Car culture in Melbourne... at a standstill
All the news that isn't news at all to anyone who's caught a train or tram in the last year. Gridlock choking the life out of city Not only are there far too many cars on the roads, they're blocking tram traffic... And the train system is so good the Government is considering asking schools to schedule classes at different times so students can avoid travelling at peak hour. Hmm. Sure, that sounds like a great idea. In another reality.
Aren't we all glad the public transport system was sold to companies interested in making a profit, rather than providing service?
To show that we've learned nothing in the last twenty years about public transport, the latest move is not to return control of the system to the Government and employ someone, anyone, who knows something about it and feels motivated to get it all in working order, but to spend $500 million on a new ticketing system!
The "myki" is apparently pronounced "my key", however there's no prizes for guessing it won't be called that. Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favour of spending a lot more money on public transport... But surely it should be spent on an aspect which will make some difference for people trying to get to work or school?
At the same time the papers are making noise about how bad the roads and public transport are, they've been giving cyclists a pretty hard time and continue to report on cycling as if it were a "last resort" to car culture, primarily the domain of drug users and adrenaline junkies. Over at Le Rayon Vert, Stu was considering a run in he'd had with some idiot driver recently and wondering if our attitude to cars approaches something like religious intolerance.
Chris and Treadly sometimes wonder what traffic in bike lanes will be like when lots more people take up riding... Personally I'm not worried. With that number of cars off the road it will be much safer to ride on the tarmack. With that many cars left at home in garages in favour of a cleaner, healthier mode of transport, the back of car culture will hopefully be broken and we can move on to being intolerant about something new.
Melbourne does not yet have a "workable public transport system" that could provide an alternative to car travel for a wider group of road users.
Overcrowding is now a significant problem, with eight of the 14 key rail lines at or over capacity.
The tram system is underperforming due to congestion and lack of on-street priority. This problem is likely to grow in the future.
With an average speed of 15 km/h, Melbourne's trams are already among the slowest 20 per cent in the world.
Aren't we all glad the public transport system was sold to companies interested in making a profit, rather than providing service?
To show that we've learned nothing in the last twenty years about public transport, the latest move is not to return control of the system to the Government and employ someone, anyone, who knows something about it and feels motivated to get it all in working order, but to spend $500 million on a new ticketing system!
The "myki" is apparently pronounced "my key", however there's no prizes for guessing it won't be called that. Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favour of spending a lot more money on public transport... But surely it should be spent on an aspect which will make some difference for people trying to get to work or school?
At the same time the papers are making noise about how bad the roads and public transport are, they've been giving cyclists a pretty hard time and continue to report on cycling as if it were a "last resort" to car culture, primarily the domain of drug users and adrenaline junkies. Over at Le Rayon Vert, Stu was considering a run in he'd had with some idiot driver recently and wondering if our attitude to cars approaches something like religious intolerance.
Chris and Treadly sometimes wonder what traffic in bike lanes will be like when lots more people take up riding... Personally I'm not worried. With that number of cars off the road it will be much safer to ride on the tarmack. With that many cars left at home in garages in favour of a cleaner, healthier mode of transport, the back of car culture will hopefully be broken and we can move on to being intolerant about something new.
posted by Crowlie at
12:54 PM
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