ITS Monday: Edition 35, 2023

Are Australia’s roads becoming more dangerous? Here’s what the data says

This piece in The Conversation is I expect in response to figures released last week about the upward trend this year in road fatalities and serious injuries, and is written by Mark Stevenson and Jason Thompson, both of the University of Melbourne. “One theory to explain why road deaths may have increased in many states in the past couple of years is the pandemic. The previously empty roads are now congested again, which may have led to impatience and speeding. Or perhaps, some people have seemingly forgotten how to drive safely. However, there is another, perhaps simpler explanation.”

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

Working from home will be history in three years’ time, CEOs predict

There are those out there that very much would like a return to the pre-pandemic order of a workers in CBDs and their offices. “Two-thirds of chief executives see workers returning to the office five days a week within the next three years as the hunt for talent slips down the list of management priorities against investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and moves to protect businesses from cyber crime.”

Related iMOVE content: Working from Home

Toyota France To sell e-cargo bikes in 170 dealerships from October

“Late into all-electric cars—and still hyping hydrogen—Toyota nevertheless wants to make good its long-held claim that it’s a mobility company not a purely automotive one and so its French arm is to start selling electric cargo bikes in 170 dealerships in France with a plan to eventually roll out the product in all of its 300 sites.”

Related iMOVE article: Micromobility

Driving Change: Hudiksvall V2G Living Lab

A tale of happenings in Utrecht in terms of innovation in the Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) space. “Currently, we are participating in the EU-funded SCALE Horizon Europe Project, which aims to create a blueprint for V2G and advanced smart charging across Europe. Utrecht’s goal is to reduce CO2 emissions and improve air quality by facilitating the energy and mobility transitions, in which there is huge potential for V2G.”

NSW adds real time tracking to 1800 more regional buses

“The technology is already available in Sydney and 16 regional towns and cities and is now being rolled out to more locations around the state. Phase 3 of the program is its biggest uplift yet in regional NSW, following Phases 1 and 2 which saw 283 and 921 vehicles fitted respectively.

The first areas to be rolled out under Phase 3 are the Hunter and Lower North Coast and North Coast regions where 630 buses are getting the technology installed.”

Third time’s a charm: Melbourne e-scooter trial extended again

Rather than a decision taken to make e-scooters a permanent addition to Melbourne roads, instead the trial has been extended a third time, with an end date of this latest extension taking the trial through to 5 April 2024. “The government said that during the trial so far more than 1 million people had signed up to hire e-scooters, 5 million trips have been completed and more than 9 million kilometres travelled.”

Related iMOVE article: Active Transport

Feds deliver on safer trucks

“Bike riders have had a massive win following the announcement by the Australian government today that new safety standards for trucks will come into effect next week. The Safer Freight Vehicles package includes an increase to the overall width limit from 2.50 to 2.55 metres for new trucks that are fitted with a number of safety features. These safety features include devices to reduce blind spots, electronic stability control, advanced emergency braking, a lane-departure warning system, better reflective markings, and side guards to stop pedestrians and cyclists from being caught up under the rear wheels of trucks.”

American society wasn’t always so car-centric. Our future doesn’t have to be, either.

“The heavy emphasis on car-based climate solutions seems grounded in the assumption that driving is the only realistic form of transportation in most of the U.S. and that Americans, with their innate love of car culture, wouldn’t have it any other way.

Not everyone agrees with this assessment, however. Increasingly, many policymakers, transportation advocates, and urbanists are making the case that America’s future doesn’t need to be built around the car.”

Development and Application of a State-wide Transport Model System in Australia

A new working paper from David Hensher and Chinh Q Ho, both of the University of Sydney’s Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies. “This paper develops a regional travel demand model system, called R-Tresis, with the capability to predict expected changes in public transport patronage under service scenarios up to 2056. Taking 2016 as the base year, this paper sets out the approach undertaken to develop the key network performance variables (travel times, fares and other costs, and service frequency) for four linehaul modes – train, coach, car, and plane.”

“The resulting models produce an accessibility index, as a derivative of a logit model that captures the role of each mode in defining the accessibility to each and every other location in NSW and the Australian Capital Territory.”