Posts by Phil Latz
Capturing the Compelling Case for Rail Trails
Virtually every Australian rail trail proves to be a huge boon to its local economy when it’s opened. Yet virtually every proposed new trail, especially in NSW, take years of pitch battles fought by heroic volunteers in order to overcome the same ill-informed and negative arguments that are thrown up against them.
We recently became aware of a particularly eloquent letter that was written by a local resident nine months after a landmark rail trail in NSW was finally opened last year.
Over 900% Return On Investment in Active Travel
A new research paper by a trio of leading transport academics has found an economic benefit to the tune of £724 million has been recognised on £80 million in active travel investment.
Authored by University of Westminster Professor of Transport Rachel Aldred, Dr James Woodcock and Dr Anna Goodman, the paper is titled: ‘Major investment in active travel in outer London: impacts on travel behaviour, physical activity and health.’
Cycling’s Friends Speak Up in Federal Parliament
On Tuesday 16th February the second ever Parliamentary Friends of Cycling event was held within Australia’s parliament house in Canberra.
There are over 100 Parliamentary Friendship Groups (PFG’s) covering a huge range of interests mainly across environmental, health and social issues. Although these groups do not hold any formal legislative power, they provide an important opportunity for each represented cause to gain access to parliamentarians and for those parliamentarians to go on the public record with supportive comments.
$2.5 Million for SA’s Largest MTB Park
Fox Creek Bike Park, originally known as Cudlee Creek Forest Trails, has been a key mountain bike park in the Adelaide Hills since the 1990’s.
In 2019 most of the area was burnt out by bushfires. Much of the land was covered in commercial forest plantations and the trails have been closed ever since while Forestry SA harvest trees and clear debris.
Chinese Bikeshare Company Looks Set to Raise $1.3 Billion
Qingju, which is the bike sharing unit of Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing as raised US$600 million (A780 million) in its Series B round of financing and is set to raise a further US$400 million (A$520 million) in loans, according to the financial media site Deal Street Asia.
A Didi spokesperson said, “Didi Bike (Qingju) has recently completed a Series B fundraising round. With the new investment, we will continue to improve mid and short distance travel in cities, by providing efficient, safe and reliable bike sharing services to the users.
Team MetroCount Raising Money for Teens with Cancer
The 400 kilometre Life Cycle for Canteen charity ride that supports teens dealing with cancer took place on March 6-8 when 140 riders pedalled from Bassendean to Busselton in Western Australia to raise money for Canteen Australia.
“Canteen is a game changer for young adults who’re coping with their own cancer or a diagnosis in the family,” said Maurice Berger, who rode with Team MetroCount.
After struggling with his mum’s breast cancer diagnosis while in high school, Maurice shared how important it is for teens to have a support network when cancer disrupts their life.
We Don’t Need These Killers in Australia!
Spin, Segway, Self Driving Scooters Here Now
The developers claim that this new technology could lead to a 10x increase in the number of rides per scooter per day due to two key improvements. San Francisco / California / USA Take a look at this self driving scooter, launched on Thursday 28th January at the Micromobility World Conference by three collaborating companies,…
Australia Takes a Step Towards Legalising Scooters and Other Micromobility
Canberra, ACT Australia’s National Transport Commission (NTC) has released its recommendations for common micromobility legislation across all Australian States and territories. The recommendations could see electric scooters and other forms of Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs) become legal across Australia in 2021. Australia is one of the world’s laggards in adopting progressive legislation to enable a…
Northern Rivers Rail Trail Passes Important Milestone
Murwillumbah / NSW New South Wales state government funding has allowed preliminary work and a tender process for the Northern Rivers Rail Trail to begin. Vegetation clearing along the Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek rail corridor started earlier this month to give construction companies access to the trail site to prepare design and costings for the…