19 April 2016

Age a key factor in light rail support

| Charlotte
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Light rail

A majority of older Canberrans are anti-light rail but overall capital residents are for the Capital Metro according to new survey results.

Only 46% of over-65s are pro-light rail compared to 67% of 35-49-year-olds.

ACT Minister for Capital Metro Simon Corbell has released a summary of data from surveys undertaken by Piazza Research for the government showing the level of support for light rail overall has remained steady at 54-56% over the past 16 months.

The full report is online here.

Support for light rail increased to 67% when people knew it was part of a wider plan to connect the whole city with an integrated transport system, the Minister said.

“Light rail helps attract new people to public transport with 61% of respondents saying they were more likely to use public transport if it involved light rail,” he said.

The most recent survey showed 49% of people considered traffic congestion a problem now and 69% believed it would be in the future.

Sixty-three per cent (63%) of ACT residents agreed or strongly agreed that the Capital Metro development will provide a good economic stimulus to the Canberra economy.

Statistics on the government’s motives for investing in light rail showed 43% believed the move was to upgrade or improve transport options. Twenty nine per cent (29%) thought it was to reduce or prevent traffic congestion, and 24% believed it was for political reasons.

“While there is a very vocal minority opposition to this project it is clear that the majority of Canberrans want investment in a modern, reliable public transport system that will provide for them both today and into the future,” Mr Corbell said.

Each of the Piazza Research surveys contained sample groups of at least 1190 people and were therefore accurate to within a +/- 2.8% margin of error, providing a 95% confidence interval for the results.

The government issued the research after The Canberra Times ran a report on a survey of its own this morning. The Canberra Times survey was based on a larger sample size of more than 7000, but rather than being random like those of Piazza Research, was self-selecting. Visitors to The Canberra Times website chose to participate rather than being randomly selected from the broader population which would include those who don’t access the Fairfax paper’s website generally or didn’t during that period, and perhaps more of those who don’t have strong views on the light rail either way. A self-selecting sample such as this can’t be generalized to the entire ACT population as a random sample could.

Inherent bias aside, the survey found support for the light rail line was at 49% with opposition to it at 47%. Some 4% were undecided.

The ACT Opposition spokesman on transport Alistair Coe pounced on the newspaper’s flawed survey results, saying they demonstrated most Canberrans didn’t support the light rail line between Gungahlin and the City.

“This is despite the ACT government spending $50 million to progress light rail, including a large amount of taxpayers’ money to promote light rail over the last year,” he said.

“The poll also shows that the majority of Canberrans [read: the majority of a self-selected group of Canberra Times website readers] would rather see investment in buses over light rail, with 52 percent of Canberrans [read: 50% of a self-selected group of Canberra Times website readers] believing that taxpayers’ money would be better spent on improving the bus network. This is compared to the 41 percent who support building light rail over investing in the bus network.

“The Canberra Liberals believe that investment in our bus network is the best way to improve public transport in Canberra. Buses provide a sensible low-cost option which will improve public transport services for all Canberrans.

“Investing in the bus network instead of light rail will also free up money to spend in other critical areas such as health and education.

“Overall, the results show that light rail is a divisive issue in Canberra. It is more confirmation that the ACT government should delay signing the contracts to build light rail until all Canberrans can have their say on the project at the October 2016 Election,” Mr Coe concluded.

 

 

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Postalgeek said :

rubaiyat said :

Postalgeek said :

rubaiyat said :

OpenYourMind said :

Do you support light rail, yes. Do you hate traffic congestion, yes. Do you realise a tram will add to the traffic congestion on Northbourne Ave….oh 🙁 Do you support light rail, yes. Do you realise our rates are already rising at an alarming rate and things will get worse with light rail, all at a time when this town’s many public servants are getting no pay rises…oh 🙁 Do you support light rail, yes. Will you use it, oh yes. Right, sure you will, like you use the buses now…oh 🙁

Do you support the tram (with cables) yes, do you want the tram to go to more of Canberra, of course. Do you realise those trams with overhead wires can’t do that….oh 🙁 Now….3.2.1. wait for the comment from Rubaiyat. If Rubaiyat got a $1 for every word he blogs blindly in support of the tram, he may well be able to fund the preposterous cost of the tram for us.

Do you hate traffic congestion, yes.

