Why this is important to Wisconsin businesses: Wisconsin exporters can get involved in providing intelligent transportation solutions, connected and automated vehicles, and mobility as a service.
The future of transportation in Australia is being molded by a combination of urbanization, social trends and emerging technologies. The result has been a clear investment by both the public and private sectors to develop intelligent transportation solutions (ITS), connected and automated vehicles (CAVs), and mobility as a service (MaaS). As part of this industry growth the Australian economy is seeing significant investment and partnerships from international companies. Any Wisconsin firm with expertise in the above subsectors should consider Australia as an export market to enter.
Intelligent Transport Systems Australia (ITS Australia) is an independent membership organization representing ITS suppliers, government authorities, academia, and transportation providers and users in Australia. In March 2017, ITS Australia published the Smart Transport for Australia report to explore the current status of ITS in Australia, provide examples of current and potential initiatives, and highlight future opportunities in this sector for the Australian government, researchers and industry.
Encouragingly for Wisconsin exporters, Australian transport agencies are actively looking at initiatives to engage with both local and international transportation technology firms. In New South Wales, Transport for NSW (TfNSW), the state government department responsible for managing public transportation services, has been exploring the potential for transportation’s technology-enabled future, culminating in the launch of the Future Transport Strategy 2056 in 2018.
In June 2018, TfNSW launched The Research Hub to foster collaboration and information sharing on future mobility, sustainability, and technological drivers of change. They also launched the MaaS Innovation Challenge, which seeks and funds innovative ideas directly from industry to help give customers the ideal door-to-door travel experience where they can plan the optimal travel option or combination.
Australia has over 15 CAV trails located in almost every Australian state and territory. Any Wisconsin firm with CAV technology should consider Australia as a premier location for a trial of its technology. The funding availability varies for these initiatives, with options including the Future Mobility Lab Fund. Further evidence of Australia’s changing mobility landscape is the establishment of the country’s first intelligent transportation cooperative research center, the iMOVE Cooperative Research Centre (iMoveCRC), tasked with improving Australia’s transportation systems through several R&D projects over the next decade.
Australia is proposing a reform program that aims to put end-to-end regulation in place by 2020 to support the safe commercial deployment and operation of automated vehicles at all levels of automation. This is being led by the National Transport Commission and comes at a critical time that will allow Wisconsin firms to be on the leading edge of this growing industry in Australia.
Wisconsin exporters interested in getting involved in Australia’s transportation technology sector are encouraged to:
- Engage with the leading associations, including ITS Australia and the iMoveCRC
- Connect with state and territorial transportation authorities through set initiatives or tenders aimed at growing transportation technology capability
- Participating in major industry events such as ITS Australia Summit, the Third International Driverless Vehicle Summit or the Mobility as a Service Conference