Transport industry technology readiness in Australia: A report

The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering has this week released a report, Shifting Gears: Preparing for a Transport Revolution.

The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering ‘operates as an independent, non-political and expert think tank that helps Australians understand and use technology to solve complex problems.’ It has embarked on a series of reports ‘to examine the readiness of different Australian industry sectors to develop, adapt and adopt new and emerging technologies, with a horizon out to 2030.’ This report on the transport sector is the first in this series.

Areas of focus

In looking out to the year 2030, the report has highlighted three key areas that should drive how we look to bring on change in transport:

• Sustainability and climate change
• Productivity
• Health

It then looks at 5 aspects of assessing our readiness for change:

• Infrastructure readiness
• Skills availability
• Social readiness
• Economic and commercial feasibility
• Policy and regulatory readiness

Upon its examination of these factors, the report provides four recommendations, along with research priorities for each.’

Why does the Academy see all of this as important?

Failure to be prepared will risk a decline in many aspects of our Australian way of life and society. For example, inadequate planning for population growth and the spread of urban centres could significantly impede the mobility of passengers and freight in both urban and regional areas. This could increase congestion and vehicle-related emissions, lead to a deterioration in health, safety and security, and negatively impact productivity and the cost of living.

Read the report

Click the button below to download a copy of Shifting Gears – Preparing for a Transport Revolution.

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