ITS Monday: Edition 18, 2023

Private vehicle usage must be halved to cut emissions, Climate Council says

“Australia needs to rapidly adopt electric vehicles, but they aren’t the key to slashing transport emissions, a study says. The country’s reliance on private vehicles needs to drop by more than half for the country to play its part in slashing global emissions by 2030, according a report released by the Climate Council last week.”

Related iMOVE project outcome: FACTS: A Framework for an Australian Clean Transport Strategy

Electric cars could dominate sales by 2030, study finds

This story derives from research from two US academics, based on a survey of survey of more than 1500 U passenger car and SUV owners about their vehicle preferences, comparing electric and petrol cars.

Related iMOVE project: Electric vehicles: Supporting uptake, investigating smart charging

The need for speed? Even this former F1 boss says it’s time for a rethink on road rules

“World-leading road safety experts at the Leipzig conference say it is possible for Australia to save those 500 lives a year, and point to countries including Norway (a 48 per cent reduction in annual deaths between 2010 and 2019), Greece (down 45 per cent) and Switzerland (down 43 per cent) as proof.”

Sprawling Perth needs ‘Barcelona’ suburbs – but Metronet’s not the answer

“The Property Council WA has unveiled its top five locations for increasing residential density around existing Perth train stations. The study identifies Leederville, Cottesloe, Maylands, Bayswater and Burswood as the premier locations for transformative development near public transport.”

Related iMOVE project: Perth’s smart transport technology roadmap

Accounting for the spatial incidence of working from home in an integrated transport and land model system

A new academic paper from David Hensher, Edward Wei, and Wen Lui. “In this paper we show the extent of changes in travel behaviour and the performance of the transport network before and after allowing for working from home, which is more impactful than any new infrastructure project.”

See all iMOVE projects and articles in this area at our Working from Home page.

What do people want to do instead of commuting to work?

Speaking of working from home, this from a recent study in the US, New Jersey to be specific, driven by three questions:

1. What activities did people engage in with the time saved?
2. What activities do they hope to continue post-COVID?
3. Are there differences in how men and women spent their newfound time?

ITLS Transport Opinion Survey: How has public sentiment towards transport changed?

More David Hensher, this time appearing on the Byte Size podcast, discussing findings from  the latest ITLS Transport Opinion Survey. The podcast episode runs for 25 minutes.

Thredbo 17: Key policy document

Another piece of news from the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS), this time the key policies and research recommendations of the 17th iteration of the International Conference Series on Competition and Ownership in Land Passenger Transport (the Thredbo Series).

Australian-first trackless tram on track for Scarborough Beach Road as trial announced for October in Neerabup

An emerging industrial centre in Perth’s north has been earmarked to hold an Australian-first trackless tram trial ahead of the vehicle running along a proposed 7 kilometre route along Scarborough Beach Road, from Glendalough train station to Scarborough beach.

California lawmakers and AV industry battle for future of self-driving trucks

“A California bill that would require a trained human safety operator to be present any time a heavy-duty autonomous vehicle operates on public roads in the state is getting traction. The bill, first introduced in January, passed the state’s Assembly Wednesday and will now face a committee review and vote in the Senate. Advocates of the bill want to ensure both the safety of California road users and the job security of truck drivers. AV companies and industry representatives say the move is unreasonable, threatens California’s competitiveness in the AV and trucking space, and hinders the advancement of a technology that can save lives.”

Will megawatt charging nix hydrogen fuel cell tech in semis?

“The Megawatt Charging Standard (MCS) formalized just last summer will pave the way for more electric big rigs at the expense of hydrogen fuel-cell trucks, an electric-truck consultant predicts. Enthusiasm for hydrogen fuel-cell passenger cars has largely played out, and megawatt charging will do the same for fuel-cell trucks, Rustam Kocher, former Charging Infrastructure Lead at Daimler Trucks North America, and now a consultant, said in a recent interview.”

Related iMOVE project: Investigating the viability of hydrogen fuel for heavy vehicle use

Electric city bus sales overtake diesel in Europe

In Europe “the most recent quarterly sales data for buses this year shows that the share of diesel-only vehicles sold has dipped below its majority stake, giving way to battery electric to take a leading role. This marks the first time that a zero-emission technology has become dominant in a road transport sector in Europe.”

Liverpool City Region unveils zero-emission hydrogen buses

Liverpool (the UK one, not Sydney) has unveiled its first fleet of publicly owned hydrogen buses, 20 in total, to run on the St Helens and Liverpool city centre route.

How to quit cars

A potted history of the story of the dominance of cars in the USA, by way of a discussion about two books, Daniel Knowles’ “Carmageddon”, and Henry Grabar’s “Paved Paradise”. Can the USA curb its addiction to cars?

Big electric trucks on the roads could be a long haul

“Major vehicle manufacturers delivered a convoy of battery-powered trucks to Australia this week, with the new generation of zero-emission prime movers and light-duty delivery vehicles attracting thousands of visitors to the Brisbane Truck Show. Industry experts say the heavy-duty vehicles, weighing as much as 44 tonnes, are cheaper to run, will cut air and noise pollution, and will help Australia meet its climate targets. But many of these electric trucks are not allowed beyond the exhibition’s walls and will remain out of reach for freight companies until Australia changes weight and size restrictions.”

‘Dangerous to ride’: The suburbs getting $39m to turn drivers into cyclists

News of upcoming cycling and active transport infrastucture work in Sydney, including a cycling route along the Cooks River, a 2.6-kilometre Norwest Boulevard shared path, and footpath improvements along Wentworth Park Road in Glebe. All up more than 80 projects have been allocated $39 million under the Get NSW Active program.

Related iMOVE project: Safer cycling and street design: A guide for policymakers

Achieving ‘active’ 30 minute cities: How feasible is it to reach work within 30 minutes using active transport modes?

A new paper out of the Healthy Liveable Cities Lab, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University. “This paper examines the spatial relationship between employment, the skills of residents, and transport opportunities, to answer three questions about Australia’s 21 largest cities: (1) What percentage of workers currently commute to their workplace within 30 min? (2) If workers were to shift to an active transport mode, what percent could reach their current workplace within 30 min? and (3) If it were possible to relocate workers closer to their employment or relocate employment closer to their home, what percentage could reach work within 30 min by each mode?”

Related iMOVE content: The 30-minute city: Small decisions for big gains

Margaret River scraps e-scooter trial over underage usage, non-compliance with helmet rules

The rollout of e-scooters across Australian cities and towns has been terrific in terms of adding a new, easy, cheap transport mode. But is has not been without its problems, and its critics. In Western Australia one region has reacted against the common issues around riding scooters on footpaths, lack of helmet use, and underage riders.

Low caps on e-scooter speeds encourage sidewalk riding

Speaking of rumblings about e-scooter use and rider behaviour, this from the US. “Many cities are turning to speed limiters for electric scooters to address concerns about rider safety and conflicts with pedestrians. But mandating low travel speeds may mean more e-scooters on the sidewalks, a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety suggests.”

Mobile hydrogen generator project attracts $10 million investment

“The private sector has come to the zero emissions party by backing a CSIRO project that aims to safely generate hydrogen fuel on-site at off-grid locations. CSIRO’s Deputy Hydrogen Industry Mission Lead, Dr Vicky Au with CSIRO research scientists Dr Christian Hornung and Dr John Chiefari holding CSM rods. Using a liquid carrier to safely transport hydrogen to wherever it’s needed and linking it to a cutting-edge mobile hydrogen generator that creates hydrogen gas to generate electricity may well be the breakthrough that brings hydrogen fuel use into the mainstream.”