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A/Prof Ben Beck

@beckben.bsky.social

330 followers 62 following 20 posts

Head of Sustainable Mobility and Safety Research at Monash University | All things active travel!

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A/Prof Ben Beck @beckben.bsky.social · Nov 27

Want to know more about what we do? Head to Sustainable Mobility and Safety Research’s website: www.monash.edu/medicine/sph...

Sustainable Mobility and Safety Research Group

Our vision is to make active and sustainable modes of transport, such as bike riding and walking, the leading modes of travel of the future, thereby realising the potential for substantial gains in po...

A/Prof Ben Beck @beckben.bsky.social · Apr 28

Huge thanks to co-authors Matthew Page, Adrian Bauman, @meghanwinters.bsky.social, Robyn Gerhard, Nyssa Clarke and Laolu Arogubdade

A/Prof Ben Beck @beckben.bsky.social · Apr 28

But when we take this approach without strong evaluation, we miss opportunities to understand how and why interventions succeed or fail, who they benefit and who they leave behind.

👉 Good evidence doesn't slow action - it sharpens it.

A/Prof Ben Beck @beckben.bsky.social · Apr 28

✅ Evidence matters. We need to get better at robustly evaluating what gets implemented. Rigorous, comparative studies are vital to provide evidence about what works and for whom, and in what contexts. We so often hear "we know what to do, we just need to do it" - which is partially true.

A/Prof Ben Beck @beckben.bsky.social · Apr 28

✅ There are lots of promising examples. This includes bike and walking school buses that boosted active travel to school by 42%.

A/Prof Ben Beck @beckben.bsky.social · Apr 28

✅ Travel behaviour is complex and people's decisions are influenced by a myriad of factors, such as safety perceptions, convenience, social norms and local contexts - and we need to make sure that combinations of interventions reflect people's needs and this complexity.

A/Prof Ben Beck @beckben.bsky.social · Apr 28

Key findings:
✅ Infrastructure is essential - high-quality infrastructure interventions (e.g. protected bike lanes, modal filters) were the most effective interventions
✅ But infrastructure is not the only way. A number of well designed behavioural interventions were shown to be effective

A/Prof Ben Beck @beckben.bsky.social · Apr 28

What works to increase active transport uptake? It's more than just infrastructure...

Led by @drlaurenpearson.bsky.social, we systematically reviewed the evidence to understand what actually works to boost walking and bike riding

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Effectiveness of interventions for modal shift to walking and bike riding: a systematic review with meta-analysis

Identification of priority interventions to support modal shift to walking and bike riding is challenged by the myriad of interventions available, and a lack of synthesised evidence for what types ...

www.tandfonline.com

A/Prof Ben Beck @beckben.bsky.social · Apr 14

Great to see the new Footscray Rd bridge open! Part 1 of the new 2.5km elevated veloway
@bikewest.org

A/Prof Ben Beck @beckben.bsky.social · Mar 16

We are hiring!

We are looking for a transport modeller, and particularly for someone who can think a bit outside of the box. A fantastic opportunity to work with our Sustainable Mobility and Safety Research Group to transform active transport modelling!

careers.pageuppeople.com/mob/513/cw/e...

Research Fellow, Active Transport Modelling

Advance sustainable transport solutions as a Research Fellow by modelling active travel and shaping future mobility.

careers.pageuppeople.com

A/Prof Ben Beck @beckben.bsky.social · Mar 7

The ride home feels a bit faster tonight! #AusGP

A/Prof Ben Beck @beckben.bsky.social · Mar 3

Great to see strong recommendations in Victoria's 30-year Infrastructure Strategy!

🚸 Make local streets safer for children and communities by reducing speed limits to 30km/h

🚲 Build 180km of safe cycling networks in Melbourne and regional cities

www.infrastructurevictoria.com.au/resources/dr...

Infrastructure Victoria | Victoria’s draft 30-year infrastructure strategy 2025-2055

www.infrastructurevictoria.com.au

Reposted by A/Prof Ben Beck

Owen Waygood @owenwaygood.bsky.social · Feb 18

Shift or improve policies? Using lifecycle GHG emissions we found greater efficiencies in terms of KMs or the number of trips shifting away from cars to #PT 🚌🚇🛤️or #AT🚶‍♀️🚲 than for #EV. This was examined based on Quebec's very low carbon content of kWh 🔌⚡ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Household transportation lifecycle greenhouse gas emission prediction

This investigation develops a model to predict household transportation life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and identifies the strongest determi…

www.sciencedirect.com

A/Prof Ben Beck @beckben.bsky.social · Feb 17

And the associated paper now published: doi.org/10.1080/2374...

Cross-country policy comparison of 30 km/h speed limits

30 km/h speed zones are one of the most cost-effective road safety interventions to enhance the safety and liveability of local streets. However, only two zones are currently implemented in the sta...

