ITS Monday: Edition 31, 2025
ITS Monday is a small, weekly collection of curated content from the worlds of intelligent transport systems, smart mobility, and associated areas.
Included this week, road user charging, e-scooter legislation, transport electrification, transport and injuries, and more.
The article headlines below are:
- Road user charge reform and the political shift in interest in Australia: Some thoughts to contemplate
- How social and spatial equity must be at the forefront of e-scooter legislation in New South Wales
- Exploring community public budget preferences for transport electrification: Evidence from a contingent budget allocation study in New South Wales, Australia
- Stream episode – Transport for the Real World: Queensland’s 50-cent fare policy
- Transport is the third most common cause of injury hospitalisation in Australia – report
- Mobility isn’t enough, we need better accessibility
This week’s articles
Now, scroll down, and see what’s in this week’s edition. Oh, and before you do, be sure check out the quickest way to receive our new content via the subscription box just below …
A new working paper from Professor David Hensher. The abstract:
The 2024 electric vehicle distance-based charge introduced in Victoria, Australia, to recognise that such vehicles do not pay fuel excise tax, led to a high court challenge in which it was deemed unconstitutional for a State to introduce such a charge, which is the responsibility of the Federal government (through legislation amendment).
This loss of fuel excise as a tax (not a charge) on electric cars whetted the appetite of the Federal Government to place road user charging on a round table in August 2025. We now have elevated the topic right into the political sphere where any change will require such support, and it opens up an opportunity to not only consider the fuel excise issue per se but the broader agenda on road pricing reform. For the first time, we have a political appetite to do something even if it is driven by a loss of fuel excise revenue which has never been earmarked back to roads but is a backbone revenue source for many Federal government initiatives.
In this paper, we consider a number of ways in which we can begin the journey to satisfy the political appetite while achieving much broader efficiency and equity objectives.
READ THE ARTICLE
How social and spatial equity must be at the forefront of e-scooter legislation in New South Wales
More new content from the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies. This article is co-authored by Dr Yuting Zhang, Professor John Nelson, and Professor Corinne Mulley.
It’s a discussion of “the implications of NSW emerging legislation for the legalisation of e-scooters and what it means for both shared schemes and private use. They emphasise the importance of keeping issues of transport equity and social inclusion to the forefront when considering the sustainable transport futures of micromobility.”
Related iMOVE articles:
- Micromobility: Info, Projects & Resources
- Webinar: Promoting sustainable travel choices post COVID-19
Related iMOVE projects:
- Closing the loop on first/last mile transportation in Brisbane
- Road use activity data: Cyclists, pedestrians and micromobility
- Impacts of eRideables on the transport task in WA
More from The Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies with another new working paper. from co-authors Andrea Pellegrini, John Rose, and David Hensher. The abstract:
The allocation of funds to different functions of government reflects political priorities that often-run counter to public expectations. In this paper, we adopt a contingent allocation method survey task that requires respondents to distribute a fixed budget across 12 different potential project types.
The main goal is to elicit community preferences for the allocation of public funds across a broad array of government functions, with a particular focus on transport electrification projects. Based on a sample of 727 residents from the state of New South Wales, Australia, our findings suggest strong community support for funding healthcare, utility related projects, as well as for funding roads and education.
The research goal of the study was, however, to explore support for the electrification of the transport sector, for which, unfortunately, we found little support amongst the community.
Related iMOVE articles:
- Electric Vehicles: Info, Projects & Resources
- The Conductor Series: The electrification of transport
Related iMOVE projects:
- ESP: Preparing for the electrification of transportation
- Charging requirements for Melbourne’s electric bus fleet
- Gippsland community e-Bus pilot
Stream episode – Transport for the Real World: Queensland’s 50-cent fare policy
“In this episode, David Brown sits down for a conversation with Professor John Rose, the Neil Smith Research Chair in Sustainable Transport Futures at the University of Sydney’s Institute of Transport”,
Related iMOVE article:
Related iMOVE project:
LISTEN
Transport is the third most common cause of injury hospitalisation in Australia – report
“New data published by the Federal Government shows transport is the third-most common cause of injury hospitalisations across the nation.”
Related iMOVE article:
Related iMOVE project:
- Large Australian animals and cars: Safety for all
- Roadworks zones: Increasing safety for roadworkers and drivers
- Easy and novel ways to engage communities around road safety
Mobility isn’t enough, we need better accessibility
An interview with Professor David Levinson.
“If you never make policymakers think beyond ‘how close is the nearest bus stop’, they’ll misunderstand the problem.
“We need to teach them that accessibility is the problem—and it can be improved by how we design the system and place future activities.”
LISTENWe used to send out a weekly newsletter, ITS Weekly Roundup, a collection of ITS- and mobility-related news from across the world. ITS Monday is a replacement for that, a collection of links to news and opinion pieces, academic papers, and more. Additionally, you can follow us on Linkedin and Twitter, both of which have a focus on iMOVE news and projects, or subscribe to our bi-monthly newsletter.
*Inclusion in ITS Monday does not equal iMOVE endorsement. It’s more aimed at discovery, thought, or discussion … or all of those and more. And while for the most part I expect content to be current, a little age doesn’t mean diminished interest.
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