The Transportist: January 2026
Welcome to the latest issue of The Transportist, especially to our new readers.
Happy New Year to all who celebrate.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
There is a new global Association Of Sustainable Transportation Researchers. Seems better than their competitor, The Association Of Unsustainable Transportation Researchers.
I organise the Sydney Transport Advisory Board, an annual meetup of local transport aficionados who really do know better what to do than those in power, and regularly offer unsolicited advice. If you are interested in being invited to next year’s field trip in December 2026 let me know.
POSTS
On Bondi Beach: I arrived in Sydney on April 10, 2017. My photos library date stamp indicates that I visited the iconic Bondi Beach by April 15. It’s gorgeous without the people (photos below), and there is a well-worn walk up and down the coast, most famously to Coogee, the next large beach down the Ocean, with some smaller ones in between. …
Inner West’s The GreenWay is Effing Great. Last week I left my home in Arncliffe (at 07:00 am) to the newly opened Inner West “The GreenWay”. …
Access for Defence: Access is usually about reaching jobs, shops, and schools. It is also about controlling who can reach us. ….
RESEARCH BY OTHERS
A new report from the excellent Rob Bain: TOLL PRICE ELASTICITY OF DEMAND
RESEARCH
Levinson, David (2026) When Are Impedance Choices Irrelevant? Equivalence Conditions for Hansen-Style Access Metrics. Findings. [doi]
MEDIA
TOLL ROADS AGAIN
FLIXBUS
I did an interview on FBi Radio Sydney on the FlixBus, can’t seem to find it on the Internet. FlixBus seems to be taking over much intercity bus service, e.g. they now own Greyhound in the US (but not Australia). This means lower prices for users, and hopefully economically sustainable service.
YOUR REGULAR REMINDER THAT CARS ARE WEAPONS
Queensland: Woman dies in hospital after car ploughs into eight pedestrians.
New South Wales (Surveillance tool of violence, rather than weapon as such). Man allegedly used Tesla car app to target domestic violence victim.
The Levant
Maryland: ICE agents involved in Maryland shooting that injures two people
LINKS
Air India loses a plane for 13 years. (No passengers were aboard)
There will be 6.5m Sydney residents by 2045. Here’s where they’re going to live
AVs
Driverless future gains momentum with global robotaxi deployments
Waymo Year in Review. – Waymo hits 14 million trips in 2025, more than 20 million lifetime. Still more than doubling annually. But not without hiccups …
The Night the Lights went out on Waymo. – Blackout in San Francisco, and no traffic signals, leads to a total, ungraceful, Waymo system shutdown, mid-lane. Updated software is coming.
Robotaxis could wreck parking revenue, airport official warns (Oh, no!)
Ford retreats from EVs, takes $19.5 billion charge as Trump policies grip industry – They are moving more towards hybrids. They will undoubtedly be back.
Why the world rejected the UN’s Road Signs – Entertaining video by Chris Spargo
Parramatta LRT is not meeting passenger forecasts. A real chin-scratcher that one.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the college enrollment rate of recent high school graduates was 66.2% in October 2019 and 62.8% in October 2024. … This plus a demographic cliff. Universities are in structural trouble even without the current administration.
THE TRANSPORTIST: LANE-FREE
As a comment, I plan to be more lane-free this year. “Stay in your lane” they say, so you don’t annoy your readers, or offend someone on LinkedIn, or whatever. But why? Am I going to be more successful by shaking fewer trees? I sort of doubt that. Will I be funded less if I speak out more? I doubt it. I have given certain local transport agencies sufficient politeness for almost no reward, on the theory I shouldn’t speak ill of past, present, or prospective sponsors, or those funding students, or at least giving us data to do research with, but if they do none of that, meh?
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