Austroads: Transport Research and Trends

‘What gets measured gets managed’ (Drucker, 1954). Performance metrics, indicators and benchmarks describe how our road assets (and transport systems) are functioning and operating within the context of the road users’ (and societal) expectations. This enables agencies and authorities to manage investment and resources to address the areas of greatest need.

Austroads first developed National Performance Indicators (NPIs) in 1993 to promote consistency in reporting of road performance across state transport agencies. Over time, however, the uptake of NPIs has diminished due to a misalignment with state agencies’ own performance reporting needs, concurrently with the advent of new datasets and the increased value that these datasets provide.

This webinar, presented by Simon Latham, Scott Benjamin and Robert Kane, explores the current performance reporting practices used nationally and internationally including the type and application of urban road network performance indicators and metrics. The webinar highlights challenges and opportunities related to existing performance indicators and reporting and discusses the recommendations which look to support consistent and commonly agreed performance indicators (revised NPIs) for urban road-based transport performance measurement.

This webinar, presented by Bryan Li on 9 July 2020, provides an overview of a resource designed to equip practitioners who may not have specific technical experience in transport modelling with clear and practical guidance to help make informed decisions when procuring modelling services or communicating the associated processes.

This webinar, presented by Richard Palmer on 16 June 2020, gives a detailed overview of Austroads’ recent publication ‘Decarbonisation of Road Transport Network Operations in Australia and New Zealand’. The issues paper provides an analysis of the contribution of the road transport sector to generating GHG emissions in Australia and New Zealand. It also frames the role that road transport network operations play in supporting the state and national emissions reduction goals.

This webinar, presented by Dr Bruce Corben on 26 March 2020, demonstrates ways to integrate Safe System design and operation with Movement and Place for vulnerable road users, in particular pedestrians and cyclists.

This webinar provides an overview of the concept of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and the opportunities it presents for transport agencies in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ).

Mobility as a Service refers to the shift from personally-owned transport modes to mobility solutions that are consumed as a service. This project explored industry definitions, service characteristics, global best practice, and ways ANZ transport agencies are harnessing the risks and opportunities associated with MaaS.  

It covers:

• why there is no single definition of MaaS
• international and local transport agency experience in MaaS initiatives
• common features of the mobility and service environments that support MaaS
• potential roles for the public sector in supporting MaaS outcomes.

The webinar was presented by Mary Haverland and Pete Davis.

This webinar provides an overview of the opportunities to apply artificial intelligence to road network operations.

It covers:

• definitions of artificial intelligence and machine learning
• applications in road network operations
• limitations
• adoption in organisations.

Presented was presented by Matthew Gallaugher and Arash Kaviani.

This webinar outlines a set of principles for the presentation of Austroads' Network Performance Indicators which could underpin increased use and application across road agencies in Australasia for both current and future iterations.

It covers:
• how performance is measured in other areas and sectors
• eight key principles for presentation of road performance data
• insights from an industry practice review
• implications of the principles for the Network Performance Indicators.

The webinar was presented on 12 July 2018 by Ben Mason, Paul Carter and Callum Hooper.

This webinar provides an overview of the key findings of a strategic review of the Austroads Guide to Traffic Management. It is particularly beneficial for users of the Guide to Traffic Management who are interested in the future considerations of the Guide series. The webinar was presented by David Green and Natalie Lockwood on 7 December 2017. 

This webinar provides an overview of the key changes to the Austroads Guide to Traffic Management Part 3, such as use cases, impact and some supporting techniques for the use of emerging data sources; discussion and development of high-level modelling guidelines; and latest research and initiative in the traffic capacity analysis area. The webinar was preseted by Dr Clarissa Han on 30 November 2017.

This webinar provides an overview of new guidelines to help network operations planning staff develop a Concept of Operations (ConOps), a best practice resource. The webinar was presented by Mark Rowland on 21 November 2017.