Associate Professor Jonathan Bunker

Find Jonathan Bunker on

Associate Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy (Traffic Engineering) (Queensland University of Technology), Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) (Hons 1) (Queensland University of Technology)

Broad area of research: Infrastructure

Research areas Within the broad field of transport, Assoc Prof Jonathan Bunker and his research team have defined four main research areas:

  • Transit Performance
  • Traffic Engineering
  • Transport Planning
  • Road Safety

Transit Performance Transit performance deals with analysis of operation of transit systems and their components, through analysis of capacity and passenger quality of service. With rapid population expansion and densification of urban areas, transit systems need to be designed, delivered and managed with a view to more efficient and effective passenger movement that enables this mode to be favoured over private vehicle use. Transit systems also need to be properly integrated for seamless travel, and easy mode transfer in supportive pedestrian and bicycle environments. Transit nodes also need to be planned in concert with land use planning to ensure balanced travel demand.

Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Traffic engineering is multi-faceted research with the primary goal of providing and enhancing motoring safety to achieve the safe and efficient movement of people and goods throughout the world. Assoc Prof Bunker’s research deals with the planning, geometric design and traffic operations of roads and their networks, terminals, abutting lands and relationships with other modes of transportation.

  • Traffic operations, planning and management
  • Transport and location choice modelling
  • Intelligent transport systems
  • Parking management
  • Urban and non-urban freight and logistics
  • Heavy vehicle management
  • Transport systems modelling

Road safety Assoc Prof Bunker’s research deals with vulnerable road users including motorcyclists, and infrastructure asset management for safety using Risk analysis.

Engineering education and career development Assoc Prof Bunker's research focuses on understanding what influences the career trajectories of professional engineers.

Grants Funding Assoc Prof Bunker has attracted over AUD$3,600,000 in cash plus in-kind contributions in research at QUT.

Selected List of Awarded Grants

  • 2020 - 2025: Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, Transport Academic Partnership (QUT) (Assoc. Investigator).
  • 2020 - 2023: Brisbane City Council Transport Research and Innovation Hub (QUT) (Assoc. Investigator)
  • 2022: iMove Student Project Grants, Brisbane and Melbourne Bus System Benchmarking, with Victoria Department of Transport.
  • 1016 - 2018: Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, QUT Chair in Transport (Acting).
  • 2011 - 2013: Cooperative Centre for Rail Innovation. Project R1.103 Station Access. Participating with RailCorp, Queensland Rail, and The University of Queensland.
  • 2009 - 2011: Cooperative Centre for Rail Innovation. Project R2.103 Train Planning for Robust Scheduling. Participating with Australian Rail Track Corporation and UniSA.
  • 2009: Smart Transport Stakeholder Analysis. Participating with Queensland Motorways Ltd, IBM and Thales.
  • 2009: Queensland Cyber Infrastructure Foundation. Smart Mobility Demonstrator. Participating with QCIF and Thales.
  • 2008-2009: Investigation into Remote, Rural and Regional Airports Chief Investigator of External seeding grant.  Participating with Australian Airports Association.
  • 2007-2009: Asset Management of road surfacing: Risk Based Decision Support modelling for managing skid resistance QUT project leader for CRC for Integrated Engineering Asset Management.  Participating with Queensland Main Roads.
  • 2007: An Innovative Model for Engagement: Integrated Solutions to Sustainable Growth in Coastal Queensland Chief Investigator for Joint QUT/External grant. Participating with Bundaberg Port Authority, Burnett-Mary Regional Group for Natural Resource Management Inc., Qld Department of Local Government and Planning, and Queensland Sustainable Economic Development Working Group.
  • 2005: KGUV Regional Accessibility Study through QUT Sustainable Living Initiative Principal Investigator for Joint QUT/External grant.  Participating with QUT, Sustainable Living Initiative, Qld. Dept. Housing.
  • 2003-2004: Work Integrated Learning in the Bachelor of Engineering Courses Chief Investigator for QUT Large Teaching and Learning Grant.
  • 2002-2006: Impacts of Multi-combination Vehicles in Urban Areas Chief Investigator for ARC Linkage.  Participating with Queensland Main Roads, ARC.

Awards and Recognitions

  • 2020: QUT Science and Engineering Faculty Award for Excellence
  • 2011: QUT Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence Nominee
  • 2011: QUT Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Nominee for Outstanding Higher Degree Research Supervision Practice
  • 2010: QUT Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Award Supervisor Pedagogy Nominee
  • 2008: QUT Vice Chancellor’s Performance Award
  • 2008: B-HERT Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Collaboration in Research and Development, Education and Training and Community Engagement, Best Community Engagement, (QUT, Port of Brisbane Corporation and Burnett Mary Regional Group), Title: Sustainable Futures by Design (with L. Dawes, S. Satherley, Glen Thomas et al.)
  • 2007: QUT Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence Nominee

