Posts by Phil Latz
Why Am I Launching the Micromobility Report?
How Many Electric Scooters Are Being Sold in Australia?
Many bike shops refuse to sell electric scooters and not without valid reasons. In most Australian states they’re still illegal to ride, apart from on private land. But despite this, major retailers such as Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi (pictured) seem to have no such qualms. The day we visited this store in NSW a…
Churchill Fellowship Awarded to Brisbane Based Micromobility Researcher
Michael Roth, Principal Consultant (Mobility Policy) at Veitch Lister Consulting in Brisbane has won Auto Skills Australia Churchill Fellowship to understand how light electric vehicles, including e-scooters, could improve transport systems. In accepting the award, Michael said, “Our health and cities would be much improved if fewer people drove cars and instead walked, cycled or…
What Do Tesla’s Battery Day Announcements Mean for Micromobility?
After months of largely Coronavirus induced logistical delays, on Tuesday 21st September, Tesla finally presented their much hyped and anticipated ‘Battery Day’ as part of their annual shareholder meeting. You can watch the entire three hour plus event here. But to summarise the long and detailed technical presentation into a single graphic, please refer to…
Scotland Makes $875 million Commitment to Active Transport
Scotland has become the latest country to make a radically increased commitment to active transportation. As part of her ‘Program for Government 2020/21’ speech delivered to the Scottish Parliament on 1st September 2020, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced £500 million (A$875 million) of new funding for active transport. “This will help local authorities develop new…
New Study Confirms that Ebike Owners Ride Further
A new study just released entitled, ‘Do people who buy ebikes cycle more?’ has found the answer to be, ‘Yes, much more.’ The people who bought e-bikes increased their bicycle use from 2.1 kilometres to 9.2 kilometres on average per day, a 340% increase. The e-bike’s share of all their transportation increased dramatically too, from…
Funding Announced for Long Awaited Tasmanian Rail Trail Expansion
The North East Recreational Trail has the potential to become a world class recreational cycling route from central Launceston to Scottsdale, a distance of over 60 kilometres. So far 26 kilometres has been opened from Scottsdale to Tulundeena. This happened in two stages respectively opened in 2012 and 2015 largely thanks to volunteer work by…
City of Sydney Pushing For Lower Speed Limits
Motorists could be forced to slow down to 40km/h when driving throughout the City of Sydney, as the NSW government works with local councils to reduce speed limits in areas with high numbers of pedestrians and cyclists. Transport for NSW is negotiating with councils across the city to reduce speed limits to 10km/h in pedestrian-motorist…
Mt Stromlo Forest Park Opens More Trails
In a press release on 29th August 2020, Andrew Barr, Chief Minister for the ACT Government announced that four kilometres of Stromlo Forest Park’s newest mountain bike trails are now open. The new trails will add to the already expansive 44km, offering cyclists additional world class novice and experienced riding trails to explore. The trails…
Bicycle Commuting Tipped to Increase 55% – Study Concludes
Bike commuting is tipped to increase by 55 per cent in Melbourne when COVID-19 restrictions ease, with people turning away from public transport. Monash Public Transport Research Group surveyed 2000 people from outer, middle and inner suburbs in Melbourne about how they travelled to work before COVID-19, during the pandemic and what they will do…