Ideas for public transport [The SGS Transport manifesto]

Local Government (I omitted the person responsible after 5 wines) over to you…

Please explain why as our representatives such plans weren’t made during your ‘reign’ to enforce the Canberra City Council’s busses being allowed to go to the airport ?

I’m sure I’ve seen action busses in RMC before, and they have a policy that all roads are public, so I’m quite sure there’s no defence issues involved…

I’ve heard that ACtion are barred from running a service to the airport, as the airport can charge whatever ‘entry fee’ they like to the busses.

Back to the public transport. I think one of the main things ACTION does wrong is changing the swystem every five minutes. In Melbourne I stilol know which tram to catch and I haven’t lived there for 20 years. I catch busses infrequently, and every time I have to look up which one, and download a new timetable and find out the current pricing structure.
I think the area busses are good, but they should be purely ‘outbound’ services. Picking poeple up is impractical.
I actually find Canberra busses better than they were about a decade ago (which isn’t saying much). And my particular bus route is almost always packed and standing room only. I think they need a few more busses.
I read a Swiss study once that said people didn’t actually care how long the bus/tram took once they were on it, what bothered them was waiting around at bustops for services. I think I agree with that – within reason.

Only because ACTION couldn’t be arsed running a service out there.

Yes, but it’s run by a separate mob to Action, is several times more expensive than their fares, and has a timetable that’s even less useful than Action’s. The Airport monopoly strikes again…

Can you get a bus to the airport on weekdays ?

I agree that most buses are already underused but that is because their services are crappy (i.e. late, overpriced, slow, and do not go 24 hrs a day suach as the rail in Sydney).

Another thing that really shits me is that you cant get a bus to the airport on weekends.

Also people who sit on their butts and accept things the way they are – that is slack! If you are not happy with something, then act to help fix the problem or even discuss ways in which the problem can be solved.

Thanks for voicing your ideas SGS! 🙂

sgs – excellent ideas.

i think you need to consider major employment centres also. lightrail from tuggeranong via parlt house or barton or russell or qbn via russell or parlt house etc or a combination. the first link should be gungahlin town centre to civic.

im not sure if trams in city centres woudl work, but if you are passing your lightrail system through teh town centres, where they would link with area buses, it could work if there were 4 or 5 small stops.

the major cost is the initial infrastructure. yes it woudl cost, but if the govt are willing to spend on a concrete busway that has invisible advantages (cos noone i know can understand them) i dont see the economic argument being used against light rail investment.

I think the light rail between city centres and the idea of local area buses are both good ones.

I don’t, however, think trams within the city centres would be all that viable. Our city centres just aren’t that big.

You can walk from one side of Civic to the other in 10-15 minutes, maybe longer if you amble gently. And the bus interchange is currently in the centre of the city, so I don’t know where people are working if they’re taking 20 mins tog et from there to their offices.

Some admirable ideas SGS – hopefully one day the tax base in the ACT will be able to support the ‘project’ financially.

Then again, the money being porkbarrelled, oops, poured into a busaway could be better spent on multi-functional modes of transport that would be further reaching and utilising all the major arterial road networks.

An unpopular yet very effective way to generate the $$$ would be to inflict a series of tolls on all road users (collected via an e-tag). A modest ‘fee’ could be charged at an annual rate and the tagging system would also be a very effective tool in monitoring road use in Canberra, thereby directing the $$$ into the roads most heavily used and/or encouraging further public transport use at the same time.

I know it sounds a bit big-brotherish, but an Oyster Card system would be a more effective way in charging patrons for the use of public transport and as an incentive should offer reduced fare structures for increased use by an individual and will obviously assist in time table structuring through the monitoring of patron use of particular routes.

We have a fairly static growth rate in Canberra, so this reality would surely place govt’s in the position of having to bite some bullets – some form of tolling system and perhaps even some further incentive scheme for public servants (who afterall generally work in the major town centres) to catch public transport.

Nate, I don’t see you ‘flying’ with your suggestions on how to improve the transport situation within Canberra, and SGS has some pretty good ideas in there.

If you’re so concerned about the avaliable money, bear in mind that the Canberra City Council (who like to call themselves the Legislative Assembly) currently have $47million dollars floating around waiting on a good thing to spend it on.

SGS, I like the light rail idea, if they put in the larger infrastructure first (ie Belconnen to Civic), the lesser suburbs will follow later with appropriate stops along the way.

Can’t see trams going ahead, there’s simply not enough room down the median strips for 2 sets of train lines, and the roads – albiet there will be less vehicles on them, are packed already. An overhead monorail for the Civic, Parliamentary Triangle, Russell etc area would solve that in the same line of thought you’re suggesting I think 🙂

I agree with your timetable roster idea, it’s pretty much common knowledge now that if you’re going to catch a bus then factor in a 20 minute wait at the bus stop in addition to the crappy slow bus trip. If the bus came at non fixed times but within 20 minutes of it’s schedule I don’t think anybody would notice anyway. (If you miss your bus, there’s the opportunity that the next bus will be ahead of schedule anyway – hence right back to your 20 min wait)

I don’t think that my or anybody elses ability to vote or pay taxes has any relevance to the validity of the ideas, and should be disregarded.

🙂