18 July 2024
Who: Charles Darwin University sustainable transport solutions expert, PhD Candidate in Law, Ferdinand Balfoort. Ferdinand is completing his doctoral dissertation on the topic of distributive justice, sustainability and shared e scooters, focusing on the benefits and burdens of sustainable transport technologies.
Topics:
- Regulatory frameworks for sustainable transport solutions including micro-mobility (e-scooters and e-bikes)
- Benefits (pros) of micro-mobility technology (GPS, IoT, AI, Telematics) including sustainability, and burdens (cons) including safety, in context of stakeholders.
- Carbon emissions accounting and life cycle assessments for transport modes including micro-mobility.
Contact details: Call +61 8 8946 6721 or email media@cdu.edu.au to arrange an interview.
Quotes attributable to Ferdinand Balfoort:
“Micro-mobility solutions could reduce harmful carbon emissions to the atmosphere if adopted in a balanced, stakeholder focused approach, supported by strategic community informed planning and policy formulation.”
“Advanced technologies like AI could potentially improve e-scooter safety to reduce potential risks imposed on other road users, but may impose its own burdens, including potentially significant energy demands and emissions as a result.”
“Benefits and burdens of e-scooters are currently not well balanced in public media due to an absence of measurable data of what those burdens and benefits are.”
“Sustainable transport solution deployments are frequently driven by a small group of profit-oriented operators, at a hidden cost to communities. Governments are also in a hurry to find quick and effective sustainable solutions to reduce global warming and climate change, including transport emissions.”
“E-scooter regulations can be confusing, due to their relative recent introduction as a transport option. The definition of e scooters is sometimes up in the air. Novel technology-based solutions like AI may address the regulatory gap but possibly not address the cause of confusion.”
“E-scooter or e-bike transportation can significantly reduce emissions from other transport, including private vehicles, and make public transport more accessible. There may even be a reduction in car ownership. Through these factors e-scooters may also generate significant air quality improvements.”
Contact details:
Raphaella Saroukos she/her
Research Communications Officer
Marketing, Media & Communications
Larrakia Country
T: +61 8 8946 6721
E: media@cdu.edu.au
W: cdu.edu.au
