Re: Cityrail fare rises suck

[zebee@zip.com.au (Zebee Johnstone)]

In aus.transport on 7 Aug 1999 09:20:59 +1000
C. Dewick <craigd@lios.apana.org.au> wrote:
>You're right that parking is a big cost, but it's a perk if you get it for
>free, and then the cost comparison is skewed.
>

Yes it is - but for an individual it has to be taken into account.

Same as things like "how close is work to the train/bus" and "What's
the mileage of your vehicle".

There are all sorts of imponderables.  Money may be part of it, but
even if the train is say $4 a day cheaper than the car, will that
be enough?  Time is a big one.  Time spent on the journey, time spent
waiting for the bus/train.  Comfort is another.  SOme people may find
a windswept train station and an overcrowded train better than a bike
in winter :)  Others may find that it's worth $4 or more a day to 
avoid such things.

There's also the convenience problem.  IF I want to stop off at
a big hardware store on the way to work on the bike, I can.  I can't
on a bus because a) the bus doesn't pass that way and b) even if it
did, the timing sucks!  As do the section based fares which mean
that I can end up paying more than I would on a straight through trip.

I once bought a travelpass to see if I could live like that, public
trasport only.  I very quickly decided that it was too difficult.  I
couldn't nip out and do things that were not within walking distance of
work, and not much is really.  As an example..  get off the 400 at
mascot.  Wait 10 mins for a 301 to Gardener's Rd.  Walk for 10 mins to
get to the hardwarehouse.  Shop, 10 mins back.  Then wait *nearly an
hour* for buses because although there were supposed to be 3 of them in
that time, none came.  Then wait another 20 mins for another 400, keep
going to work.

Time on bus - 55 mins on the 400, 5 or 6 mins on 301 each way, 65 mins
Time waiting for bus - 90 mins, should have been max 50.
Time walking - 15-20 mins.
Total for trip, excluding shopping time: 170-175.
Total for similar trip bike/car excluding shopping time: 45.

Know too many people who have an hour and a half to spare before
work? :)

The public transport thing can't be taken in isolation.  The journey
to work is part of it, but side trips and lunchtime trips and weekends
are part of it too.  How close you are at each end to the transport.
(A previous employer used to run a shuttle to the station.  But that
meant that train riders were far less flexible in working hours than
others.)  How close each end is to other amenities.  Try working in
the new subsurbs and finding somewhere to eat close to work or
somewhere to do the shopping at lunchtime.

If everyone worked in the city, or there were lots of shopping strips in
the residential areas, or the workplaces, shops, houses were all
intermixed, or the residential areas and workplaces were all well
served with transport and multi-vehicle trips were cheap and easy...

But that isn't Sydney...  Or anywhere in Oz really once you get out
past the bits that were built before the car became ubiquitous.

Zebee