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This chapter focusses primarily on the short-term measures and policy reactions of transport operators and regulators to the COVID-19 pandemic throughout 2020/2021 (such as the introduction of physical distancing and mask wearing) but also considers those policies which directly influence public transport (such as parking management and working from home). Emphasis is placed on the experience in a number of jurisdictions to identify the influence of varying governmental level responses to the pandemic. The approaches of different jurisdictions are compared using a narrative approach to help identify policy narrative elements by policy actors as the pandemic unfolded. Such an approach enables us to focus on how decision-makers can learn from the COVID-19 experience to better react to future unexpected incidents. In identifying the future policy implications and challenges, the chapter suggests that strategic planning will need to respond to both the ‘current normal’ and the ‘next normal’, and will require flexibility and tight integration between urban planning and public transport planning, as well as private transport and long-distance transport. The chapter also highlights the importance of learning from the experience of other jurisdictions and disciplines (such as disaster management) and offers suggestions for further research.

This chapter introduces the concept of the Shared Mobility Services Agency for the planning and managing of collective transport services at urban and regional level.

Building on previous work which established the concept of the Flexible Transport Service (FTS) Agency as a single co-ordination centre for different flexible services, this chapter extends the concept to consolidate the role of the Agency as a Shared Mobility Centre, including the integration of different on-demand or New Mobility Services and the co-ordination of different key actors in a co-modal approach. Specific attention is given to the enabling information and communication technology (ICT) architecture and standards and to the actions needed for consolidating the Agency’s role.

Findings indicate the fundamental role of the Public Transport Authority (local or regional) to enable the implementation of the concept. Priorities include: recognizing the Agency as an added value service for the area; supporting possible interaction/synergy among different Dispatch Centres and/or with other paratransit services; and defining a specific set of indicators measuring the quality and quantitative of service that are different from those of the conventional transport service.

In a time when household and public expenditure are under pressure, coupled with rapid technology progress (especially enhanced connectivity) the shared mobility services Agency offers a co-ordinated solution to planning and managing collective transport services, including New Mobility Services (represented by recent solutions like Uber, Sidecar, Lyft and BlaBlaCar) which are not yet integrated with traditional transport services.

This chapter presents a novel visualisation tool, known as Flexible Integrated Transport Services (FITS) that transport commissioners, providers and administrators could employ to specify and edit the operating constraints as they redesign transport services.

The context of rural transport planning is discussed noting that where resources are fewer, effective co-ordination is required to provide passengers with efficient transport services. An overview of the FITS visualisation tool and its different sub-systems (e.g. general information regarding services, operating area, passenger eligibility, fare structure and surcharge structure) is given. Additionally, some key computational details of the system are discussed. Preliminary results of a sample case study that trialled the FITS tool in a specific test run, using simulated transport to health data in the Morayshire and North-West Aberdeenshire area of Scotland are presented. The concluding discussion considers the potential impact of employing tools like FITS in planning transport services in rural and low-demand settings.

Results from the case study show how these effects could be quantified in terms of changes in costs incurred by transport providers, the level of potential demand that could be covered and the associated revenues (fares and subsidies) which could be generated by providers.

The FITS visualisation tool has the potential to act as a planning tool to help transport commissioners, providers and administrators visualise the effects of shifting operating boundaries of flexible transport services.

This chapter provides the context for this book and highlights how the different chapters contribute to a greater understanding of how the flexible transport future may emerge.

This chapter reviews the content of the book, drawing together the threads to provide insights into the important issues and policies around the world both in practice and for the future.

This book benefits from the papers presented at the TRB-sponsored International Paratransit Conference, “Shaping the New Future of Paratransit,” held in Monterey, CA in the United States (US) in October 2014. Over and above this, chapters were commissioned so as to provide a broader understanding of context and operations. The present is affected by the common problem of the silo nature of funding for transport and the need for innovative solutions to develop partnership working and business models which in turn will allow paratransit or flexible transport systems (FTS) to flourish. This chapter also points to the considerable contribution of the chapters which look to the flexible transport future. These detail the way in which our understanding of mobility must change, the role of technology as an enabler, and the way in which automation will change each mobility mode and the connections between them.

