2021

DI Herbert Neuhauser Wins List Förderpreis 2021

2021: DI Herbert Neuhauser Wins List Förderpreis 2021

More Safety for Children in Road Traffic

Guidelines for traffic planning under scrutiny – practical testing in Vienna neighborhoods – 77 rules reduced to 30.

Further information

Inaugural lecture from Univ. Prof. Dr. Yusak Susilo

11/2021: Inaugural lecture: Univ. Prof. Dr. Yusak Susilo
"The future of transport: a dance between people and technology"

8 November 2021 - now available on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk0Aw1oOYGY

Mobility as a Service and Public Space

New demands on public space and traffic flow due to changing mobility behavior

Thursday, September 30 – Friday, October 1, 2021
Venue: Sporthotel am Semmering

At the traditional FSV Planning Seminar, this year's focus was on the topic of Mobility as a Service (MaaS). The concept revolves around meeting mobility needs without vehicle ownership, tailored to the current state of transport supply and demand.

Based on individual preferences and overarching goals, mobility services are offered to users, allowing them to choose from various options. These services are then provided and billed through the respective providers. To ensure that this approach contributes to the desired mobility transition, several organizational and planning questions arise:

• What is the minimum/optimal service structure for these mobility services?
• Which stakeholders need to be involved? What responsibilities need to be assigned?
• What framework conditions need to be established? Should public transport always be the starting point for planning?
• Sharing instead of owning: Is the disappearance of individual car ownership conceivable and realistic?
• How might the spatial demands on public space change due to Mobility as a Service?

In addition to presentations on current developments, practical experiences were also shared.

As usual, this two half-day event consisted of a mix of keynote presentations, reflective workshops, and group discussions. This year, it was held in cooperation with the Endowed Professorship for Digitalization and Automation in Transport and Mobility Systems at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), led by Prof. Yusak Susilo, who also delivered a keynote presentation.

REAL CORP 2021

The REAL CORP 2021 is one of the most important conferences in Europe on urban planning and regional development in our society. https://www.corp.at/

The "26th International Conference on Urban Planning and Regional Development in the Information Society" took place from September 7–10, 2021, at BOKU. The following papers from the Institute for Transport Studies were presented:

1. Assessment of the Quality of Urban Spaces in the Context of Child-friendly Mobility
   (Authors: Herbert Neuhauser, Juliane Stark, Cornelia Weber)
   Child-friendly urban spaces promote safe, independent, and active mobility for children. This paper presents the indicators and methods that can be used to assess the quality of urban spaces in the context of child-friendly mobility.
2. Mobility in Metropolitan and Peripheral Regions – an Educational Simulation Game
   (Authors: Lukas Hartwig, Paul Pfaffenbichler, Juliane Stark)
   As part of the SYSTEMCHECK project, an interactive, digital teaching and learning game was developed. It is based on simulations of the social and environmental impacts of mobility and transport in metropolitan and peripheral regions. The game enables students to learn and practice geographic content while also developing systems thinking skills.
   More information: http://young-mobility.at/systemcheck-spiel/

Exploring the Baltics with the BOKU Bike

All the way from Tallinn through Riga, down to Klaipeda, along the Baltic Sea coast to Nida, then inland to Vilnius, and back to the Polish Baltic coast – all in two months.

This was the ambitious travel goal set by Veronika, a BOKU graduate and former student assistant in BOKU Mobility Management, naturally with her beloved BOKU Bike. The bike was put to the test on bumpy roads and sandy off-road trails and proved to be highly reliable.

However, Veronika isn’t just cycling for fun; she’s also taking action against the climate crisis. As part of the WWF EU project "Eat4Change", she chats with people she meets along her journey about their eating habits. By sharing the stories she gathers, she aims to inspire others to reflect on their own eating habits. This is intended to be the first step toward a more climate-friendly diet.

2021 TRB-Meeting

The 100th Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2021 was held as a virtual event.
Staff members of the Institute for Transport Studies contributed with the following presentations:

• Juliane Stark, Katja Ruzsicsksa, Thomas Wiesmann:
  "Use of Mobile Devices by Children and Adolescents and the Effect on Crossing Behavior"
  (Poster Session: Pedestrian Behaviors, Walking Characteristics, and Interactions)
• Elisa Bin, Claudia Andruetto, Yusak O. Susilo, Anna Pernestal:
  "The Trade-Off Behaviors between Virtual and Physical Activities during COVID-19 Pandemic Period"
  (Poster Session: Advances in Travel Behavior Research)

The Children's University BOKU 2021 took place from Monday, July 12, to Tuesday, July 20, at BOKU.

