Around 90% of all travel in Australia is by car. While public transport usually serves CBDs well, it’s quite ineffective at travelling across suburbs, writes Alan Davies.
Public transport
How to ride a jeepney
The Philippines is renowned for its multi-coloured, highly decorated jeepneys. But these are the exception, most are drab utilitarian beasts belching smoke — but still handy for travellers. Henry Bateman explains how to use them.
Should war on obesity be a key objective of transport policy?
I know people who have the option of driving but instead take the train so they can improve their physical fitness, writes Alan Davies of The Melbourne Urbanist.
Is the iPhone why Gen Y loves public transport?
The “mystery factor” driving faster patronage growth on public transport may be Gen Y’s enthusiasm for staying connected through smartphones, writes Alan Davies, of The Melbourne Urbanist blog.
Your work commute is killing you
Getting stuck in traffic jams is dangerous for your health and your sanity. Workers with long commutes are more likely to face obesity, stress, lower levels of happiness and relationship breakdowns, says new research.
Life on the railroad: caught between state screw-ups and federal follies
More than six months after the ill-fated Brumby government rattled dozens of Footscray residents and business-owners by forgetting to tell them about a plan to bulldoze their properties to make way for the new Regional Rail Link, homeowners here are facing more uncertainty. Local resident Pat McGrath explains.
Daily Proposition: Skip rush hour — walk home
If you live within seven kilometres of the city, just go straight from work. If you live further out, get off your public transport 5-6 kilometres from home and hoof it the rest of the way. Walking to and from work is much better than spending half an hour stuck under a faceless armpit on the train, writes Crikey reader Hannah Pick.
Daily Proposition: Stop, look, listen
Turn off the iPhone and just sit and listen. Alison Drew-Forster practised the forgotten art of being idle and realised it was a cheap and easy form of entertainment.
Why Brumby lost (hint: it wasn’t the election ads)
This talk of a “sweep against Labor” is ridiculous, says Ian McAuley. Victorian Labor didn’t lose the recent election because of a failed media campaign or awkward election strategies. It lost because of years of flawed policies.
Will changing management arrangements give us better cities?
Almost everybody, it seems, from political parties to academics, think tanks and planning experts, reckons the key priority for improving planning and public transport in Melbourne is to reform the way they’re managed, writes Alan Davies, of the Melbourne Urbanist.
Public transport: time for a new plan
Yes, even green cars have negatives, but we should focus on ways of civilising the beast, writes Alan Davies, of the Melbourne Urbanist blog site.
Gillard’s rail pledge ends decades of disgraceful mismanagement
NSW, no matter what the government, cannot be trusted with infrastructure dollars, as the mal-administration of transport projects is hard-wired into the state’s public service.
How Parisians cheat the metro ticket system
The French sure know how to be freeloaders. Fare evaders on the Metro system are forming co-ops and charging a small monthly group fee to pay off fines they receive when busted without a ticket.
Senator Milne: A few stings in the tail of the boring budget
Once again, the funds allocated to renewable energy, public transport and energy efficiency pale into insignificance next to the tens of billions to roads and the military writes Australian Greens Deputy Leader Senator Christine Milne.
Do we need better cars or fewer cars?
Sustainable transport has two schools of thought. Those — often car companies — who think we should create greener cars and those who think we should encourage public transport, cycling and walking. Who’s right?
Why trains are superior to planes
Thanks to the Eyjafjallajökull shambles, other travellers are starting to learn what Ed Gillespie has known for years: travelling overland is not just good for your eco-geek credentials. It’s also a lovely way to recapture the romance of travel.
Sydney transport planning going nowhere fast
NSW premier Kristina Keneally’s new transport plan to do nothing in her political lifetime about Sydney transport shows she knew not to step on the minefield of policy obligations left by past disastrous policy decisions.
Build a bridge and get over your transport woes Melbourne
If Martin Pakula is feeling the heat after taking up the post of Victrian public transport minister, maybe he should tell Melburnians to take a holiday — to Sydney, writes Crikey intern and Sydneysider Flint Duxfield.
Sydney, a giant dementia farm in the making, cans its new Metro
Yet another Sydney transport infrastructure project — $5.3 billion underground CBD Metro — is about to be snuffed. It seems one of the few growth industries in Sydney is proposing and cancelling public transport projects.
Did Kosky deserve the criticism?
Troubled Victorian transport minister Lynne Kosky quit this week, giving Premier John Brumby a get-out-of-jail-free card for the portfolio plagued with major public transport issues. But how much was Kosky to blame?
Austin: Brumby breathes a sigh of relief
Long time VIC Labor liability Lynne Kosky quit yesterday, giving Premier John Brumby a political boon in the seriously damaged public transport portfolio, writes Paul Austin. Check out Kosky’s resignation email here.
Public transport: rebadging OK, but rebadgering of passengers is not
Victoria’s unpopular public transport system has a new logo, with bright colours and a slick, modern “customer-focused” brand. But will the same old problems remain? asks Luke Williams.
How much cash will the states get under the CPRS? Zero.
Unfortunately for those of us who ever rely on the public health, education or transport systems, the CPRS is estimated to cost state budgets more than $2.1 billion in 2013, writes executive director of the Australia Institute, Dr Richard Denniss.
We need new fast trains … fast.
We are all to blame with our pathetic mimicking of the American arrogant entitlement to drive anywhere we want. But fast rail lines, like those seen in Spain, are exactly what Australia’s public transport system needs.
Guy Rundle: We don’t need new fast trains, Albo, we need new cities
When it comes to infrastructure, what we need first and foremost are not new rail lines. Not even fast rail lines. What we need are new cities.