A/Prof Ben Beck @beckben.bsky.social · Feb 17

The 30kmh revolution: Rethinking speed for safer, happier streets

Our new article in @monashuniversity.bsky.social Lens: lens.monash.edu/2025/02/17/1...

@drlaurenpearson.bsky.social

The 30kmh revolution: Rethinking speed for safer, happier streets

Globally, 30kmh speed zones have been shown to enhance road safety and liveability, yet Australia lags behind, with policy implementation facing significant challenges.

lens.monash.edu

A/Prof Ben Beck @beckben.bsky.social · Feb 13

NSW Parliamentary Inquiry recommends reducing road speed limits to 30km/h in city centres and high streets around childcare centres, playgrounds and healthcare centres, and to 40km/h in all other areas

www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...

The move to drop Sydney speed limits to 30km/h and allow cyclists on footpaths

Reducing car speed limits to 30km/h and forcing e-bike riders to get insurance are among the recommendations of a months-long state parliamentary inquiry.

Reposted by A/Prof Ben Beck

David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · Feb 6

Congestion pricing seems to have triggered a surge in Manhattan pedestrian activity:

“Nearly 36M people last month were in areas south of 60th Street in Manhattan, a 4.6% boost from January 2024.” (The increase was 1.6% outside the zone.)

Suggests retail sales are growing within the zone, too.

NYC Sees Pedestrian Traffic Increase in Congestion-Pricing Zone

Pedestrian traffic on New York City’s busiest streets increased in January even after motorists began paying a new toll to drive into those same neighborhoods.

www.bloomberg.com

A/Prof Ben Beck @beckben.bsky.social · Feb 10

This is so important. It is simply a transportation choice that everyone should be afforded

Tom Flood @tomflood.bsky.social · Feb 8

To clarify as there is sometimes confusion around the advocacy of making our streets bicycle friendly.

White text on black THE BICYCLE DOESN'T HAVE TO BE FOR EVERY TRIP IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE FOR EVERY PERSON.
YOU CAN USE IT AS NEEDED AND REPLACE THE CAR TRIPS THAT ARE DOABLE FOR YOU.

Reposted by A/Prof Ben Beck

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · Feb 10

“…this extreme car dependence is affecting Americans’ quality of life, with a new study finding there is a tipping point at which more driving leads to deeper unhappiness…having to drive for more than 50% of the time for out-of-home activities is linked to a decrease in life satisfaction.”

How extreme car dependency is driving Americans to unhappiness

A car is often essential in the US but while owning a vehicle is better than not for life satisfaction, a study has found, having to drive too much sends happiness plummeting

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by A/Prof Ben Beck

David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · Jan 21

New evidence that reducing cars is good for business:

In London, retail spending was stronger after neighborhoods were added to the Urban Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ). Spending was also higher than in areas nearby but outside the ULEZ.

www.centreforcities.org/blog/ulez-ex...

A/Prof Ben Beck @beckben.bsky.social · Jan 20

🚨New SMSR publication! 🚨

The long-term impacts of road traffic crashes are substantial, yet we often overlook these impacts in road safety evaluations. Robyn Gerhard’s review highlights infrequent use of health-related quality of life and disability measures

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

A scoping review on the methods used to assess health-related quality of life and disability burden in evaluations of road safety interventions

Introduction: Road traffic crashes globally cause 1.3 million deaths yearly and the rate of nonfatal crashes is increasing. Nonfatal injuries impact l…

www.sciencedirect.com

A/Prof Ben Beck @beckben.bsky.social · Jan 16

This is rad!

Reposted by A/Prof Ben Beck

Stephen Frost @sfrost.bsky.social · Dec 18

An essential read on disability & travel. Finds:

“The most commonly mentioned barriers are pedestrian infrastructure, particularly non-existent, narrow, or uneven pavements, while wide, good quality pavements with benches ease travel to local destinations and public transport stops.”

A/Prof Ben Beck @beckben.bsky.social · Dec 17

How do we build a future where we don’t need to own a car?

Fantastic episode with @gregmarsden-leeds.bsky.social @jilliananable.bsky.social and Ian Philips - worth a listen!

open.spotify.com/episode/3i1X...

How can we build a future where we don’t need to own a car?

open.spotify.com

Reposted by A/Prof Ben Beck

Lauren Pearson @drlaurenpearson.bsky.social · Dec 6

92% of young women want to ride a bike, but participation is 4 times lower than men of the same age. Released today, our research found that young women experience unique barriers to riding a bike, and are actively looking for programs to overcome them.

www.monash.edu/medicine/sph...

PETAL Project: Unlocking young women’s access to bike-riding

Reposted by A/Prof Ben Beck

David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · Nov 29

New study finds that London's congestion charge reduced car ownership by ~7%. That's a lot!

doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...