The Carbon Neutral Adelaide target of the SA Government and the Adelaide City Council will require a paradigm shift in the way we meet the mobility needs of residents, workers and visitors within the City of Adelaide. With transport as one of the key challenges to the carbon neutrality goal, this research program extends RP2021 Greening Suburban Travel to investigate the role sharing economy mobility services (i.e. share bikes, share cars, eco.caddies, Uber) can play in reducing inner-urban transport emissions.
Overall, the Greening lnner-urban Travel research program will develop an evidence base and propose policy and program initiatives to facilitate the transition to lower carbon emission inner city precincts.
Program
Project leader
Dr Stephen Berry, UniSA
Project status
Complete
Project period
07/2017 to 12/2018
- Publications
- Posters
- Partners
- News
- Students
Peer Reviewed Research Publications
RP2021e1: Report: Barriers to the Provision of Shared Mobility Services - Final Report
This report explores the key barriers to the provision of these sharing economy mobility services to highlight the actions that can be taken by policy makers and other organisations to support their availability. The study involved two stages: a literature review investigating the current state of knowledge both domestically and internationally; and in-depth interviews with experts from organisations such as service providers, lobby groups and policymakers. The objective was to learn their perceptions on shared mobility service provision barriers and expected developments on increasing the use of shared mobility services.
The analysis found that the Australia cities have similar shared mobility issues that are evident in other places around the world, for example, the paucity of suitable parking spaces/numbers and locations for shared mobility facilities, and the need for smart technology that elicits information for meeting travel demands.
The study found a number of barriers relating to the not always smooth interaction between policy makers and commercial enterprises, suggesting opportunities for new cooperative business models, joint partnerships and shared responsibilities in the provision of shared mobility services. In particular, the lack of acknowledgement in accepting shared mobility services as merit goods, in the same way as other public transport services, prevented shared mobility from being supported by the government policy intervention.
rp2021e1 barriers for provision of sharing economy mobility services final report (1549520 PDF)
Rp2021e1: Journal article: Bikesharing experience in the city of Adelaide: Insight from a preliminary study
This paper presents the results of a bikesharing study in City of Adelaide based on the implementation of a web-based questionnaire survey with real users of bikeshare schemes. Read the article HERE.
RP2021e1: Conference Paper: Shared-mobility Experience in the City of Adelaide: Insight from a Preliminary Study
Abstract:
With increasing mindfulness of car dependency, several strategies included developing sharing-economy mobility systems have been offered to help in restricting private vehicle usage. This study provides the survey results of two progressive and innovative shared-mobility schemes (GoGET and UBER) that have recently commenced operations in Adelaide, South Australia based on the online survey data collected from the actual users of the service. The data was then described and analysed using statistical analysis included correlation tests, mean comparing tests, and analysis of variance. While confirming several aspects already discussed in the literature, this research revealed that, due to their different characteristics, the market of shared-mobility is not sufficiently developed in the City of Adelaide (the inner suburban and belt and CBD), whereas its current market demand is highly dependent on the socio-demographic characteristics.
Shared-mobility Experience in the City of Adelaide: Insight from a Preliminary Study (303589 PDF)
RP2021e1: Conference Paper: Identifying Barriers in Shared Mobility Implementation, a Review
Urban mobility options have substantially increased in recent years, enabled by the widespread availability of smart device software Apps, geo-positioning technology, and the ease of electronic financial transactions. These options are likely to be supplemented soon by the rapidly advancing development of autonomous vehicles. Commercial sharing services, such as share cars and share bicycles, are expecting to complement fixed route public transit systems to support the first/last mile challenge of public transit services [a part of Mobility as a Service (MaaS)], as well as stimulate additional demand for short distance mobility. This paper reviews the development of commercial bike and car sharing schemes, then examines the technologies and policies that support MaaS. This research draws upon the experiences learnt and indicates the potential difficulties encountered in the successful planning of shared mobility services. The results provide an in-depth discussion of the characteristics and needs of shared mobility services and investigates the barriers of applying the Internet of Things (IoT), cybersecurity and blockchain in first/last mile mobility challenge. The findings will assist the community, business providers and government policymakers who are keen to promote shared mobility as a pathway towards more efficient, environmentally sustainable and socially responsive mobility solutions.
