Re: [AUS] Radio forum on public transport

[qldspeed-spamsevil@geocities.com (qldspeed)]

On Wed, 23 Jun 1999 17:26:57 +1100, David Bromage
<dbromage@omni.com.au> wrote:

>ABC Radio National's Earthbeat presents a radio forum -
>----------------------------------------------------
>T H E   C I T Y :
>motorised nightmare or green dream?
>---------------------------------------------------
>
>Alexandra de Blas and a panel of Australia's leading transport
>thinkers debate the issues

Gee, if only they had invited someone WITH a clue!!!!


>
>Saturday, June 26, at 7.30am on ABC Radio National
> repeated at 2.30pm on Monday, June 28.
>


Hmmm. perhaps the problems with public transport are just too
insurmountable? It hasn't been through lack of trying to force people
to use it, and in spite of all this.....

>Australians have abandoned public transport in droves since the 1950s
>and traffic congestion is worse than ever, despite massive
>road-building programs.

....that have been more oriented towards buses than cars, because
transport planners have been preoccupied with public transport that
clearly nobody really wants to use, and have neglected their duty to
"the other 85%" who either can not or will not conform.

Now Brisbane is indulging in a monstrous set of  BUSWAYs - a huge
waste of funds that could have been better spent solving the real
problems of the city. When was the last time they built a bridge over
the Brisbane river?

>
>"The problem is lack of public transport planning - due initially to
>competition between multiple, rival operators competing with each
>other rather than the car and exacerbated by the technology-fetishism
>of engineers and 'economic rationalist' attempts to promote
>competition." Paul Mees, Melbourne University

Hang on... we've had nothing BUT public transport planning - at the
expense of sensible integrated  'transport planning' for all users of
the road network.

> "technology-fetishism of engineers"

if we call it a fetish, I suppose it MUST be bad eh?

>
>"To manage a city with traffic problems is a big challenge . . . . the
>process must begin with a dream that is fostered by a city's people
>until the insistent solutions of traffic engineers are quietened and
>the commonsense of the common good is heard." Peter Newman,  New
>Internationalist, June 1999

** see below
>
>
>The panellists:
>
>>From Perth: Peter Newman, transport consultant and Professor of City
>Policy at Murdoch University.  He's also been a council member for the
>City of Fremantle. His latest book "Sustainability and Cities :
>overcoming Automobile Dependence." was launched in the White House in
>early 1999, by the US President's Council on Sustainable Development.
>
>From Brisbane: Maureen Hayes is Chair of Transport and Major Projects
>on the Brisbane City Council - a council that sees itself as
>Australia's leading city in the delivery of public transport.

and the city with the greatest rate of growth in traffic congestion in
Australia over the past 5 years!

Hardly surprising when the council is closing off streets and
narrowing (yep that's right folks!) arterial roads (e.g. Latrobe Tce,
Brisbane 1999)

>
>From Melbourne: Paul Mees,  teacher of Transport and Land Use Planning
>at Melbourne University. Since 1992 he's been President of the Public
>Transport Users' Association in Victoria. Among his achievements he
>lists that he is currently being sued by the proprietors of
>Melbourne's City Link tollway.

Splendid achievment!

>
>From Sydney:  David Hensher: Professor of Management and Director of
>the Institute of Transport Studies at Sydney University. He has
>advised both the government and the private sector on transport issues
>and ....  has  written books on cars, buses and coaches. 

Which probably explains his eratic thinking and poor handwriting :-)

> He's particularly
>interested in transport economics and productivity measurement,
>privatisation and deregulation.
>
>Christine Laurence: from the Reclaim the Streets movement and Critical
>Mass - a monthly cycling celebration. Christine has worked in local
>government as a landscape architect.

.... representing the lunatic fringe of even the public transport
movement.

>
>"The car is the technology which involves the biggest number of
>employees, the highest advertising budget, the largest annual
>accidental death rate and the biggest contribution to global warming.
>How do you begin to approach managing something so popular and yet so
>destructive? "    Peter Newman, The New Internationalist, June 1999 

(see below **)

Hmmmm ... perhaps 10 million people know something that Peter Newman
clearly doesn't.

** Looks a bit left wing if you ask me? **
>New Internationalist Publications is a communications
> co-operative based in Oxford with editorial and sales offices
> in Toronto, Canada; Adelaide, Australia; Christchurch,
> Aotearoa /New Zealand; and Lewiston, USA. It exists to
> report on issues of world poverty and inequality; to focus
> attention on the unjust relationship  between the powerful and the
> powerless in both rich and poor nations; to debate and 
>campaign for   the radical changes necessary if the   
> basic material and spiritual needs of  all are to be met. 
... by better transport economics?

Gimme a break!

Qldspeed