Do you realise more cars will add to the traffic congestion on Northbourne Ave? OH!!!! 🙁

Why are you opposing people getting off the road and using a clean alternative instead? DOH!

Stop using the absolute word ‘clean’. Anything made from modern materials is going to involve byproduct and emission from manufacturing through to trucks hauling away dirt and oils used for lubrication. By all means use the word ‘cleaner’ if you know that there is relatively less waste/emission, but stop saying ‘clean’. Walking in bare feet might be able to be considered ‘clean’, but that’s about it.

Only if you stop using the absolutist term “stop”.

I don’t have to hold my breath standing next to a tram or even raise my voice to speak. That’s clean enough for me and seeing cars churn out 20x the pollution of even the dirtiest passenger rail service the whole issue is a lay down mezzeir for light rail.

Cars are not made of unicorn dust, but whatever they are made of the usual single driver has to leave one or two tonnes of it litering our streets wherever he goes and the roads use many times as many resources as light rail. None of it carbon neutral.

I stand by light rail as absolutely not only being many times cheaper than cars for transport but “Clean” with a capital C.

You may accept your sidewalk coffee sprinkled with break pad dust and aroma blended with car exahaust, I am more particular.

I don’t drink coffee.

And along with that assumption stop making the facile assumption that everyone who doesn’t support light rail as appropriate for Canberra is against low-emission alternative transport as a whole.

Then don’t make the facile assumption that everyone is you, whether they drink coffee or not.

Allow that other people than you will be happy to take the Light Rail to work or simply to catch it up and down the line. If they do they will not be adding to the cars and buses polluting our city. The more that do the less noise, hazard and pollution.

Perhaps older Canberrans are against the Capital Metro light rail proposal because they (the older ones) better understand the raw economics of the deal.
Even before the first wheel has turned, Capital Metro has appointed a board consisting of one chairman and eight members who are collectively paid about $450,000 a year for what appears to be rubber stamping whatever the government has decided.
Assuming the average price of each tram ticket is $5 and the initial passenger numbers are 5,000 trips a day, this means that for the first 18 days of each year total gross fare income will be allocated to this function.
In the first year of operation the number of days will be much higher as the board has already been formed and it is drawing salaries so the money will have to be capitalised.
Blind ideology costs.

rubaiyat said :

Postalgeek said :

rubaiyat said :

OpenYourMind said :

Do you support light rail, yes. Do you hate traffic congestion, yes. Do you realise a tram will add to the traffic congestion on Northbourne Ave….oh 🙁 Do you support light rail, yes. Do you realise our rates are already rising at an alarming rate and things will get worse with light rail, all at a time when this town’s many public servants are getting no pay rises…oh 🙁 Do you support light rail, yes. Will you use it, oh yes. Right, sure you will, like you use the buses now…oh 🙁

Do you support the tram (with cables) yes, do you want the tram to go to more of Canberra, of course. Do you realise those trams with overhead wires can’t do that….oh 🙁 Now….3.2.1. wait for the comment from Rubaiyat. If Rubaiyat got a $1 for every word he blogs blindly in support of the tram, he may well be able to fund the preposterous cost of the tram for us.

Do you hate traffic congestion, yes.

Do you realise more cars will add to the traffic congestion on Northbourne Ave? OH!!!! 🙁

Why are you opposing people getting off the road and using a clean alternative instead? DOH!

Stop using the absolute word ‘clean’. Anything made from modern materials is going to involve byproduct and emission from manufacturing through to trucks hauling away dirt and oils used for lubrication. By all means use the word ‘cleaner’ if you know that there is relatively less waste/emission, but stop saying ‘clean’. Walking in bare feet might be able to be considered ‘clean’, but that’s about it.

Only if you stop using the absolutist term “stop”.

I don’t have to hold my breath standing next to a tram or even raise my voice to speak. That’s clean enough for me and seeing cars churn out 20x the pollution of even the dirtiest passenger rail service the whole issue is a lay down mezzeir for light rail.

Cars are not made of unicorn dust, but whatever they are made of the usual single driver has to leave one or two tonnes of it litering our streets wherever he goes and the roads use many times as many resources as light rail. None of it carbon neutral.

I stand by light rail as absolutely not only being many times cheaper than cars for transport but “Clean” with a capital C.

You may accept your sidewalk coffee sprinkled with break pad dust and aroma blended with car exahaust, I am more particular.