Identifying Barriers in Shared Mobility Implementation, a Review (254261 PDF)
CRCLCL Project Reports
RP2021e: Report: Servicing the needs of Major Inner-urban Trip Generators - Final Report
This report explores the role of commercial shared mobility services in supporting the needs of major trip generators, using the inner urban Adelaide as a case study.
The commercial shared mobility services covered in this report are characterised by carshare (such as GoGet), rideshare (UBER), bicycle share (dockless within the context of Adelaide provided by OfO and OBike) and shared e-scooters (such as provided by Lime, Beam and Ride). Major trip generators described in this report are characterised by festivals, sporting events or public facilities (such as hospitals, universities and transport interchanges) that attract relatively high numbers of participants and workers.
RP2021e: Servicing the needs of Major Inner-urban Trip Generators - Final Report (9184635 PDF)
RP2021e1: Report: Estimating the GHG Emission Impact from Sharing Economy Mobility Services
In Australia, various City Councils, including the City of Adelaide, are pursuing carbon neutrality at municipal-scale based on their operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As passenger transport is a major component of city operational GHG emissions, there is an opportunity for shared mobility services to play a role in reducing those emissions. This preliminary carbon modelling report has focussed on the GHG benefit from expanding shared mobility services in the Adelaide Local Government Area, although the results should be equally valid in other similar inner-urban precincts.
The Adelaide Shared Mobility (ASM) GHG model was constructed in Microsoft EXCEL using only publicly available data from the City of Adelaide’s annual community GHG emissions reporting and the Vehicle-Kilometres-Travelled (VKT) projections published in a report titled, Carbon Neutral Adelaide - Foundation Report. Seven shared mobility services were considered with regard to their potential impact over a 20-year period on reducing operational or embodied emissions or acting as a catalyst to reduce GHG emissions including – ridehailing, carsharing, carpooling, bikesharing, ridesplitting and using autonomous vehicles.
The results of the modelling showed that the current state-wide decarbonising strategy of reducing electricity grid emissions coupled with the expected uptake of electric vehicles will have a significant impact on reducing transport GHG emissions, and to a certain degree will cannibalise the potential emission impact of shared mobility services. The combined GHG savings of the considered sharing economy mobility services was found to be less than 1% of the total Adelaide LGA transport emissions for each of the modelled years. The opportunities for shared mobility services for lowering embodied emissions or being a catalyst to reduce other GHG emissions related to the Carbon Neutral Adelaide goal were also found to be not significant.
Estimating the GHG Emission Impact from Sharing Economy Mobility Services - Final Report (1579747 PDF)
RP2021: Interim report 1: Greening urban and suburban travel current situation, challenges, opportunities and emerging trends
Prospects for the decarbonising of Australian cities will depend on opportunities for a reduction of transport energy use. This project focuses on the most significant challenge to Green House Gas reduction in urban transport -- specifically, that relating to provision of public transport and active travel options for low density suburban areas that are currently car dependent. This interim report gathers and collates information from a wide body of literature to assist the CRC partner organisations in responding to the impacts of this global challenge, and to inform their policy and advocacy positions.
Greening urban and suburban travel current situation, challenges, opportunities and emerging trends - Interim report 1 (2317997 PDF)
RP2021e1: Final Report: Demand for Sharing Economy Mobility Services: The Market, Brand Growth & Behaviour Change
There has been a rapid global rise in both bike and car share offerings. Yet many of these have only current low adoption levels, highlighting a pressing need to understand the consumer behaviour that surrounds their adoption. This research explores how shared mobility options are transforming choices in the inner-city precinct where commutes are shorter and speeds slower, relative to a suburban setting.
Demand for Sharing Economy Mobility Services: The Market, Brand Growth & Behaviour Change - Final Report (1855024 PDF)
CRCLCL Project Posters
Student Poster 2017: RP2021 - IMPROVING TRAVEL SUSTAINABILITY IN METROPOLITAN AUSTRALIA
Callum Sleep: Student Poster 2017 - RP2021 (788840 PDF)
Student Poster 2017: RP2021 - GREENING SUBURBAN TRANSPORT: USING ACCESSIBILITY MODELLING TO PLAN FOR TRANSITIONS
Jana Perkovic: Student Poster 2017 - RP2021 (592423 PDF)
Student Poster 2017: RP2021 - DEVELOPING A GAMIFICATION FRAMEWORK FOR ENCOURAGING TRABEL BEHAVIOUR CHANGECT
Karen Wright: Student Poster 2017 - RP2021 (260541 PDF)
Student poster 2016: RP2021 Improving travel sustainability in metropolitan Australia
Student poster - Participants Annual Forum 2016 - Callum Sleep Improving travel sustainability in metropolitan Australia
Callum Sleep Student Poster 2016 RP2021 (605783 PDF)
Partners on this project
- UNSW Sydney
- Swinburne University of Technology
News article
Australians not ‘walking the talk’ when it comes to the environment
Posted 27 August 2019 - 9:29am
Rail commuters, take a bow. By catching the train instead of driving, your environmental footprint is five times less that of a typical motorist. If you’re walking or cycling, you get full marks for a zero imprint on the environment.
Statistics don’t lie, and according to a recent study from the University of South Australia (UniSA), plenty of us are not ‘walking the talk’ when it comes to the environment.
Despite 59 per cent of Australians believing we should be doing more to protect the environment, only 12 per cent of people commute to work by public transport, cycling or walking, UniSA researchers have found.
Senior Lecturer Dr Sekhar Somenahalli and his Masters’ student Callum Sleep from UniSA’s School of Natural and Built Environments have just completed a project looking at current travel modes, commuter priorities and how to shift travel behaviour from private vehicles to public transport.
They surveyed residents in six inner and outer Adelaide suburbs, asking them about their transport habits, travel preferences and hypothetical choices of other possible commuting options.
The key findings of his research were:
- Total travel time is the main priority for people, with cost coming a close second;
- People would rather drive a car to an interchange than walk to a nearby bus stop;
- 40% of people living in outer suburbs are willing to use public transport at interchanges if they are well connected by shuttle services;
- A large percentage of people want existing parking areas expanded.
“In Australia, the car population is growing faster than the human population, with more than 90 per cent of Australians living in households with access to a car,” Dr Somenahalli says.
“Road congestion is increasing, yet bus patronage remains low, so we have to find a way to convert as many car users as possible to public transport so we can alleviate congestion and help the environment.”
Dr Somenahalli’s research shows that trains and trams offer the best savings for the environment, with greenhouse gas emissions as much as five times less than those from cars.
His project, funded by the Low Carbon Living CRC, found that Australian commuters were strongly opposed to public transport that required a transfer, listing this as a major deterrent. In Adelaide, 71 per cent of trips don’t involve any transfers, but they still account for only 10 per cent of work commutes.
Dr Somenahalli says it is not enough to simply provide a better public transport service. To encourage people to take trains and buses, the services must be fast, reliable and frequent and coupled with a congestion tax on private vehicles or a hike in parking charges.
Overseas research from the Netherlands suggests that if a public transit trip has a total door-to-door travel time of not more than 1.5 times that of driving then it becomes appealing.
“When public transport is actually quicker than driving – as is the case with the O’Bahn in north-eastern Adelaide and the southern rail corridor in Perth – the results have been outstanding, vastly exceeding all expectations.”
Flexibility and costs are also major factors in getting people to shift from cars to public transport, the study found.
Forty per cent of the respondents said they would use public transport if they could be driven to a station or interchange by a taxi or Uber for under $2.50, removing the need for a car. An additional 15 per cent said they would use such a service if it was free and included as a transfer on their Metro Card.
“There are many ways to make public transport more appealing,” Dr Somenahalli says. “More effective park-and-ride systems, better cycling routes that link to interchanges and high-frequency feeder bus services should all be considered in the mix.”
The Greening Urban and Suburban Travel project is available HERE.