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Brisbane Transport System for 2050
One of my favourite projects throughout my university degree was re-designing an aspect of the Brisbane transport system (or network) for the year 2050.
The approach to this task was vastly different to any other design task I've completed. A holistic 'systems thinking' approach was required, focusing on networks and services rather than products and devices.
The brief
One enjoyable aspect to this assignment was that the brief was quite broad, leaving room for interpretation. The overall objective of the task was to research futuristic trends relating to transport, be it public or private, and focus on resolving mobility issues foreseen to arise in the Brisbane area in the year 2050. Aspects such as population density, travel habits, lifestyle, and forecast technological trends all had to be considered.
As the brief didn't specify the exact region or issue to focus on, as different travel distances between different regions would require different solutions, I chose to focus on easing peak hour travel congestion in the greater Brisbane area (drawing a 30 Kilometre radius from the CBD), for travellers commuting to and from the CBD. This is a very specific problem, but seems to be the biggest problem we currently have relating to major congestion, and is forecast to only get extremely worse by 2050.
Research
To begin this project, research was the key thing needed. What were the issues causing peak hour congestion? What would they be in 30 years? How do we solve them? I started by looking at current congestion times, peak congestion points, the ultimate causes of congestion, and how Brisbane's geographical layout affects congestion.
After discovering that the western suburbs suffered from the worst congestion in Brisbane, as 19 Suburbs have access to the city via only 2 main roads, with no trains or city cats, I was adamant to focus on this issue in particular. I was also encouraged by the fact that I live and have grown up in the area and know it very well, so I was determined to create a great design solution!
An example of the 3 most common overlays and research methods I used can be seen below
Initial concept ideation
After much vigorous research and investigation, it was time to start developing initial concept ideas. These idea's would then be presented and selected before stage 2 of the assignment, which involved forming a team and collaborating with other classmates to incorporate each individual product into a transport system.
The selected design solution
While my personal favourite concept, and one I believed to be most realistic, was the Hydro-cat (A high-speed hydrofoil city cat running stops from Bellbowrie to UQ in St Lucia, before going direct to the CBD), the team decided to utilise my universal carriage idea to progress forward. This was partially due to the potential expansion of the idea, but also its ability to integrate into all public transport systems, giving each group member a transport type to focus on (Bus, train, drone etc.).
The overall Idea - "Skynet"
The physical aspect of the concept was to design a universal carriage + system that could seamlessly be incorporated into different transport networks. For example, imagine leaving the Brisbane CBD on a Bus - the bus could drive to a bus hub (Indooroopilly or Chermside etc.) and go through a procedure in which the carriage transforms into a different form of transport - for instance, a drone (Through simply attaching magnetised props). This way, all public transport vehicles (Trains, buses, drones, and city cats), could fundamentally utilise the same carriage, and users wouldn't have to switch between different transport methods, but rather the transport method switches for them. The varying transport methods would depend on the route of the vehicle - routes then had to be systematically designed to incorporate the most efficient means of transport for each particular area.
To do this, I divided Brisbane up into sectors and zones before utilising a hub & spoke styled system (Similar to how international airports operate) focusing on all major destinations. An example of this can be seen below.
Zone A = 0-3 km from CBD
Zone B = 3 - 8 km from CBD
Zone C = 8 - 12km from CBD
Zone D = 12 - 30km from CBD
Although the project was predominantly focused on holistic systems thinking, and designing a system rather than a product, a physical product had to be incorporated into the task. For this, I quickly designed and modelled my interpretation of a universal carriage using Fusion-360, before 3D printing it and attaching a small drone from eBay to demonstrate its ability.