I don’t drink coffee.

And along with that assumption stop making the facile assumption that everyone who doesn’t support light rail as appropriate for Canberra is against low-emission alternative transport as a whole.

OpenYourMind10:46 pm 20 Oct 15

rubaiyat said :

Postalgeek said :

rubaiyat said :

OpenYourMind said :

Do you support light rail, yes. Do you hate traffic congestion, yes. Do you realise a tram will add to the traffic congestion on Northbourne Ave….oh 🙁 Do you support light rail, yes. Do you realise our rates are already rising at an alarming rate and things will get worse with light rail, all at a time when this town’s many public servants are getting no pay rises…oh 🙁 Do you support light rail, yes. Will you use it, oh yes. Right, sure you will, like you use the buses now…oh 🙁

Do you support the tram (with cables) yes, do you want the tram to go to more of Canberra, of course. Do you realise those trams with overhead wires can’t do that….oh 🙁 Now….3.2.1. wait for the comment from Rubaiyat. If Rubaiyat got a $1 for every word he blogs blindly in support of the tram, he may well be able to fund the preposterous cost of the tram for us.

Do you hate traffic congestion, yes.

Do you realise more cars will add to the traffic congestion on Northbourne Ave? OH!!!! 🙁

Why are you opposing people getting off the road and using a clean alternative instead? DOH!

Stop using the absolute word ‘clean’. Anything made from modern materials is going to involve byproduct and emission from manufacturing through to trucks hauling away dirt and oils used for lubrication. By all means use the word ‘cleaner’ if you know that there is relatively less waste/emission, but stop saying ‘clean’. Walking in bare feet might be able to be considered ‘clean’, but that’s about it.

Only if you stop using the absolutist term “stop”.

I don’t have to hold my breath standing next to a tram or even raise my voice to speak. That’s clean enough for me and seeing cars churn out 20x the pollution of even the dirtiest passenger rail service the whole issue is a lay down mezzeir for light rail.

Cars are not made of unicorn dust, but whatever they are made of the usual single driver has to leave one or two tonnes of it litering our streets wherever he goes and the roads use many times as many resources as light rail. None of it carbon neutral.

I stand by light rail as absolutely not only being many times cheaper than cars for transport but “Clean” with a capital C.

You may accept your sidewalk coffee sprinkled with break pad dust and aroma blended with car exahaust, I am more particular.

I get that you don’t like cars or lower density living and you have a utopian view different to that which is Canberra now. But there’s a heck of a lot of Canberrans who are very content with what we have now. Some of these Canberrans are very middle of the road, have a 3 or 4 beddy house, a couple of cars and a pretty reasonable commute. This hasn’t changed dramatically in the past 30 or 40 years and isn’t about to radically shift now. Sure, Gunghalin has some traffic problems, but they can be remedied. The airport had a bit of a traffic snarl and that was fixed. I get that in a big, big city cars end up ceasing to be the solution, but this is Canberra. We are happily spread out and unlikely to quadruple in population any time before technology changes everything again.

Rubaiyat, why are you so scared of new technology? Electric cars, self driving cars & mini buses (not requiring parking infrastructure), capacitor buses, telecommuting, global internet economy, share economy – these are all going to challenge a tram that has a single destination.

Postalgeek said :

rubaiyat said :

OpenYourMind said :

Do you support light rail, yes. Do you hate traffic congestion, yes. Do you realise a tram will add to the traffic congestion on Northbourne Ave….oh 🙁 Do you support light rail, yes. Do you realise our rates are already rising at an alarming rate and things will get worse with light rail, all at a time when this town’s many public servants are getting no pay rises…oh 🙁 Do you support light rail, yes. Will you use it, oh yes. Right, sure you will, like you use the buses now…oh 🙁

Do you support the tram (with cables) yes, do you want the tram to go to more of Canberra, of course. Do you realise those trams with overhead wires can’t do that….oh 🙁 Now….3.2.1. wait for the comment from Rubaiyat. If Rubaiyat got a $1 for every word he blogs blindly in support of the tram, he may well be able to fund the preposterous cost of the tram for us.

Do you hate traffic congestion, yes.

Do you realise more cars will add to the traffic congestion on Northbourne Ave? OH!!!! 🙁

Why are you opposing people getting off the road and using a clean alternative instead? DOH!

