ITS Monday: Edition 10, 2023

How on-demand buses can transform travel and daily life for people with disabilities

“People with disabilities arguably stand to gain the most from good public transport, but are continually excluded by transport systems that still aren’t adapted to their needs as the law requires.” Appear in The Conversation, and the author is Ainsley Hughes, Honorary Associate Lecturer in Geography, University of Newcastle.

Related iMOVE projects: Railway station platform gap solutions effectiveness, 5G aid in automated mobility for elderly and people with disability and Australia’s Public Transport Disability Standards and CAVs

Queensland escalates electric bus fleet rollout

“The Queensland government is set to receive another 40 electric buses in 2023 to join the 25 existing electric buses currently serving on Queensland routes.” The additional 40 e-buses will operate on routes in Moreton Bay, Brisbane, Redland Bay, and the Sunshine Coast.

First locally developed Perth driverless bus research launched

“Property developer Stockland is partnering with the University of Western Australia (UWA) to deliver Perth’s first locally developed driverless bus.”

Law and public health in the pursuit of walkable neighbourhoods

Sean Perry, Senior Urbanist at Ethos Urban, writes of his involvement with a recent University of Sydney School of Public Health, Prevention Research Collaboration project (Mapping and analysis of laws influencing built environments for walking and cycling in Australia – there’s a link to the paper within the article).

Related iMOVE projects: Safer cycling and street design: A guide for policymakers and Your Street, Your Say: Better streets for Darebin

Australia’s electric vehicle numbers doubled last year. What’s the impact of charging them on a power grid under strain?

Another article from The Conversation, this one from Thara Philip, Andrea La Nauze, and Kai Li Lim, all of The University of Queensland. “Early findings from our ongoing research on the use and charging of electric vehicles suggest they will have a more limited impact during peak demand periods than some have feared. Ultimately, they could improve grid stability, with “batteries on wheels” feeding in electricity at times of need.”

Related iMOVE projects: Thara Philip’s iMOVE PhD project is Electric vehicles: Supporting uptake, investigating smart charging

Why electric car batteries may go round and round again

What happens electric vehicle batteries when they wear out? AAP’s Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson spoke to electric car maker Polestar, the Battery Stewardship Council, and Future Smart Strategies to find the answers to that question.

Call for new rules on batteries imported to Australia as global e-bike fire injury toll nears 100

The article above wasn’t Jennifer’s only electric battery investigation this week. “Almost 100 people have been injured and more than 50 fires started by electric bikes, e-scooters, e-skateboards and hoverboards in less than three months, according to global figures from an Australian research group.”

‘Smart’ electric scooter trial to slow risky riders

Rounding out this week’s Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson content trifecta, in this she writes of “Artificially intelligent electric scooters that can slow down or stop when being driven illegally …” about to be rolled out for a trial by e-scooter provider Beam in Tasmania.

We need to redesign cities to tackle climate change, IPCC says

“As much as 72% of the world’s emissions in 2020 came from cities – and by the middle of the century, urban areas could triple in size. That’s why the latest climate report from the IPCC, the UN’s climate body, makes it clear that we need to build cities differently, as part of a long list of solutions that the world needs to quickly deploy to have a chance of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change.”