This chapter offers a multidimensional perspective of the current status, operational aspects, and a wealth of case study material to underpin policy and practice in paratransit or FTS. Its particular value is centered on providing not only practice-focused policy content but research content which postulates how the flexible future may need to be influenced to emerge in a way to add to sustainability.

Supervision remains a significant issue in our regulatory framework. The cases surrounding this concept are ongoing and the law evolving. This article explores the newer “red flag” supervision cases; discussing the implications and the duties that perhaps attach as a result of this developing case law. It also explores some concrete examples of what supervisors should do when confronted with relevant information.

Social media are central to the creation and maintenance of social relations, including romantic relations. While much of the scholarship has examined how social media play a role in the initiation and maintenance of romantic relations, little is known about their role in romantic dissolution. This chapter fills this gap by examining the kinds of strategies young adults employ to cope with the aftermath of a romantic breakup complicated by Facebook. Based on qualitative analysis of 10 interviews with young adults, the authors propose a typology of Facebook coping strategies for romantic breakups. The typology includes seven types of coping strategies with 12 subtopics and 25 specific actions linked to the subtopics. The authors find that those coping with a breakup engage in erasing and avoiding breakup reminders and digital traces, as they perceive them as hurtful. They regulate their use of Facebook and limit Facebook communication with the ex. An important coping strategy used was to express their emotions via Facebook content, often aimed at the ex-partner. They also use Facebook to seek support and new information about the ex, including about potential new romantic interests. Others preferred to avoid information about the ex and either deleted the ex and their friends or chose to unsubscribe to updates. Coping strategies included preventative measures such as changing passwords, blocking the ex, and adjusting privacy settings. We found our participants engaged in both goal-directed and emotionally based coping strategies. Yet, the findings suggest a tendency to rely more extensively on goal-directed coping strategies by actively addressing the breakup stressor. We also note that coping strategies specific to Facebook are more likely to be used than traditional offline forms of coping. This exploratory study serves as a starting point to better understand the role that Facebook plays in mediating online behaviors following a romantic dissolution, such that these strategies can be subsequently evaluated in terms of usefulness in clinical coping recommendations.

COVID-19 has changed the landscape within which we travel. Working from Home (WFH) in many countries has increased significantly, and while it was often forced on a society it has delivered some unintended positive consequences associated in particular with the levels of congestion on the roads and crowding on public transport. With a likelihood of some amount of WFH continuing as we move out of the active COVID-19 period, the question being asked is whether the post-COVID-19 period will return the pre-COVID-19 levels of traffic congestion and crowding. In many jurisdictions, there is a desire to avoid this circumstance and to use WFH as a policy lever that has appeal to employees, employers and government planning agencies in order to find ways of better managing future levels of congestion and crowding. This chapter uses the ongoing research and surveys we have been undertaking in Australia since March 2020 to track behavioural responses that impact on commuting and non-commuting travel, and to examine what the evidence tells us about opportunities into the future in many geographical settings to better manage congestion and crowding. This is linked to a desire by employers to maintain WFH where it makes sense as a way of not only supporting sustainability charters but also the growing interest in a commitment to a broader social licence. We discuss ways in which WFH can contribute to flattening peaks in travel; but also the plans that some public transport authorities are putting in place to ensure that crowding on public transport is mitigated as people increasingly return to using public transport. Whereas we might have thought that we now have plenty of public transport capacity, this may not be the case if we want to control crowding, and more capacity may be needed which could be a challenge for trains more than buses given track capacity limits. We conclude the chapter by summarising some of the positive benefits associated with WFH, and the implications not just for transport but for society more widely.

Despite the widespread attribution that stressful crucible experiences result in important individual developmental change within leaders, a deeper exploration of the mechanisms of that change is warranted. Likewise, literature linking the crucible and individual change to social and organizational considerations, including how organizations can plan for and sponsor institutionalized crucibles, is sparse. Thus, the intent of this chapter is to begin to synthesize the crucible, cognitive development, and stress literatures to show important linkages, risks, and outcomes, then provide a basic blueprint of planning considerations for organizations that desire to establish their own crucible events that target leader development.