Stop using the absolute word ‘clean’. Anything made from modern materials is going to involve byproduct and emission from manufacturing through to trucks hauling away dirt and oils used for lubrication. By all means use the word ‘cleaner’ if you know that there is relatively less waste/emission, but stop saying ‘clean’. Walking in bare feet might be able to be considered ‘clean’, but that’s about it.

Only if you stop using the absolutist term “stop”.

I don’t have to hold my breath standing next to a tram or even raise my voice to speak. That’s clean enough for me and seeing cars churn out 20x the pollution of even the dirtiest passenger rail service the whole issue is a lay down mezzeir for light rail.

Cars are not made of unicorn dust, but whatever they are made of the usual single driver has to leave one or two tonnes of it litering our streets wherever he goes and the roads use many times as many resources as light rail. None of it carbon neutral.

I stand by light rail as absolutely not only being many times cheaper than cars for transport but “Clean” with a capital C.

You may accept your sidewalk coffee sprinkled with break pad dust and aroma blended with car exahaust, I am more particular.

Charlotte Harper said :

Hi, so I just had a long talk to the research company and will write their response to your questions up as a separate story and post it first thing tomorrow.

Thanks for checking it out – it promises to be interesting reading.
There were some allegations a while ago about people having their cell phone numbers “harvested” when they texted a certain local radio station. The numbers were classified as “for” and “against” the issue being canvassed for comment.
Some callers were later contacted by direct calls from third parties to give opinions on other matters that were predictable in outcome due to the radio station data collected.
There is some good insight in to cell phone polling in the USA at this link:http://www.people-press.org/methodology/collecting-survey-data/cell-phone-surveys/

OpenYourMind said :

I’m not opposed to public transport. The tram simply doesn’t work for Canberra. Canberra’s is a low density city well suited to the car. For the most part, we don’t have traffic problems. Sure Gunghalin needs a little attention, but plenty of cities with quadruple our population are still very livable and drivable with a car focus. By the time our city grows much more, technology will make trams seem plain silly.

I’m not even convinced the tram is going to be any cleaner than cars (VW excepted). Our future generation of cars will be electric with recyclable batteries etc.

In the other active thread on the tram, you keep pushing your barrow of high density living. This is Canberra, not New York. Many Canberrans love the spread out feel of our beautiful city and don’t want a single high rise city centre. Sure, density in newer suburbs has increased, however many Canberrans who start out in apartments, get married, have kids and then want their decent patch of land. If you hate the low density living and high car use of Canberra, why do you still live here?

Funnily enough, the tram might be counterproductive to your grand design in that if rates get forced too high, more people will live outside of the ACT border and commute in.

canthetram.org

So because you don’t want high density living and a high density transport corridor we shouldn’t build one. Will all the Nimby’s be happy when the house gets sold next door and a new medium density townhouse gets built?

The thing is Light rail is not going to work for all of Canberra. We need rapid transit from Tuggeranong, Woden and Belconnen IMO. But the opposition to this never states a solution. There is no viable solution that involves building bigger roads and more carparks. I can at least see that the light rail and associated high density corridor will ease pressure on parking, housing and ultimately traffic congestion.

If you want low density living you can still get it, although they are pushing the definition of low density in Gungahlin. However we can’t keep building low density and more roads. It won’t work, no city has ever got it to work very well at all. The light rail are giving people options. why is it difficult to accept that a significan number of Canberrans do want to live in an apartment and not own a car if they don’t have to? I know several people in sydney who do that. If you want the low density car option its still there. Without light rail, traffic is going to get worse as we cram more people into medium density further from the city. Seems like common sense to create an option near the city with public transport. Please enlighten me on an alternative common sense approach, to add more people to the city while keeping the roads as good as they are now with enough parking in the city to cater for the cars.

Pretty much every week there is a disaster story about Canberra hospitals, eg heres today’s

“The ANMF and its members do not consider that the ACT Health Directorate has met its obligations under the ACT Public Service Nursing and Midwifery Enterprise Agreement 2013-17 to ensure safe staffing levels in the ICU,” she said.
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/nurses-lose-confidence-in-canberra-hospital-management-and-lodge-industrial-dispute-20151019-gkcuy6.html

Barr doesn’t care, he wants his vanity green legacy project and leave the poor state of infrastructure and services in Canberra to future generations. Not to mention the roads in Gungahlin which is pathetic for the 50k people that live there.

