City planning needs up-to-date data on where people work, how they get to work and how far they travel. Normally the census provides that, but this time round our biggest cities were in lockdown.
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Articles on Transport planning
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Regional NSW, home to a third of the state’s population, is still waiting for the promise of faster train travel to be delivered. Other states improved their regional services years ago.
A global study of 117 cities finds Australian capitals have fairly poor access by car. Public transport, cycling and walking access is better than in the US, but not as good as in Europe and China.
Transport is the one sector where Australia hasn’t reined in the growth in greenhouse gas emissions. Electric cars will cut emissions but still leave us with all the other problems of car use.
Three big firms win almost all the $1 billion-plus contracts. And they often team up in joint ventures, further reducing the competition that would keep the price tags of road and rail projects down.
It has happened with software, computing and entertainment, but we’re still waiting for the platform needed for mobility as a service to reach its full potential.
In many cities contemplating new light rail systems, bus rapid transit offers a cheaper, faster and more flexible solution.
And the winner is … e-bikes? A new entrant is set to overtake Brisbane’s CityCycle scheme in the race for the shared mobility market.
Delivery riders are paying the ultimate price for the fact that our cities, their infrastructure and the rules governing them make cycling much more dangerous than it should be.
Electric vehicles would lower emissions, but if their lower running costs lead to increased car use that creates a whole lot of other costs for our cities.
COVID led to commuting time savings worth over $2,000 a year for each driver and $5,000 per public transport user. But as workplaces reopen, we may need road user charges to keep traffic flowing.
A review of all public road and rail projects worth $20 million or more and completed since 2001 reveals a 21% cost overrun. Worryingly, costs of bigger projects blew out more often and by more.
Coronavirus has changed population projections and behaviours across society. With fewer commuters we need to shift transport planning based on a hub-and-spoke network to focus on more local travel.
If we’re to get more people walking and cycling in our cities, then we need to make it easier for people, and we can learn from others overseas.
A high-speed rail network in Australia would create many benefits by reshaping cities and regional communities along its route.
Once again, the state looks intent on pressing ahead with a huge road project without releasing a business case. Among the many concerns is the failure to look at lower-emission alternatives.
Many operators have lost almost all their fare revenue. Even those who operate on contract terms that reduce the impact of falling patronage must bear the costs of disinfection and other precautions.
On-demand public transport has now provided over 1 million rides in 36 trials in various Australian cities. Is the problem of poor suburban public transport on the way to being solved?
The continued upward trend in our second-biggest source of emissions is a result of government inaction on a transport mix dominated by trucks and cars and a lack of fuel-efficiency standards.
Only the inner suburbs of Melbourne and other capital cities meet the 20-minute neighbourhood test. But we could transform the other suburbs for much less than the cost of current transport projects.
Top contributors
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Associate Professor of Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne
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Honorary Principal Fellow, University of Wollongong
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Senior Lecturer in Urbanism, University of Sydney
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Transport and Cities Program Director, Grattan Institute
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Professor of Sustainability, Curtin University
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Senior Lecturer in Transport Planning, The University of Melbourne
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Associate, Grattan Institute
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Professor of Urban Policy and Director, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University
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PhD Candidate, Cities Research Institute, Griffith University
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E-Mobility Research Fellow, The University of Queensland
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Professor of Human Geography and Planning, University of Tasmania
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Director, Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, University of Sydney
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Professor of City Planning and Transport, Curtin University
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Patrick Harris is a Friend of The Conversation.
Senior Research Fellow, Acting Director, CHETRE, UNSW Sydney
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Professor of Future Urban Mobility, Swinburne University of Technology
