30.06.2020How E-transport can create a “better normal” for Melbourne
With COVID-19 disrupting Melbourne’s mobility patterns, now is the time to imagine new ways to move around the city and create a “better normal”.
The idea of e-transport helping to create a better normal for Melbourne resonated with industry and academic experts at the Committee’s online forum on 11 June. In collaboration with Lime – a global leader in micro-mobility – the Committee brought together members and stakeholders to discuss the benefits of e-transport, which grants people affordable access to various transport modes, and how its rollout across the city could be fast-tracked.
Moderated by Fiona Patten MP (Member for Northern Metropolitan Region), and featuring Mitchell Price (Head of Government Relations, Lime), Hussein Dia (Professor of Future Urban Mobility, Swinburne University) and Michelle Mannering (Co-founder, Raine Scooters), the discussion centred around the evidence supporting e-transport as a mechanism to help reduce congestion and overcrowding on the transport network, as well as reducing carbon emissions.
An estimated 20 per cent of trips from home to work in capital cities are 5-10 kilometres long. With millions of short trips in Melbourne made every year by private vehicles, incentivising people to embrace active transport, including walking, scooting, and cycling would have an enormous impact in reducing city congestion and carbon emissions.
COVID-19 could provide just the impetus to such change. With city–dwellers forced to isolate for an extended period, policy-makers are rethinking urban infrastructure to accommodate a more local lifestyle as well as new commute methods following the reduction of restrictions. High on their priority list is the creation of cities with reduced noise, cleaner air and shorter or more efficient commutes. E-transport could go a long way in helping them achieve those lofty aims.
For more information about the Committee’s Integrated Transport Taskforce, please contact Leanne Edwards, Director Policy at ledwards@melbourne.org.au or Brett van Duppen, Policy and Research Officer at bvanduppen@melbourne.org.au
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