Career History

  • 2011 - Present Associate Professor in Civil and Transport Engineering, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, QUT
  • 2005 - 2011  Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering, School of Urban Development, QUT
  • 2000 - 2005 Lecturer in Civil Engineering, School of Urban Development, QUT
  • 2004 - 2006 Sessional lecturer (transport engineering), The University of Queensland
  • 1997 - 2000 Senior Transport Engineer, Eppell Olsen and Partners, Brisbane
  • 1995 - 1997 Engineering Associate (Transport), Kittelson & Associates, Inc, Portland, Oregon
  • 1992 - 1995 Sessional Tutor, School of Civil Engineering, QUT
  • 1992 - 1995 Doctoral Candidate, School of Civil Engineering, QUT
  • 1992 Research Assistant, School of Civil Engineering, QUT
  • 1990 Cadet Engineer, Queensland Rail
  • 1989 - 1991    Cadet Construction Engineer, Thiess Contractors

Additional information

Postgraduate research supervision completions While at QUT Assoc Prof Bunker has supervised to completion with his research team:

  • 12 Doctor of Philosophy scholars as Principal Supervisor
  • 10 Doctor of Philosophy scholars as Associate Supervisor
  • 4 Master of Engineering by Research scholars as Principal Supervisor
  • 1 Master of Engineering by Research scholar as Associate Supervisor

External collaborations Within the broad field of planning, Assoc Prof Bunker and his research team have strong collaborations with:

  • Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads
  • Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, USA
  • Australian Rail Track Corporation

Interests and community service

  • 2016 - present: Secretary, Standing Committee on Transit Capacity and Quality of Service, Transportation Research Board (USA)
  • 2008 - 2010: National President, Australian Institute of Traffic Planning and Management
Type
Appointment to State/National/International Reference Group or Government Committees
Reference year
2016
Details
Secretary of the Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Committee, Standing Committee AP015, of the Transportation Research Board.
Type
Advisor/Consultant for Industry
Reference year
2016
Details
Advisor to Queensland Transport and Main Roads on transport research and education matters, through the QTMR/QUT/UQ/GU Academic Strategic Transport Research Alliance.(Supporting QUT Chair Prof Simon Washington.)
Type
Appointment to Prestigious Positions
Reference year
2008
Details
National President, Australian Institute of Traffic Planning and Management. Functions include Chairman of National Council and National Executive, Oversight of Corporate Governance of the Institute, President's Report in National Newsletter, Appearances and Presentations at official events and conferences, Sponsorship Oversight.
Type
Reviewer for an Academic Journal
Reference year
2016
Details
Invited manuscript reviewer of 6 manuscripts: Transportation Research Record, Journal of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, USA: 1. Study on the potential capacity of curb lane at ramp merging sections of interchange, Manuscript no. 15-2894. 2. Avoiding bunching with bus-following models and bus-to-bus cooperation, Manuscript no. 15-1770. 3. Analysing passenger arrival rates and waiting times at bus stops, Manuscript no. 15-0818. 4. Exploring rail transit bus-tram feeder transfer penalties using revealed preference method, Manuscript no. 15-1516. 5. Evaluation of bus stops' impacts on passengers' walking time, Manuscript no. 15-1058.6. The impacts of moving block signalling on technical efficiency: An application of propensity score matching on urban metro rail systems, Manuscript no. 15-2694.
Type
Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
Reference year
2014
Details
Invited to deliver presentation, "TCQSM Applications for Education", Applying the Transit Capacity and Quality of Service 3rd Edition Workshop, Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., 12 January 2014.
Type
Reviewer for an Academic Journal
Reference year
2014
Details
Invited reviewer of manuscript: Analysis of vehicle acceleration profiles at signalised intersections by Markov chain, Manuscript no. TRC-D-14-00136. Transportation Research C, for Prof Matthew Karlaftis, Elsevier.
Type
Editor/Contributor of a Prestigious Work of Reference
Reference year
2013
Details
Co-editor, Proceedings of the Australasian Transport Research Forum, 2 - 4 October 2013, Brisbane.
Type
Reviewer for an Academic Journal
Reference year
2013
Details
Invited manuscript reviewer: An optimal aircraft fleet management decision model under uncertainty, Manuscript no. ATR-12-0084.R2. Journal of Advanced Transportation, for Prof William Lam, Hong Kong Poly U, Editor.
Type
Advisor/Consultant for Industry
Reference year
2012
Details
Co-delivered 4 CRC RI Project R1.133 Urban Passenger Rail Workshops to industry partners in Brisbane (UQ, 23/3/12), Perth (PTA, 28/3/12), Melbourne (Vic DoT, 30/3/12), and Brisbane (TransLink, 4/12/12).
Type
Advisor/Consultant for Community
Reference year
2013
Details
Interviewed by Maria Hatzakis, 7:30 Queensland, ABC, interviewed on South East Queensland Public Transport Quality 1/3/13, aired Friday 15/3/13.
  • Northern Territory Remote Indigenous Extractive and Infrastructure Projects: A logical framework for community engagement
    PhD, Associate Supervisor
    Other supervisors: Associate Professor Vaughan Coffey