Re: Light rail gradients (and my fantasy Wollongong light rail system)

["Edward L Gay" <Tedieva@bigpond.com>]

Bradley it is the same old reason, if a good public transport system is
provided people will use it, if the public transport is poor and bus based
then use of a private car becomes attractive. There are plenty of examples
where a new Light Rail system has gotten drivers out of the private car and
eased road use.

What about considering the use of dual voltage trams and use all or part of
the main line from say Thirroul south to near Port Kembla then a new route
to Sheelharbour?  Use of dual voltage vehicles is working very well in
Germany.

Ted
"Bradley Torr" <btorr@bigpond.nospam.com> wrote in message
39674c88@pink.one.net.au">news:39674c88@pink.one.net.au...
>
> Barry Campbell wrote in message ...
>
> >Wollongong is a good demonstration of the trend that has been in
existence
> >for about the last 80 years. Public transport has become less and less
> >relevant in bigger and bigger communities because car travel has become
> >easier.
>
> I think this has much to do with the fact that the vast bulk of
Wollongong's
> development has occurred since the end of World War Two. Most of the
> fixed-rail or government-run bus services in this country date from the
> hey-day of public transport - the first half of the century. I think
> Wollongong's population in the 1920's was something like 30,000 -
certainly
> not enough to have warranted a tram system of its own..... also most
people
> lived within walking distance of their work, or caught special industrial
> buses to the factories and the steelworks and the like.
>
> >Wollongong is an extremely easy city to commute in by car, much
> >easier than it was when I first went there in 1967. It has a convenient
> >network of freeways which are relatively uncrowded. Why would anyone
bother
> >with public transport?
>
> Well, Wollongong has a large underclass, an ageing population in many
parts,
> and a high rate of unemployment. Come catch a bus down here and you'll see
> what I mean. :-) There is a significant proportion of the population that
is
> completely dependent on public transport, despite the fact that Wollongong
> is a very car-oriented city, with heaps of downtown parking and good
> expressways and arterials.
>
> The main thing I don't like about public transport down here is the
complete
> lack of integration between the local bus services and intercity train
> services. Thousands of people commute to Sydney each day on the intercity
> trains, but how do they get to the station? Drive of course.....
>
> >BTW, poor people can't afford public transport, they can only afford
cars.
>
> What exactly do you mean by this?
>
> Regards,
> Bradley.
>
>
>