Every year, more Australians – particularly in cities – are riding to work. More cyclists means fewer cars on the road, less congestion, less pollution and fewer health problems. But every year more people…
Cycling infrastructure gets people on their bikes, and the economic benefits are legion.
Janet Lackey
You might have heard that bike lanes are a waste of money. The Australian National Audit Office recently investigated the $40 million bike path scheme, announced in 2009 as part of the Federal Government…
Cycling in inner-city Sydney is up, thanks to better bike paths.
William Feuerman
Just outside my bedroom window a sliver of the Bourke Street Bicycle Route passes by; a slice of Sydney’s network of cycleways which is continuing to grow, branching, meandering and extending throughout…
Sydney needs sustainable solutions to keep its growing population happy and healthy.
Franklin Heijnen
Australia’s future population is again under the spotlight. The Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) has just released a new report on Australian population futures.
And focus has sharpened…
US Republicans are sick of urban 'elites' and want to take their public transport funds away.
Vittorio Sciosia
There is a high level of bipartisan support for public transport investment in Australian politics. Parties of all colours are willing to promise rail schemes and bus improvements (in marginal electorates…
Modern motorists have a pile of engine choices.
Flickr/ Joost J. Bakker IJmuiden
Like many countries, Australia is seeing a growth in the number of diesel vehicles on our roads. Since 2006 the number of registered diesel vehicles has increased by a remarkable 40%; diesel passenger…
“What is the value of zero?” asks the seductive commercial for the new Nissan Leaf (due to launch in Australia in April). Set against a montage of natural and man-made images of “0”, the Leaf advert asks…
Some jurisdictions are pushing for aviation emissions controls, but an international agreement seems far away.
Cardiff Friends of the Earth
Aviation is a growing source of emissions. Emissions from aviation are increasing against a background of decreasing emissions from many other industry sectors. Airlines – with their international reach…
Future freeways could be very different places.
johnsnape
Car travel is becoming a victim of its own success. If we in the West had only kept cars for ourselves, automobility could have survived much longer. But we shared them with the rest of the world, and…
Times have changed; the car industry needs to catch up.
aussiefordadverts/Flickr
The Australian Government has been bailing out automotive manufacturers since 1985. Both that year’s Button Plan and the 2008 Bracks Report recommended restructure and additional funding. But unless the…
Legislation would have less real effect than better manners.
Looking Glass
There’s nothing like a “bikes vs drivers” story to whip commentators into a frenzy, and this week’s stoush between Shane Warne and a Melbourne cyclist is no exception. Whenever this issue comes up, there…
The Pacific Highway has a long history of fatal truck accidents.
AAP
Articulated trucks such as semi-trailers and “B-Doubles” are involved in about 30% of fatal road accidents on the Pacific Highway. As the number of trucks carrying freight between Sydney and Brisbane increases…
To make roads flow better, we need traffic lights to be more efficient.
sinkdd
If you’ve ever been caught in a traffic jam – and who hasn’t? – you’ll know Australia’s urban road networks are fast approaching full capacity. With the holiday season not far away, traffic jams and road…
It's time to abandon Australia's "helmet experiment".
Tejvan Photos
There’s little doubt Australia would have healthier communities if more of us chose to cycle for transport, exercise or even relaxation. But mandatory helmet laws, introduced in Australia in the 1990s…
How can we dispose of 20 million tyres a year while minimising our environmental impact?
ppip
Used tyres pose a major environmental risk around the world, with more than one billion tyres disposed of every year. Most of these tyres end up in landfill.
Estimates suggest more than 20 million passenger…
Is Australia going down the East Asian high-rise route?
eugene
How dense could we be? Very, if you follow much of the commentary in Australian debates about the way we should plan our cities.
High-rise residential developments have been springing up in all Australia…
Is the family car of our imagination the family car of the future?
blentley
Over the past ten years, total vehicle sales in Australia have increased by roughly 35%. But sales of the once-most-popular cars, the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon, have halved.
This fall in sales…
Qantas management have taken a risky approach to end their dispute with unions.
AFP/William West
Qantas planes are set to return to the air today after Fairwork Australia ruled to terminate an industrial dispute that grounded the airline over the weekend.
