March 2025
AND THAT'S A WRAP FOR 2025!
Recap of Week 3 at the AITPM Online Technical Conference Series
The final week of the 2025 AITPM Online Technical Conference Series focused on Industry Innovation & Emerging Technologies, bringing together leading professionals to discuss autonomous vehicles, active transport modelling, road safety, public transport access, and strategic transport investments.
As we wrap up this year’s conference, let’s take a look at the key insights from Industry Week and how these discussions are shaping the future of transport.
Day 1: Innovation in Transport Planning & Emerging Technologies
The first session of industry week led by Mary Haverland from Arcadis and featured the presentations by Nial O'Brien, Rahmi Akcelik, Ian McCarthy and Ten-Zen Guh, which explored autonomous vehicles, advanced modelling techniques, and integrating social justice principles into transport planning.
Discussions included:
- Autonomous Vehicles & Road Safety – The future of AVs and their role in reducing human error, improving road safety, and ensuring equitable transport access.
- Advanced Model Calibration – How refining transport models leads to better forecasting, network optimisation, and smarter infrastructure decisions.
- Renewable Energy & Transport Networks – Addressing the impact of large-scale renewable developments on regional freight and road networks.
🔑 Key Takeaway: Transport innovation must balance technology, policy, and equity to create sustainable, future-ready mobility solutions.
Day 2: Enhancing Travel Modes, Safety, and Public Transport Access
Day two, led by session chair Toby Cooper from GHD focused on the work of Graham McCabe, Peter Davidson, Naomi Holt, Morgan Weston, Shanelle McDonald and Samira Namin in optimising transport networks through safety improvements, multimodal integration, and access to public transport.
Key discussions covered:
- Active Transport Modelling – Overcoming the challenges of predicting walking and cycling demand using innovative modelling approaches.
- Urban Safety & Road Design – Case studies on traffic calming, pedestrian-friendly streets, and balancing safety with accessibility.
- Optimising Park-and-Ride Strategies – Evaluating how park-and-ride facilities can better integrate with public transport and encourage multimodal travel.
🔑 Key Takeaway: Creating seamless, safe, and accessible transport networks requires a multimodal approach that prioritises user experience.
Day 3: Strategic Investment & Behavioural Insights in Transport
The final day of Industry Week led by Ben Wood explored to work of Mark Ames, John-Paul Maina, Harry Barber, Sam McCormick, Peter Davidson, Naomi Holt and Morgan Weston with a strong focus on funding strategies, transport pricing, and the role of behavioural insights in shaping mobility choices.
Discussions included:
- The Impact of Public Transport Fare Subsidies – Evaluating the success of Queensland’s $0.50 fare trial and its long-term feasibility.
- Behavioural Economics & Travel Demand – Understanding how fare structures and service availability influence commuter behaviour.
- Strategic Transport Investment – Aligning future transport funding with changing urban and regional mobility needs.
🔑 Key Takeaway: Transport investment decisions must be informed by behavioural research to ensure long-term success and equitable access.
Final Session Recap – Wrapping Up the 2025 AITPM Online Technical Conference Series
The final session of the 2025 AITPM Online Technical Conference Series brought together key reflections on the past three weeks of knowledge sharing, highlighting major takeaways from research, government policy, and industry innovation.
Chaired by AITPM President Reece Humphreys, Stantec, a key highlight of the session was the insightful contribution from Kim Thomas from Integrate who wrapped up the week with a thought-provoking discussion on procurement, standardisation, and transport infrastructure challenges in Northern Australia.
Kim emphasised the need for:
- A strong procurement framework to ensure fair competition, high-quality outcomes, and efficient project delivery.
- Standardisation across jurisdictions to reduce costs and streamline transport infrastructure implementation.
- A regional approach to Northern Australia’s transport challenges, advocating for collaboration between states and territories to create more effective, scalable solutions.
Her presentation reinforced the importance of harmonised policies, efficient funding strategies, and long-term planning in delivering sustainable transport networks, particularly in regional and remote areas and was a great way to bring together the key themes of Industry Week for the Online Technical Conference Series.
That’s a Wrap! Thank You & What’s Next?
The 2025 AITPM Online Technical Conference Series has been an incredible platform for knowledge sharing, professional growth, and industry collaboration. A huge thank you to all our speakers, attendees, and the Online Technical Conference Committee including David Freer Land Use and Mobility, Matthew Rogers, Michael Palamara, Tamas Matrai, Nicoleta Apostol , Sukeshini Nandagawali, Sina Davoudi, Graham McCabe, Ten-Zen Guh, Samira Namin, Hans Gao and Victoria Brown for making this event such a success!
We would like to thank our Online Technical Conference Committee for helping to make the Conference possible this year. Your efforts in coordinating sessions, coordinating speakers, and delivering a seamless event have made this year’s conference a great success.
A special thank you to:
- David Freer (Hartecs Group Pty Ltd, QLD) - Committee Chair
- Matthew Rodgers (Transurban, NSW)
- Michael Palamara (Headway Traffic & Transport, NSW)
- Tamas Matrai (Aurecon, SA)
- Nicoleta Apostol (City of Gold Coast, QLD)
- Sukeshni Nandagawali (University of New South Wales, NSW)
- Sina Davoudi (RMIT University/EFWA/FFW CRC, VIC)
- Graham McCabe (Step Advisory, NSW)
- Ten-Zen Guh (Mott MacDonald, NSW)
- Marko Bogicevic (BDO Australia, NSW)
- Samira Namin (GHD, QLD)
- Hans Gao (Eukai, VIC)
- Victoria Brown (VIC)
We look forward to seeing you next year.
PS. Missed out on the Online Technical Conference Series, don't forget to look out for an opportunity to join us at the National Transport Conference in Adelaide in September. Registrations opening Late April!
🚀 What was your key takeaway from the conference? Join the conversation in the comments!