability Observatory – Smart and Cool Places: Phase 1

A download the final report from the National Heat Vulnerability Observatory’s project Smart and Cool Places: Phase 1. “The impacts of urban overheating and heat vulnerability are acknowledged as significant issues for the future of Australian cities across all levels of government. These impacts encompass not only outdoor thermal comfort but also human health, energy and water consumption, equity issues such as access to air conditioning for low-income people, and business and economic development.” And transport.

Related iMOVE articles:

• FACTS: A Framework for an Australian Clean Transport Strategy

Related iMOVE projects:

• Behavioural change for sustainable transport
• Environmental impacts of Connected and Automated Vehicles

Active bystanders crucial to safer public transport

“Encouraging people to become ‘active bystanders’ could be key to making women and vulnerable groups feel confident to use public transport, a new University of Auckland study finds.”