Most logical people would welcome light rail if Canberra had it basics sorted which it doesn’t.

Charlotte Harper said :

I think there may be privacy implications with that one.

Well, try and answer me this then.
If a lot of the calls are made to mobile numbers (which are unlisted), so how does the pollster know which mobile number to call?
There must be a list provided of numbers that relate to Canberra people only so who is providing that list?
If random calls are being made to mobile numbers does this mean people in Perth or Darwin or Woop Woop are having their answers logged?

Charlotte Harper11:40 am 20 Oct 15

Have put a call in to Piazza Research for you to find out but got voicemail. Will post answer here when they call back.

Charlotte Harper1:15 pm 20 Oct 15

Hi, so I just had a long talk to the research company and will write their response to your questions up as a separate story and post it first thing tomorrow.

OpenYourMind said :

rubaiyat said :

OpenYourMind said :

Do you support light rail, yes. Do you hate traffic congestion, yes. Do you realise a tram will add to the traffic congestion on Northbourne Ave….oh 🙁 Do you support light rail, yes. Do you realise our rates are already rising at an alarming rate and things will get worse with light rail, all at a time when this town’s many public servants are getting no pay rises…oh 🙁 Do you support light rail, yes. Will you use it, oh yes. Right, sure you will, like you use the buses now…oh 🙁

Do you support the tram (with cables) yes, do you want the tram to go to more of Canberra, of course. Do you realise those trams with overhead wires can’t do that….oh 🙁 Now….3.2.1. wait for the comment from Rubaiyat. If Rubaiyat got a $1 for every word he blogs blindly in support of the tram, he may well be able to fund the preposterous cost of the tram for us.

Do you hate traffic congestion, yes.

Do you realise more cars will add to the traffic congestion on Northbourne Ave? OH!!!! 🙁

Why are you opposing people getting off the road and using a clean alternative instead? DOH!

I’m not opposed to public transport. The tram simply doesn’t work for Canberra. Canberra’s is a low density city well suited to the car. For the most part, we don’t have traffic problems. Sure Gunghalin needs a little attention, but plenty of cities with quadruple our population are still very livable and drivable with a car focus. By the time our city grows much more, technology will make trams seem plain silly.

I’m not even convinced the tram is going to be any cleaner than cars (VW excepted). Our future generation of cars will be electric with recyclable batteries etc.

In the other active thread on the tram, you keep pushing your barrow of high density living. This is Canberra, not New York. Many Canberrans love the spread out feel of our beautiful city and don’t want a single high rise city centre. Sure, density in newer suburbs has increased, however many Canberrans who start out in apartments, get married, have kids and then want their decent patch of land. If you hate the low density living and high car use of Canberra, why do you still live here?

Funnily enough, the tram might be counterproductive to your grand design in that if rates get forced too high, more people will live outside of the ACT border and commute in.

canthetram.org

What happened to the cleverly thought through more cars = less congestion?

Who cares what’s driving the ever increasing number of cars except the solitary driver who congests the roads and then the destination. Changing the fuel doesn’t change the amount of roads needed to accomodate the terribly inefficient, unsafe and unhealthy idea of using a 2 tonne dead weight to get around in.

You SAY “The tram simply doesn’t work for Canberra.” Well there you are! Hard to beat the “expert witness evidence”.

…except all the examples where you put in a Tram and it works. Unlike freeways.

rubaiyat said :

OpenYourMind said :

Do you support light rail, yes. Do you hate traffic congestion, yes. Do you realise a tram will add to the traffic congestion on Northbourne Ave….oh 🙁 Do you support light rail, yes. Do you realise our rates are already rising at an alarming rate and things will get worse with light rail, all at a time when this town’s many public servants are getting no pay rises…oh 🙁 Do you support light rail, yes. Will you use it, oh yes. Right, sure you will, like you use the buses now…oh 🙁

Do you support the tram (with cables) yes, do you want the tram to go to more of Canberra, of course. Do you realise those trams with overhead wires can’t do that….oh 🙁 Now….3.2.1. wait for the comment from Rubaiyat. If Rubaiyat got a $1 for every word he blogs blindly in support of the tram, he may well be able to fund the preposterous cost of the tram for us.

Do you hate traffic congestion, yes.

Do you realise more cars will add to the traffic congestion on Northbourne Ave? OH!!!! 🙁

Why are you opposing people getting off the road and using a clean alternative instead? DOH!

