Posts by Phil Latz
Canyon Unveils Velomobile Concept Vehicle
German based manufacturer Canyon is best known for making high end carbon fibre bikes for road racing and mountain biking. But on Tuesday 1st September the company made a pivot to also embrace micromobility. They released two relatively conventional commuter ebikes, the Commuter:ON and the Precede:ON and released concept designs and images for something much…
Sub 7kg Ebike Sets New Guinness World Record
Mechanical engineer Dennis Freiburg from Germany has set the Guinness World Record for the lightest ever e-bike prototype with a design that weighs just 6.8kg. The ride – named the Freicycle – reportedly took Freiburg almost a year to design and build, serving as part of a project for his doctorate. Unsurprisingly, the Freicycle is…
$50 Million Walking and Cycling Bridge Announced for Swan River, Perth
The Causeway across the Swan River is the main entrance to Perth’s CBD from the eastern suburbs. As well as being packed with cars trucks and buses it currently carries an estimated 1,900 pedestrians and 1,400 cyclists each day. On Wednesday 26th August WA State Government Planning Minister Rita Saffioti announced a new $50 million…
Australian Micromobility Company Raises $16 Million for International Expansion
In late August 2020 Sydney based Bolt Bikes completed a Series A capital raise of $16 million to expand its operations in the USA. The startup has also announced a rebrand with a new name, Zoomo, and a new logo. The Australian Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) led the capital raise with a $7 million…
Stage Two of Pop-up Cycleways and More Infrastructure Funding Announced for NSW
Stage Two of Pop-up Cycleways and More Infrastructure Funding Announced for NSW Following the initial six pop up cycleways that were quickly built within the City of Sydney local government area, Transport for NSW has just announced stage two, which will cover 20 kilometres across a range of Sydney councils and a further 15 kilometres…
Canberra to See Two Scooter Share Schemes Launch in Sept 2020
An e-scooter rental scheme will launch in Canberra from September 2020, after two providers were chosen to roll out the service. Beam Mobility and Neuron Mobility have secured permits to provide up to 750 e-scooters each. Transport Minister Chris Steel said he expected the scheme to be popular with Canberrans and visitors to the city.…
Designing Streets for Kids – Major New Guide Published
On 6th August 2020 the National Association of City Transport Officials (NACTO) released a 216 page guide entitled Designing Streets for Kids. NACTO is an association of 86 major North American cities and transit agencies formed to exchange transportation ideas, insights, and practices. NACTO’s mission is to build cities as places for people, with safe,…
$9.5 Million State Government Matching Funding Announced for Bundaberg to Gin Gin Rail Trail
On Wednesday 19th August the Queensland state government announced $9.5 million in funding to match local council funding to build the first two stages of the Bundaberg to Gin Gin Rail Trail. Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey said that the project would create 229 jobs. “For every dollar we invest in bike-riding,…
Huge Ridership and Business Generated by Newly Opened Rail Trail
Victoria has long led Australia in terms of the construction and ridership of rail trails. The state now boasts and extensive network, of which three of the best known and most heavily used include the Murray to Mountains, Lilydale to Warburton and Bellarine rail trails. But despite this economic success from their traditional rival, for…
New Study Finds That Cyclists Cause 84% Lower CO2 Emissions
A study entitled ‘The climate change mitigation effects of active travel’, has produced detailed evidence to notion that cycling produces lower CO2 emissions than motoring. More than 20 researchers from Stockholm to Oregon collected travel activity data from 3,836 participants over seven European cities to produce the new study which was published on 16th July…