Posts Tagged ‘Highlight’
This is to recognise articles that need to appear in the highlights section at the top of the home page.
When Will Our Governments Start Joining the Dots?
In this article I’ll look at two recent decisions by two different governments, that are equally disturbing for a slightly differing set of reasons.
Banning Scooter Trials: Andrew Constance has deep roots in the Bega region on NSW’s far south coast. In the 1860’s his great-great-grandfather, James Constance, drove a team of bullocks through the Bega Valley and settled there as a bush pioneer until his death in 1912. Andrew Constance told this story in greater detail during his maiden speech to the NSW parliament on 21st May 2003.
In that same maiden speech he said, “The broader policy questions about the environment mean surely it is time to dare our Government and citizens to consider every option…”
A Wheelie Good Rack!
Bicycle parking is a critical piece of the puzzle when it comes to encouraging more people to ride. But before anyone starts drilling holes in public space to install ‘permanent’ bike parking hoops, enclosures or other facilities, they have to jump through expensive hoops themselves in terms of approvals, ensuring they’re not potentially disrupting any underground utilities and so on.
These costs, combined with uncertainty amongst the relevant authorities that the parking would be regularly used, often leads to inaction. No parking leads to less riding and so the vicious cycle repeats.
An Insider’s Perspective of Australia’s E-Scooter Share Schemes
Colourful e-scooters on footpaths, in parks and at bus stops, have become common place in several Australian cities in a very short time. They range in colour from green, orange, purple and yellow, depending on the operator.
Periodically, cities have changed colours, authorising different operators to host e-scooter hire schemes in their city. The dominant operators in Australia are currently Beam (purple), Neuron Mobility (orange) and Lime (green).
Since Lime initiated Australian services in Brisbane in late 2018, with over 50,000 rides being taken in the first two weeks, other cities have been quick to follow. In just over two years, e-scooter hire schemes have been approved in Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Charles Sturt (north-western Adelaide), Port Adelaide, Townsville, West Torrens (western Adelaide), Canberra and Bunbury.
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…
What’s the Future of Micromobility in Australia?
By Justin McCulloch* Over the past five years, Australia has had a strained relationship with micromobility. We’ve seen everything from the ongoing COVID-19 bicycle boom, to the rise, fall, and return of e-scooters in many cities around the country, to street trees and rivers being used as parking for cheap dock-less bicycles. Whether it’s because…
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…
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,…