Stop using the absolute word ‘clean’. Anything made from modern materials is going to involve byproduct and emission from manufacturing through to trucks hauling away dirt and oils used for lubrication. By all means use the word ‘cleaner’ if you know that there is relatively less waste/emission, but stop saying ‘clean’. Walking in bare feet might be able to be considered ‘clean’, but that’s about it.

Charlotte Harper said :

So I raised this with Corbell’s office today and they told me Piazza Research contacted those in the random sample via mobile as well as landline. The polling was across Canberra, not just in Gungahlin.

I would like to see exactly where the respondents live.

Charlotte Harper10:00 am 20 Oct 15

I think there may be privacy implications with that one.

OpenYourMind6:53 am 20 Oct 15

rubaiyat said :

OpenYourMind said :

Do you support light rail, yes. Do you hate traffic congestion, yes. Do you realise a tram will add to the traffic congestion on Northbourne Ave….oh 🙁 Do you support light rail, yes. Do you realise our rates are already rising at an alarming rate and things will get worse with light rail, all at a time when this town’s many public servants are getting no pay rises…oh 🙁 Do you support light rail, yes. Will you use it, oh yes. Right, sure you will, like you use the buses now…oh 🙁

Do you support the tram (with cables) yes, do you want the tram to go to more of Canberra, of course. Do you realise those trams with overhead wires can’t do that….oh 🙁 Now….3.2.1. wait for the comment from Rubaiyat. If Rubaiyat got a $1 for every word he blogs blindly in support of the tram, he may well be able to fund the preposterous cost of the tram for us.

Do you hate traffic congestion, yes.

Do you realise more cars will add to the traffic congestion on Northbourne Ave? OH!!!! 🙁

Why are you opposing people getting off the road and using a clean alternative instead? DOH!

I’m not opposed to public transport. The tram simply doesn’t work for Canberra. Canberra’s is a low density city well suited to the car. For the most part, we don’t have traffic problems. Sure Gunghalin needs a little attention, but plenty of cities with quadruple our population are still very livable and drivable with a car focus. By the time our city grows much more, technology will make trams seem plain silly.

I’m not even convinced the tram is going to be any cleaner than cars (VW excepted). Our future generation of cars will be electric with recyclable batteries etc.

In the other active thread on the tram, you keep pushing your barrow of high density living. This is Canberra, not New York. Many Canberrans love the spread out feel of our beautiful city and don’t want a single high rise city centre. Sure, density in newer suburbs has increased, however many Canberrans who start out in apartments, get married, have kids and then want their decent patch of land. If you hate the low density living and high car use of Canberra, why do you still live here?

Funnily enough, the tram might be counterproductive to your grand design in that if rates get forced too high, more people will live outside of the ACT border and commute in.

canthetram.org

Kalliste said :

The poll was based on landline numbers? How many younger (24 – 35) Canberrans even have landline phones? I can say I am not one of them.

Also, as a younger person who lives in Gungahlin I also say no to light rail so it doesn’t necessarily mean they just polled people in Gungahlin, I also don’t know how they justify spending so much when, according to their own poll only 54 – 56% of the population actually want it.

If any party got 54-56% of the vote it would be a landslide victory.

Look, the Libs have said they will tear up the contract regardless of the cost. Labour and the Greens said they will proceed. Make up your mind based on that if that issue is the only one you’re concerned about. This endless rending of hair and gnashing of teeth on here is not doing your cause any good. Go out and do something about it if you want to convert enough people to the cause to do something about it.

This is why we vote.

OpenYourMind said :

Do you support light rail, yes. Do you hate traffic congestion, yes. Do you realise a tram will add to the traffic congestion on Northbourne Ave….oh 🙁 Do you support light rail, yes. Do you realise our rates are already rising at an alarming rate and things will get worse with light rail, all at a time when this town’s many public servants are getting no pay rises…oh 🙁 Do you support light rail, yes. Will you use it, oh yes. Right, sure you will, like you use the buses now…oh 🙁

Do you support the tram (with cables) yes, do you want the tram to go to more of Canberra, of course. Do you realise those trams with overhead wires can’t do that….oh 🙁 Now….3.2.1. wait for the comment from Rubaiyat. If Rubaiyat got a $1 for every word he blogs blindly in support of the tram, he may well be able to fund the preposterous cost of the tram for us.

