ITS Monday: Edition 26, 2025

Windows of change as precursors to changing travel behaviour aligned with sustainable mobility

First-up this week, a new academic paper from the prolific teal at the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, this one co-authored by David Hensher, John Nelson, Edward Wei, Thiranjaya Kandanaarachchi, Camila Balbontin, Chinh Ho, Corinne Mulley, and Wen Liu, The abstract:

There is increasingly a greater focus on ways in which we can achieve behavioural change associated with improved sustainability outcomes in the transport sector. In societies where the car is the dominant passenger transport mode with all of its associated interpretations of convenience, we continue to search for ways to change travel habits that result in a switch out of the car in favour of public transport and active modes.

The focus of this paper is on identifying windows of change (WoC) that have subsequently had an influence on the travel mobility preferences of individuals, hopefully in ways that support sustainability outcomes. We categorise the WoCs into four broad areas: lifestyle and household changes (e.g., changes in living arrangements, family structure, or personal habits), work and commuting-related changes (e.g., changes in employment, workplace incentives or commuting patterns), transport and mobility changes (e.g., changes in vehicle ownership, public transport use or travel habits), and social and environmental considerations (including awareness and influence of others).

A series of negative binomial count models are estimated to identify the relationship between the WoCs and modal one-way trip frequency in a typical week, after controlling for various socioeconomic effects and country dummy variables. Data is collected from over 4,000 respondents spread across Australia, Finland, New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Sweden, investigating respondents’ WoC over the period 2023–2025 and their most recent weekly travel patterns.

The findings provide a rich array of policy advice on what key WoC influences suggest actionable ways to support the switch to more sustainable modes, and what remain as clear barriers to achieving such an outcome.

Related iMOVE article:

• Sustainable Transportation: Info, Projects & Resources

Related iMOVE projects:

• Promoting sustainable university travel choices
• FAST: A sustainable urban mobility plan for Liverpool
• Mapping WA’s circular economy Stage 2: Transport Infrastructure

Electric scooter and e-bikes could soon be banned from trains in NSW, Victoria due to lithium-ion battery fires

“E-bikes and scooters could be banned on NSW trains and the Metro as soon as September, with the government admitting it is “seriously considering” a move to outlaw them. Victoria is also considering a ban. The move comes after a spate of fires, due to their lithium-ion batteries.”

Related iMOVE article:

• Micromobility: Info, Projects & Resources
• Liar, liar, e-Bikes on fire

Related iMOVE projects:

• Fire safety for EVs and micromobility: Best practice assessment
• EV batteries: Repair, refurbish, repurpose, recycle
• Second lives for electric vehicle batteries

The effect of battery-electric vehicle ownership on transport demand and substitution between modes

A new academic paper co-authred by Colin Green and Vegard Østli. The abstract:

Transport decarbonisation is a key part of moves to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. A major component of this involves shifting private car use from internal combustion internal engine vehicles (ICEVs) to battery-electric engine vehicles (BEVs). This has led to the introduction of a range of incentives that influence the relative desirability of car types, but also have the potential to influence wider transportation decisions through their effects on vehicle use in general.

We examine this in the context of Norway which has pursued BEV ownership through a range of incentives, most notably purchase tax exemptions, and has experienced dramatic increases in BEV ownership. Based on highly detailed individual level travel survey data collected between 2016 and 2019 we estimate the effect of BEV ownership on transport demand patterns.

We do so using a selection on observable approaches that seeks to reduce selection bias. We demonstrate that BEV ownership leads to an overall increase in car trip demand in the order of 10–20%. This reflects shifts from ICEV to BEV use, but also sizeable shifts away from public transport use, cycling and walking. These effects are increased by additional policies that incentivize BEV usage such as toll road exemptions.

Together this suggests that while BEV usage reduces emission-based externalities, it may exacerbate others such as congestion externalities. Our results suggest a need for caution when using transportation incentives that make BEVs cheaper, but additionally make private motor vehicle use in general less expensive.

Related iMOVE articles:

• Electric vehicles: Info, Projects & Resources
• Autonomous Driving Technology: Info, Projects & Resources

Related iMOVE project:

• FACTS: A Framework for an Australian Clean Transport Strategy

A review of sustainable hydrogen energy by 2050: Supply chain, export markets, circular economy, social dimensions, and future prospects: Australia vs. worldwide

This new academic paper comes to us from Seyed Mojib Zahraee and Nirajan Shiwakoti. The abstract:

Australia’s transition to a sustainable hydrogen economy by 2050 presents a transformative opportunity for decarbonization, economic growth, and global energy leadership. This review critically examines the state of hydrogen development in Australia, covering supply chains, export markets, circular economy integration, social dimensions, and policy implications.

The analysis highlights the critical interplay between technological innovation, strategic government initiatives, and market demand as key enablers for large-scale hydrogen deployment by 2050. The paper identifies research gaps in harmonizing hydrogen development with circular economy principles, safety, social equity, and policy alignment.

This work outlines clear policy implications, including the need for coordinated infrastructure investment, domestic market stimulation, international certification for exports, and integration of hydrogen into broader energy system planning. This work serves as a roadmap, synthesizing recent literature and addressing the challenges and opportunities, emphasizing cross-sector collaboration, regulatory reform, and targeted innovation investment.

This review contributes a strategic framework to support decision-makers, industry partners, and researchers in advancing Australia’s hydrogen sector by 2050.

Related iMOVE article:

• Alternative Fuels: Info, Projects & Resources

Related iMOVE projects:

• Zero emissions heavy vehicles: Analysis, planning and policy
• Investigating the viability of hydrogen fuel for heavy vehicle use

Helsinki goes a full year without a traffic death

“Street design has also played a key role. Pedestrian and cycling infrastructure has been significantly upgraded in recent years. In addition, cooperation with traffic police has intensified and more traffic cameras and automated enforcement systems have been introduced.”

Related iMOVE article:

• Road Safety: Info, Projects & Resources

Related iMOVE project:

• Vulnerable road user safety and efficiency at intersections