It is clear our transport problems are increasing. The Age has stated we need more trains. Others have suggested we need a European style public transport system. We also need a system that responds to our growing environmental crisis. All of these are simplistic band aid responses to a growing problem that is rapidly becoming unsustainable. The reality is there are no simple single fix solutions, but the crisis we are facing is not on the roads or train tracks, it is the lack of ideas and a plan on how to address it.
This was the conclusion we arrived at when TfM was formed nearly ten years ago and was the subject of our first forum in 2013. Put simply, our governments have failed to learn lessons from cities that have become models of international best practice; cities that have confronted similar problems and apply these lessons here. More fundamentally, successive governments have failed to understand transport itself and how it functions as a service industry. Governments continue to see “solutions” in terms of infrastructure, arguing we don’t have enough of it. Our State government continues to spend huge sums of money on building more, whilst neglecting service and institutional issues that must be addressed if we are to achieve better transport outcomes.
TfM has discussed these issues at our forums and provided advice on how they can be addressed. They are also addressed in our Charter. We have asked “Where is the Plan”, outlined actions to address governance issues, practical measures to improve public transport and transport more generally, provided advice on the future we must plan for and strategic responses to the challenges we face in the future. Our focus has been on service issues that determine the way people and businesses travel and transport goods and services, on better management and more efficient utilisation of existing infrastructure and ensuring infrastructure investment is made in areas of real need. The cost of these responses is modest compared to the massive spending on transport infrastructure today.
Service issues continue to dominate Victoria’s transport system. Many of the problems are a direct result of disruption caused by the government’s Big Build infrastructure program. Train services are regularly disrupted by level crossing works, requiring substitute buses which significantly add to travel time and make them far less convenient for travellers. This degradation in service results in loss of patronage which is very difficult to recover and more traffic on the roads. It is much easier to get new passengers than get back old travellers. Services continue to be disrupted by maintenance (as well as construction) operations – many of which used to be carried out at night in a way that did not disrupt services.
Construction activities on road and building projects is also resulting in significant disruption which is adding to congestion and traffic pollution. The impact is reflected in growing health problems as well as increasing greenhouse emissions. Service quality should be the driver for all transport planning, particularly for personal travel. There are many dimensions to this and they need to be understood and addressed. This focus must apply to all travel modes, including active transport and will become increasingly critical in the future if we are to wean people off high emission vehicles onto low or close to zero emission modes such as walking and cycling.
Increasing travel demands are also fuelled by city planning policies and government policies at a state and federal level that continue to promote growth and hyper mobility. Whilst “solutions” should be straight forward they are politically complex and challenging and require a radical change of mindset – a change that is unlikely to happen soon unless there is significant political pressure on governments to do so.