Transport productivity: Fundamental questions

In all modern economies ‘productivity’ is an imperative to support our standard of living. So, it is encouraging to see the Federal Government increase its focus on this fundamental aspect of society. This resonates particularly well in the transport sector as it speaks to the great challenge facing network managers everywhere. How to satisfy the community’s growing demand for movement – of both people and goods – across a network whose capacity is largely fixed.

The answer of course, is to increase the effective capacity of the network by increasing its productivity. But just how are we going to deliver such a miraculous feat? This is one of the challenges that underpinned the formation of iMOVE, and despite the buffeting that transport has been given by COVID, and working from home, and online shopping, and Net Zero, and the current budgetary squeeze, this challenge remains.

Additionally, I note that transport has a profound influence on the productivity of society and the economy as a whole, so, in addition to lifting our own game, we ‘transport tragics’ could make a useful contribution to the national productivity discussion.

But can we? Have we got something useful to say? Do we measure the productivity of the transport network effectively? Do we know how it could be improved? Do we know where we can get the biggest economic improvement for our limited transport investment buck? For ‘transport’ to attract investment from the government, industry and the community, it needs to have answers to these fundamental questions.

We may not be quite there yet, but we are not starting from scratch. Over its short life iMOVE has supported many organisations in the transport sector to explore new technologies and new systems, including:

• Being a V2G trailblazer: Lessons for mass market adoption
• Trialling drones for medical use in NT remote communities
• Managing rapid consumer adoption of new energy technologies
• FACTS: A Framework for an Australian Clean Transport Strategy
• Urban freight shifts: Analysis of current trends & uncertain future
• DSRC vs C-V2X: Which C-ITS technology for Australia?

There are many reasons for the slow progress but not least amongst them has been a reluctance to accept the need for change and a lack of dialogue with the community to engage them in the change processes.

The new focus on national productivity offers transport a challenge and an opportunity. How will we respond?