Public Transport Planning and Management

Inner city public transport rights of way (Somers/Rose) (2003 final year undergraduate research project)

This project investigates the issue of allowing buses to access tram rights of way. The investigation searches for examples of shared operations both within Australia and internationally. This is followed by extensive consultation with a wide range of stakeholders and visits to a number of sites to examine specific issues. The findings and the process of this investigation are relevant to a number of shared use situations specifically and to transit priority broadly.

Public transport provision in suburban Melbourne (Scanlon/So/Jayakodi/Young) (2003 final year undergraduate research project)

This project investigates the level of provision of public transport in suburban Melbourne, focusing on retail and commercial centres.

Identification of spatial gaps in public transport provision in relation to transport needs in the community (Currie)

A major requirement of public transport in median and smaller urban centres is that it is provided effectively in relation to social need for transport. This project develops an innovative set of techniques to assess the effectiveness of public transport and has been applied in recent work in Tasmania.

Transit frequency setting using social cost benefit analysis (Currie/Kinnear/Wallis)

The study develops an innovative approach to determine heavy rail, tram and bus route service frequencies based on the minimization of user travel costs, operating costs, road congestion relief impacts and social and economic costs.

Trade-offs in bus network transit network design and service levels (Currie) (Department of Infrastructure Energy and Resources, Tasmania)

This project includes a review of transit network design literature to establish the case for and against network density and service levels trade-off options.

Public transport stop analysis (Radion/Cheng/Sarvi) (2004 final year undergraduate project)

This study focuses on the functionality of different tram stops in terms of safety and interaction with general traffic.

Road space allocation using a simulation program (Stebbing/Sarvi) (2004 final year undergraduate project)

This study investigates the impact of Green ratios on the performance of arterial roads.

Successful real time passenger information systems (Currie)

This study examines best practice in the design of real time passenger information systems. It is being conducted in partnership with ConnectionZ, New Zealand.

Collation of passenger trip attribute valuation research for transit modes (Currie)

This project establishes how passengers value trip attributes between alternative transit modes. The aim is to establish differences between on street bus, light rail, heavy rail and bus rapid transit.

Innovative tram stop design to assist access by disabled people (Currie)

This project monitors the performance of an innovative tram stop trial in Melbourne, Australia. The new design uses a speed hump and a raised pedestrian access way to median running trams.

A review of higher education in public transport (Currie)

This worldwide review of higher education in public transport examines the range and content of offerings including industry, undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Knowledge management in Australian public transport (Currie)

The study examines how experience and knowledge is developed and shared within the Australian public transport industry.

Review of transport at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games (Currie)

This project reviews the technical performance of the Athens transportation system during the 2004 Olympics.

Sydney transitways demand forecasting (Currie) (Sydney RTA Transitways)

The project reviews the demand forecasting approaches used to assess future usage of the new bus transitway projects being designed for north west Sydney, and includes collation of international travel demand elasticity evidence relating to bus demand projects.

Sustainable transport strategies (Currie) (Victorian Local Governance Association)

The project develops and presents a series of workshops to metropolitan local government mayors, senior councillors and executives on the subject of municipal involvement rationale and approaches to sustainable transport. This was part of the Victorian Local Government Integrated Transport and Mobility Project.

Bus rail coordination (Firgaira/Lim/Currie) (2004 final year undergraduate research projects)

Two projects are being undertaken in this area. They include a review of relevant research literature, site surveys of coordination arrangements at Huntingdale Railway Station and surveys of scheduled and actual departure and arrival times of trains and buses. Consultations with the various stakeholders involved in bus rail are made. Analysis assesses the quality of coordination provided and identifies factors affecting this. Recommendations for improving coordination arrangements are made.

The design of public transport interchanges and terminals (Ross/Stewart/Currie) (2004 final year undergraduate research projects)

These two projects include a review of research literature regarding public transport stations, terminals, interchanges and bus and tram stops in order to understand the design requirements, techniques for evaluating interchanges and good practices and innovations in design. The projects then apply the findings of this research to the Huntingdale bus rail interchange and the Monash University interchange to assess their performance from a transit operations and patronage amenity viewpoint. Priorities for improving this facility are developed.

Review of kerbside tram stop safety (Wright/Currie) (2004 final year undergraduate research project)

Almost two thirds of tram stops in Melbourne are kerbside stops. Passengers wait at the kerb and walk across the path of traffic to access the tram when it arrives. This is an acknowledged safety concern. Over 50 pedestrian accidents occur each year as a result. This project includes a review of available tram safety literature, traffic regulations and an analysis of the tram company incident database. The aim is to understand the problem and seek practical solutions.

Investigating tram pedestrian collisions (Logan/Currie) (2004 final year undergraduate research project)

The project reviews tram pedestrian collision information through available research literature and performs an interrogation of the tram incident database provided by Yarra Trams. Site surveys of tram stops with high incident rates are undertaken. Inspections of a range of tram stop designs and recommendations to address safety issues are made.

Designing for pedestrians (Macdermott/Currie) (2004 final year undergraduate research project)

This project considers design principals and practice to improve the travel environment for pedestrians. A review of relevant research and design literature is undertaken and techniques for the assessment of the walkability of urban environments reviewed. A set of assessment techniques are developed and applied to assess the quality of the pedestrian environment of the Clayton campus of Monash University. Priorities and recommendations for improvement are made.