New tool helps Australian transport meet emissions targets

Australian transport organisations may find it challenging to meet the Government's legislated Net Zero Carbon Emissions target by 2050 without the adoption of innovative technology. A new Emissions Reporting Tool from Brisbane-based netBI is designed to aid public transport authorities and operators by automatically generating reports across 100 different pollutant measures.

John Langford-Ely, CEO of netBI, acknowledged the increasing complexities faced by Public Transport Agencies and Operators today. "No longer are they responsible for managing service delivery alone; they are expected to be experts in an ever-growing list of technologies and systems that power their depots and vehicles, as well as the data that they generate. This expertise is hard to build internally, and ironically, this complexity requires more technology to help simplify matters through automation," he stated.

Langford-Ely further elaborated on the challenges related to monitoring carbon emissions, indicating that many clients struggle to handle their reporting and analytical needs through existing processes. "The process of obtaining and warehousing the data, analysing it, and pulling together the required reports takes weeks to complete when done manually. In the end, the results are often incomplete, inaccurate and difficult to audit, while the associated knowledge is hard to maintain," he explained.

He expressed excitement about the new tool, saying, "It’s exciting to see netBI’s Emissions Reporting Tool helping our clients to overcome these challenges. It’s making the process repeatable and it’s delivering confidence in the results. It's also allowing clients to analyse and report on an array of pollutant data at a much more granular level, such as by vehicle, route and trip over any time horizon."

The New Zealand Government, which has also pledged to achieve Net Zero Carbon emissions by 2050, has resulted in the Greater Wellington Regional Council working with netBI to automate the recording and reporting of its bus emissions data.

Andrew Myers, Manager of Customer Insights and Assets for Metlink, Greater Wellington Council, commented on the collaboration, stating, "We can more accurately meet Government Emissions reporting obligations and use the same data to deliver insights to other stakeholders."

Public transport users can also make emissions-conscious decisions for their chosen route when using the netBI Emissions Reporting Tool through supported journey planning apps. These apps calculate the emissions value for each journey using public transport, as well as petrol and electric vehicles for driving.

Developed in Brisbane, this technology holds potential for global government agencies to better manage their sustainability programs, especially concerning transport emissions. NetBI was also recently announced as a finalist in the QLD Export Awards Sustainability and Green Economy category.