Do you hate traffic congestion, yes.

Do you realise more cars will add to the traffic congestion on Northbourne Ave? OH!!!! 🙁

Why are you opposing people getting off the road and using a clean alternative instead? DOH!

Kalliste said :

The poll was based on landline numbers? How many younger (24 – 35) Canberrans even have landline phones? I can say I am not one of them.

Also, as a younger person who lives in Gungahlin I also say no to light rail so it doesn’t necessarily mean they just polled people in Gungahlin, I also don’t know how they justify spending so much when, according to their own poll only 54 – 56% of the population actually want it.

When you say “so much” you realise that that is spread over 30 years and that the population of the A.C.T. spends personally over 5 times that much on cars every year, which does not include what the government spends on top of that.

You don’t have to ride on it, doesn’t mean others won’t or shouldn’t.

My maths is not as sharp and up to date as it seems to be with many others here, but 54-56% is a majority I believe.

“Support for light rail increased to 67% when people knew it was part of a wider plan to connect the whole city with an integrated transport system, the Minister said.”

Wouldn’t people be more likely to say yes, at risk of not having it rolled out to their suburb?

Sounds like it could easily be: if light rail was rolled out would you like it to go to your suburb?
Or they might agree with having more public transport they may include light rail but not limited to it.

Which is a far cry from agreeing that should light rail start next year or at all.

Any idea where they got the phone numbers from? Did they get the list from Action buses?
There’s not much of a bias in a self selecting poll if each side has equal chance take part. And yet the light rail coalition has a centralised platform to advertise the poll to pro light rail proponents.

Would be far more robust to pick some streets at random and survey everyone in the houses on those streets.

The poll was based on landline numbers? How many younger (24 – 35) Canberrans even have landline phones? I can say I am not one of them.

Also, as a younger person who lives in Gungahlin I also say no to light rail so it doesn’t necessarily mean they just polled people in Gungahlin, I also don’t know how they justify spending so much when, according to their own poll only 54 – 56% of the population actually want it.

Charlotte Harper9:57 pm 19 Oct 15

So I raised this with Corbell’s office today and they told me Piazza Research contacted those in the random sample via mobile as well as landline. The polling was across Canberra, not just in Gungahlin.

Yes, those older people know a thing or two – many have probably worked in government departments or businesses themselves in the past and know a crock when they see one 😉

We all want better transport options – of course. But that does not mean we like the model they are forced to keep putting in front of us (for political reasons). It’s like going to a restaurant and being told the only thing on the menu is cold porridge. I for one am fed up.

OpenYourMind7:32 pm 19 Oct 15

Do you support light rail, yes. Do you hate traffic congestion, yes. Do you realise a tram will add to the traffic congestion on Northbourne Ave….oh 🙁 Do you support light rail, yes. Do you realise our rates are already rising at an alarming rate and things will get worse with light rail, all at a time when this town’s many public servants are getting no pay rises…oh 🙁 Do you support light rail, yes. Will you use it, oh yes. Right, sure you will, like you use the buses now…oh 🙁 Do you support the tram (with cables) yes, do you want the tram to go to more of Canberra, of course. Do you realise those trams with overhead wires can’t do that….oh 🙁 Now….3.2.1. wait for the comment from Rubaiyat. If Rubaiyat got a $1 for every word he blogs blindly in support of the tram, he may well be able to fund the preposterous cost of the tram for us.

HiddenDragon6:06 pm 19 Oct 15

The age question might also be a surrogate for “likely still to be in Canberra when the ACT Budget blows up” – it’s that much easier to support nice ideas if you think your career will have taken you elsewhere if/when things go wrong.

bj_ACT said :

I Don’t know if it is the same Poll as the one that rang me up. But their question for support of the light rail went something along the lines of.

“If you knew it meant long term benefits for Canberra, would you support light rail?”

Of course I had to answer yes to that, I am sure most fair minded Canberran’s want long term benefits to the City, it is just skipping the key point of whether money spent will equal return on investment for those who pay.

Anyway the way the question was worded struck me a little along the lines of “If you knew a horse was going to win a Melbourne Cup, would you bet on it?”

