ITS Monday: Edition 11, 2022

MaaS expert: Mobility-as-a-Service Initiatives on wrong track; new framework needed

In short, “Academic and commentator David Hensher discusses the challenges facing MaaS and offers some new approaches backers can take to get the technology moving in the right direction.”

5 maps that show why free public transport benefits the affluent most

From The Conversation, and written by Jago Dodson and Terry Li, of RMIT University. ‘On average, about 80% of travel in Australian cities is undertaken by private vehicles, but car dependence differs significantly by area. People who live in inner and middle suburbs and work in the CBD use public transport at much higher rates than residents and workers in outer and fringe suburban areas.”

Hydrogen highways to link Australia’s East Coast

This announces the signing of Memorandums of Understanding between the NSW, Victorian, and Queensland governments. “The work will commence with Victoria and New South Wales will each provide $10 million to build at least four renewable hydrogen refuelling stations between Sydney and Melbourne. The funding will also provide grants for the country’s first long-haul hydrogen fuel cell electric freight trucks.”

State of Electric Vehicles – March 2022

The latest from the Electric Vehicle Council’s series on the state of play of the EV option in Australia. The top page: “Decarbonisation of transport in Australia must address all modes of transport – bikes, motorcycles, scooters, trains, trams, ferries, cars, trucks, buses, ships, planes, vans, tipper trucks, tractors and many more types of vehicles! Sectors that require specialised vehicles, such as agriculture, mining, marine, and logistics will require more time to transition to electrified transport. The implication of this is that Australian governments must deploy electric vehicle policy to accelerate uptake immediately, based on technology readiness.” Full of fact and figures, and terrific use of graphics and graphs.

Prioritise buses to help with emissions

The article above took in all of the vehicle types, this one focuses on just the one – the bus. “New research from the United Kingdom shows that most people support measures which give buses greater priority on roads. The research shows that three times as many people support bus priority as oppose it.”

How cycling to work could wheely help our city

HEADLINE PUN ALERT! This is from Infrastructure Victoria, and posits that “Encouraging more people to travel around inner Melbourne by bike or on foot is a key driver in getting the city moving again.”

Treating COVID with bike lanes: Design, spatial, and network analysis of pop-up bike lanes in Paris

Staying with cycling, but shifting up to Paris, this article in Findings looks at the reaction of the city and it’s addition of new cycling lanes “… in terms of their design, spatial footprint, and relationship to the pre-COVID network.” Written by Marcel E. Moran, PhD candidate, City and Regional Planning, University of California, Berkeley.

Canberra Beam and Neuron e-scooter use powers ahead

Still on two-wheels, we shift to Canberra. Apparently there’s more and more people there pootling along on bright orange or purple electric scooters. Just as fuel prices are up – way up! – so too is e-scooting.

Game changing parking plan one step closer for Auckland

We often finish up ITS Monday each week with a story from New Zealand, and he we go again!

“Pending both Auckland Transport Board and Auckland Council Planning Committee approval on Thursday, Aucklanders will be asked to have their say on the proposals throughout April. The proposals focus on ensuring people can move efficiently around Auckland, no matter what their mode of travel is.”