07/2021: "We’re turning the university upside down!" The Children's University BOKU 2021 was held from Monday, July 12, to Tuesday, July 20, at BOKU.

With the courses "What Moves You?" and "Speeding Through the Streets at 80?", the Institute for Transport Studies offered two exciting classes for children, showcasing how fascinating research can be.

At several stations, children were able to playfully learn more about topics such as active mobility, energy consumption, traffic safety, and accessibility in public spaces.

http://young-mobility.at/kinderuniboku/

Sustainable and Resilient Urban Mobility

Lecturer:
Prof. Antonio Nelson Rodrigues da Silva,
Departamento de Engenharia de Transportes,
Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos, University of Sao Paulo

Cities and transportation systems have experienced several changes since the introduction of motorized modes. The process was not limited to a small number of countries and the resulting impacts are both local and global. As a result, a paradigm shift focusing on the concepts of mobility and sustainable mobility started to be shaped a few decades ago as an alternative to the traditional planning views.

This course introduces some of the key concepts of sustainable urban mobility, such as indicators-based planning and resilient mobility. The contents include visions of sustainable urban mobility, visions of resilient urban mobility, new approaches to integrated land-use and transportation modeling and the role played by walking and cycling as transportation modes in urban areas.

By the end of the course, students shall be able to:

1. quantitatively assess sustainable urban mobility using indicators;
2. identify key factors (e.g. climate changes, fuel shortages, cost increase, user behavior) that can produce disruptions in the various urban transportation subsystems;
3. assess (quantitatively and qualitatively) mobility resilience and vulnerability;
4. identify associations between accessibility, equity and mobility.

In addition to lectures, team discussions based on a guided search of the literature and a practical case study (in a local neighborhood) shall be conducted.

Details about the lecture (856.049 Traffic and transport planning - selected topics) can be found via this link:

https://online.boku.ac.at/BOKUonline/ee/ui/ca2/app/desktop/#/slc.tm.cp/student/courses/297629?$ctx=design=ca;lang=en

Child-Friendly Transport System

4/2021: Juliane Stark at VCÖ Event: Child-Friendly Transport System

More space for active mobility.

Further information

Rollability of Road Surfaces Recognized as an Innovation Project

The goal of the research project "Assessment of the Barrier-Free Rollability of Road Surfaces in Vienna" is to examine and evaluate various pavement surfaces for their barrier-free rollability with wheelchairs and walkers.
The project is being conducted by the Institute for Transport Studies on behalf of the Municipal Department 28 (Road Administration and Construction) in cooperation with the Vienna Mobility Agency.

The project "Assessment of the Barrier-Free Rollability of Road Surfaces in Vienna" was recognized as one of nine innovation projects by the City of Vienna. A nine-member jury selected the project from numerous submissions.
On July 7, 2021, the certificates were presented to the successful innovative project teams by City Councillor Peter Hanke, together with Magistrate Director Erich Hechtner and Jury Chair CIO Klemens Himpele.

March 25, 2021: Presentation of Results from the Flagship Project Digibus® Austria via Zoom

The Austrian flagship project Digibus® Austria conducted research on the reliable and traffic-safe operation of automated shuttles in regional public transport. One of the outcomes is a reference model for potential operators of automated shuttles. This online event provided insights into the necessary framework conditions and steps for deploying automated vehicles:

• How can an automated shuttle be safely brought onto the road?
• How can a virtual risk analysis be used to evaluate potential shuttle deployments?
• How can the digital driving environment support the operation of an automated shuttle?
• How can an automated shuttle be integrated into a regional mobility system?
• What concepts are suitable for interaction with other road users and passengers?
• What insights were gained from real-world trials, and what impacts can be expected in the future?

Discussion of the results from the Austrian flagship project and audience Q&A

Thank you for your participation!

Salzburg Research (Project Lead) and
the consortium of the Austrian flagship project Digibus® Austria

PROJECT VIDEO

18./19. März 2021: Meeting of the Working Group on Structural Equation Modelling (SEM)

After last year’s sudden cancellation, the 2021 Meeting of the Working Group on Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) took place online on March 18-19, 2021, organized by the Institute for Transport Studies, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna.

The meeting provided an opportunity for the exchange and discussion of methodological problems and solutions related to SEM.

Details on the meeting and the programme

Information on upcoming meetings of the working group will be published here:
https://www.uni-bielefeld.de/soz/personen/reinecke/wg_sem/index.html