Transport Research and Policy Analysis Bulletin
The Transport Research and Policy Analysis Bulletin is a quarterly bulletin by the Department of Transport that profiles the work being undertaken by the Policy and Communications Division (PAC), and shares information of interest to the transport sector and broader community.
Download the latest Transport Research and Policy Analysis Bulletin - Summer 2009 (PDF, 550 KB, 4 pp.). The main articles are also featured on this page, as well as access to past editions.
Articles on this page:
The Australasian Transport Research Forum (ATRF)
The 32nd annual ATRF was held in Auckland, New Zealand from 29 September to 1 October 2009. The keynote speakers were Pru Sanderson, CEO VicUrban, and Professor Peter Jones from the Centre for Transport Studies at University College, London.
ATRF 09 included 121 papers and attracted 165 delegates. Staff from the Department of Transport submitted the following papers:
Copies of all papers presented at ATRF can be downloaded from the
conference website.
Australasian Transport Research Forum: call for papers
The
Australasian Transport Research Forum (ATRF) has been held since 1975. It is the annual event that brings together policy makers, advisers, researchers and practitioners from transport disciplines to share and build upon the latest research and initiatives.
Abstracts for the 2010 Forum are now being sought. The papers may deal with any aspect of transport, including work in progress, and should be research-based. Papers which are directly related to the development of policies or strategies are especially encouraged.
The 2010 Forum will be held in Canberra, from 29 September to 1 October. The event will be jointly hosted by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics and the Australian Capital Territory Department of Territory and Municipal Services.
Abstracts of up to 200 words are requested to be submitted by 29 January 2010.
Abstracts, and questions, can be sent via email.
Household vulnerability to increased oil prices
Recent articles in the Bulletin have outlined research being undertaken to understand the transport impacts of climate change and the global financial crisis. Overlapping these issues is the cost of oil, with increases in fuel prices expected over time as global demand for oil outstrips supply and emissions reduction schemes are gradually implemented.
In response to this growing pressure, the Department of Transport has undertaken preliminary analysis to identify areas where households may experience difficulty adjusting to higher transport costs from increased petrol prices. The analysis, undertaken at a collector district level, collates readily available data on three primary indicators.
The first indicator used was the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), specifically the Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage (IRSAD). The index includes variables on income and employment and is used as a measure of a household’s ability to absorb price increases.
The second indicator was public transport accessibility measured as high, medium or low, to identify those locations where public transport is a potential substitute for private vehicle use. The index identifies the number of public transport services of different types available per day, within a defined radius from the nearest stop or station.
The third indicator used average vehicle kilometres travelled by collector district. This was used as a measure of private vehicle dependency. For the Melbourne metropolitan region these three proxies were overlaid to give a preliminary understanding of the ability of households to adjust to the impacts of increased oil prices. The results are shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 Socio-Economic Disadvantage, Public Transport Services
and Vehicle Kilometres Travelled (VKT)
For the Victorian regional analysis only the first two indicators were used as seen in Figure 2 below.
Figure 2 Socio-Economic Disadvantage, Public Transport Services
This analysis forms one of a number of inputs to the development of economic and environmental policy responses to climate change pressures, from a transport and mobility perspective.
Walk This Way: a strategy to increase walking for transport in Victoria
The Sustainable and Active Transport Branch is currently developing a strategy to promote and encourage walking for transport in Victoria. 'Walk this Way' will outline the role of the State Government in supporting and encouraging walking for transport purposes, and will assist local governments in their task of providing for walking in their municipalities.
Research is being undertaken to examine the current and historical walking patterns of Victorians to understand the extent of walking behaviour across different groups and activities.
As an example, the Victorian Integrated Survey of Travel and Activity 2007 (VISTA 07) provides detailed travel information for Melbourne and Regional Centres. VISTA 07 has been used to identify areas where a mode shift to walking is possible. When analysing trip distance information from VISTA 07 it was found that the majority of walk trips are less than 2km with only a small number of people walking greater than 3km (Figure 3).
Figure 3 Average weekday walk trips by distance
This provides an indication of the distances people are prepared to walk for transport. However, it was observed that of all trips less than 2km, 56 per cent of these were made as a vehicle driver or vehicle passenger (Figure 4).
Figure 4 Mode share for trips less than 2km - Metropolitan Melbourne
The challenge will be in developing strategies which actively encourage mode share away from the private vehicle to walking for these short trips.
Further analysis of the VISTA 07 database is being conducted to see how walking patterns differ for trip purpose, socio-economic factors, household location and age groups. These results will be used together with ABS Journey to Work information and other data sources to provide a quantitative foundation on which to develop the strategy.
Rail Patronage Demand – the upside potential of surplus bedrooms
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) published a feature article written by the Department of Transport on
Surplus Bedrooms in Melbourne Homes in its June quarter 2009 issue of State and Regional Indicators, Victoria (ABS cat. 1367.2).
Given the growing population pressures in Australian capital cities, consideration could be given to the utilisation of existing housing opportunities. The location of these opportunities are very important from a transport perspective.
Based on a Canadian National Occupancy Standard, Melbourne’s 1.3 million households had 1.3 million spare bedrooms at the August 2006 Census of Population and Housing. This was a significant increase since the 1996 Census, caused by a combination of larger dwellings and decreasing household size.
Figure 5, below, shows that fewer households located along rail corridors have surplus bedrooms than those located elsewhere. Historically, this land may have been settled earlier with smaller dwellings. Higher subsequent land values may have then encouraged medium density accommodation. Yet there remains the potential for these bedrooms to become more fully utilised, with the yellow-shaded areas of the map indicating that up to 65 per cent of households in rail corridors have surplus bedrooms.
Figure 5 Percent of family, lone person and group households
with one or more spare bedrooms