The poll I answered for the tram was not that unbalance example. The questions for the one I answered were fair and balanced.
I have had polls on different subjects that have tried to push the result. I tell the pollster that the question is not answerable as it is, and just keep saying it to the questions, if the future questions continue to push the answer. If the question is not a proper question, don’t let them have a result from you.

wildturkeycanoe said :

Of course older people will not be in support of light rail, because as a mode of transport it doesn’t suit their needs. Most older people [over 65s] do not have the same mobility as younger, more active folks. Hence, a method of getting around which requires walking up to a kilometer to get to a pickup or drop off point by a connecting bus, then having to disembark and walk again to get onto the tram will be rejected for the convenience of a motor vehicle, which won’t use up all their limited energy just to get to their destination. I’m sure only those within a few hundred meters of the tram route would be in support whilst the rest make up the 54% opposed.
What is the point of this report anyway? All it proves is that people would support the light rail more if it becomes Canberra wide. The question asked of participants is like asking if people would like more ice-cream on their cone, without knowing the flavour, without knowing how much exactly there is and how much extra it will cost. Sure everyone will say yes, but if given the facts they may change their mind to a resounding “NO”.
There is nothing in the survey to illuminate us to the demographic of the respondents either, they could mostly be from Gunners, we just don’t know. Saying “a randomised sample of ACT residents” just doesn’t say professionalism in my book. Picking phone numbers at random doesn’t necessarily give you a broad spectrum of Canberra, when landline phones are probably more prevalent in older suburbs.
From the “summary of main findings” it appears 96% of respondents didn’t believe the tram was primarily to benefit the environment, but for other reasons. The green argument doesn’t carry much weight then, does it?
There already has been another poll showing different results since this one was completed, so it doesn’t hold much credibility.
Canthetram!

Yes I’ve noticed those older drivers, they do add to the flavour of the National Capital’s roads.

When the police finally catch on and take away their licences they’ll be able to get the full benefit of their years of unflagging opposition to Public Transport.

wildturkeycanoe1:07 pm 19 Oct 15

Of course older people will not be in support of light rail, because as a mode of transport it doesn’t suit their needs. Most older people [over 65s] do not have the same mobility as younger, more active folks. Hence, a method of getting around which requires walking up to a kilometer to get to a pickup or drop off point by a connecting bus, then having to disembark and walk again to get onto the tram will be rejected for the convenience of a motor vehicle, which won’t use up all their limited energy just to get to their destination. I’m sure only those within a few hundred meters of the tram route would be in support whilst the rest make up the 54% opposed.
What is the point of this report anyway? All it proves is that people would support the light rail more if it becomes Canberra wide. The question asked of participants is like asking if people would like more ice-cream on their cone, without knowing the flavour, without knowing how much exactly there is and how much extra it will cost. Sure everyone will say yes, but if given the facts they may change their mind to a resounding “NO”.
There is nothing in the survey to illuminate us to the demographic of the respondents either, they could mostly be from Gunners, we just don’t know. Saying “a randomised sample of ACT residents” just doesn’t say professionalism in my book. Picking phone numbers at random doesn’t necessarily give you a broad spectrum of Canberra, when landline phones are probably more prevalent in older suburbs.
From the “summary of main findings” it appears 96% of respondents didn’t believe the tram was primarily to benefit the environment, but for other reasons. The green argument doesn’t carry much weight then, does it?
There already has been another poll showing different results since this one was completed, so it doesn’t hold much credibility.
Canthetram!

Charlotte Harper1:35 pm 19 Oct 15

Hi, I’ve added in some details about the other poll you mention.
I suspect there are not many over-65s living in Gungahlin and therefore few set to benefit from the first stage of light rail, but I don’t know that for a fact. Does anyone else have age of residents stats on Gungahlin?
A random sample is more reflective of the population than a self-selecting but I take your point about landlines. I wonder whether they also dialled mobiles. I’ll ask them and get back to you.

That is what is called Push Polling.

They are not getting your opinion they are sowing an idea in your head.

I Don’t know if it is the same Poll as the one that rang me up. But their question for support of the light rail went something along the lines of.

“If you knew it meant long term benefits for Canberra, would you support light rail?”

Of course I had to answer yes to that, I am sure most fair minded Canberran’s want long term benefits to the City, it is just skipping the key point of whether money spent will equal return on investment for those who pay.

Anyway the way the question was worded struck me a little along the lines of “If you knew a horse was going to win a Melbourne Cup, would you bet on it?”

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