Eighteen projects commenced in April 2016 at Monash University as part of a Graduate Research Industry Partnership (GRIP). This GRIP brings together six faculties and focuses on the topic of Sustainable and Effective Public Transport (SEPT). The SEPT-GRIP is jointly funded by Monash University and industry groups including Public Transport Victoria, Metro Trains Melbourne, Yarra Trams, VicRoads, Transdev Melbourne and the Bus Association of Victoria. The program includes an advanced, collaborative professional development program based in the field with industry.
Purpose: While cities play an increasingly important economic and social role, growth has generated significant transport challenges including traffic congestion and associated liveability, health, environmental and social impacts. Improving and developing new public transport systems has been widely acknowledged as a progressive solution but significant challenges remain for these systems. Achieving growth in ridership and encouraging mode shift remain key concerns for both research and practice while issues such as personal safety, an ageing population, workforce gender diversity and the changing behaviours of millennials are also important issues to consider. Effective use of older infrastructure, achieving better reliability and coordination and funding new and existing systems are major barriers to progress internationally. New technologies and new concepts for designing public transport including ride sharing will challenge conventions of how public transport is run in the future. Advanced research is needed in all these and related fields to sustainably and effectively address the urban transport problem using public transport into the future.
SEPT-GRIP aims to create a next generation of industry leaders in the field of public transport with a deep understanding of the practical difficulties faced by industry whilst also sharing a vision for a pro-active approach to dealing with these challenges using a cross disciplinary and inclusive approach to academic research. A major aim of the SEPT-GRIP is to break down barriers between disciplines to develop inclusive understanding and generate innovative solutions. SEPT-GRIP will undertake ground breaking research in the field of public transport to address both the opportunities and the challenges faced by industry and the community in Victoria and internationally.
The projects are across the sub-themes of
- Personal Safety,
- Transit Priority,
- an Aging Population,
- New Markets and Behaviour Change, and
- Placemaking.
The projects are:
