Re: Trains make more economic sense than cars: study

[dbromage@fang.omni.com.au (David Bromage)]

An Australian study has found that cities without rail based public
transport spend three times as much of their gross regional product in
transporting commuters.

The report entitled "Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile
Dependence" was written by Professor Peter Newman and Dr Jeff Kenworthy
from the Institute for Science and Technology Policy at Murdoch University
in Perth.

They found that cities with rail based public transport spend on average
3-5% of their gross regional product on transport, whereas cities with
road based public transport spend as much as 15%.

Cities in Australia, Asia, Europe and North America were compared in the
study, with similar results for each.

You can hear Robyn WIlliams discuss the report with Professor Newman on
The Science Show on ABC radio. In Australia, tune in to ABC Radio National
at 7.10pm on Monday. See http://www.abc.net.au/rn/freq/map.htm for
frequencies.

Outside Australia, tune in to Radio Australia at 1.10am Universal Time
(11.10am Sydney time) on Tuesday. See
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/hear/swave.htm for short wave frequencies, or
listen with RealAudio at http://www.abc.net.au/ra/abclive.ram

The report is available from Island Press (ISBN 1 55963 660 2), or see
http://wwwistp.murdoch.edu.au/

Cheers
David