The extraordinary action on Saturday by…
Before the motorcar "owned" the road, cyclists weren't seen as space-taking nuisance.
The ABC documentary Wide Open Road is a totally fascinating history of the car in Australia.
The characters who pioneered the car in the Australian bush 100 years ago are remarkable. The images of Australian…
It needs to be easier for cyclists to safely navigate our busy city streets.
H4NUM4N
CYCLING IN AUSTRALIA: Every year, dozens of cyclists are killed and thousands are injured while riding on Australian roads.
Statistics such as these, coupled with all-too-frequent horror stories about…
Sydney has a lot to learn when it comes to cycling culture.
Mikael Colville Andersen
By Emma Barnes, University of Technology, Sydney and Nicole Gardner, University of Technology, Sydney
CYCLING IN AUSTRALIA: There are many reasons cycling should be actively encouraged in our cities: increasing fuel prices, obesity levels and environmental concerns, just to name a few.
Yet in comparison…
Intelligent walls could soon help you navigate around public transport.
Infostructure/Vinh Nguyen
Can you imagine a public transport environment free from the complications of buying a ticket and validating it? What if fare evaders were automatically singled out for their faux pas? Or how about the…
European women love to get on their bikes.
kamshots/Flickr
Cycling for transport in Australia is characterised by several “missing” population groups: women, children, adolescents and older adults.
Women comprise about one-fifth of commuter cyclists in Australia…
The High Speed Rail Study, released last week, moves us just that little bit closer to fast trains on the east coast. But will HSR really get us out of aeroplanes?
A fresh tilt at HSR in a changed climate…
Would-be cyclists are deterred by mandatory helmet laws.
Jase Wong
Public bicycle hire schemes have the potential to generate the well-known health benefits that come with increased exercise.
But while Australia has bravely adopted such schemes, mandatory helmet laws…
Is it time for Australian rail to speed up?
yewenyi/Flickr
The Australian Government has released an “implementation” study for high speed rail (or HSR) on the east coast with a further study to follow.
The proposal looks at corridors between Melbourne, Sydney…
Counterintuitively, the carbon tax may make it harder to get a bus.
Dale Gillard/Flickr
Transport accounts for 14% of Australia’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and has one of the fastest emission growth rates. Cutting our national emissions might, therefore, be expected to shine a blowtorch…
Exempting petrol to protect rural families isn't very forward thinking.
Sids1/Flickr
Full revelations of the Gillard government’s carbon tax are expected in the coming days, but the decision to spare the Australian motorist has just been announced. Picking that this might happen was a…
Investment in Australia's ports is one obvious priority to enhance growth - but let's broaden our outlook.
There has been much debate in the popular and political discourse on the state of our national infrastructure.
The general consensus, despite Victoria’s Baillieu government’s failure to put forth any…
Getting out of the car: easy for some.
Hunter Desportes/Flickr
In cities all over the industrial world, people are driving less. Changes to society and the structures of our cities have made jumping in the car less popular. But what does this mean for people who have…
For politicians, there's no bright future in pushing up petrol prices
Alcohol Gasoline/Flickr
Politically, increasing petrol prices is one of the least popular things a government can do. But is there any point to a carbon tax if it doesn’t cover petrol?
Vladimir Putin has just found how quickly…
Being paid to drive is becoming a thing of the past.
Daniel Dionne/flickr
After 25 years, one of the craziest taxation rules in Australia is about to be fixed.
The federal government is expected to announce a revamp of fringe benefits tax rules for company cars in Tuesday’s…
I don't care what it is, I just want it to be on time
Drown/Flickr
News of a new bus route will most likely be greeted with indifferent silence, but lobbying for a new train line can keep thousands of potential commuters busy for years on end. It seems that everyone loves…
Congestion charging will reduce Australian traffic loads
Burning image/Flickr
As you sit in your usual morning traffic jam, increasingly agitated, blood pressure flying, do you continually wonder “Why can’t they fix this mess?” Widen some roads. Build some new links. Improve the…
At least three-quarters of city commuters travel by car.
AAP
Emissions trading is back in the news and in national political debate, as is the related question of how it will affect Australian motorists.
Fair enough. This should receive attention because greenhouse…
