26 Feb 2011: SEQ: Car Rapid Transit money better spent on Real Rapid Transit

[ozbob]

Media release 26 February 2011

SEQ: Car Rapid Transit money better spent on Real Rapid Transit

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport commuters calls for the total abandonment of 'balanced transport' policies and a shift to 'rebalanced transport' based around walking, cycling, buses, ferries and rail. "Car Rapid Transit" is a low capacity, high-pollution, expensive-to-construct, high user cost rapid transit mode and it doesn't seem to be working.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"The Clem 7 tunnel has now been placed into receivership (1). $770 million dollars public money (almost equivalent to one Gold Coast Light Rail System) has been sunk into that tunnel(2,3). While we welcome the construction of the Northern Busway as part of Airport Link, the combination of incentives to drive plus incentives to catch public transport (e.g. Airtrain) are likely to work against each other. Is there a purpose in shifting people from cars to public transport and then back again?"

"We note that the Gateway Motorway allegedly carries around 100,000 vehicles daily, and the Airport Link forecasts allegedly predict up to 195,378 trips per day, apparently more than that reported for the Gateway Motorway (4,5)"

"Kingsford Smith Drive upgrades will range from multi-millions to multi-billions (6). The most expensive option is $3.2 billion dollars, equivalent to three brand new Gold Coast Light Rail projects, and will duplicate the 'busway on steel wheels' Doomben Line, which is a congestion-free alignment all the way to the CBD. It could be upgraded to allow trains every 15 minutes at a fraction of the cost. Any potential public transport option is likely to come mandatorily pre-packaged and inseparable from what is actually a logically separate road upgrade (7)."

"The extreme cost of so-called road 'solutions' must be questioned when a greater number of people can be moved more efficiently on a fully coordinated high frequency rapid rail and bus network."

"The Car Rapid Transit era is now showing signs of drawing to a close (8,9,10,11). Should we spend continue to spend billions on Car Rapid Transit - a mode that has the lowest capacity, extreme upfront capital costs, highest pollution and high user costs? (12)"

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org

References and notes:

1. Clem7 toll failure is no surprise: RACQ http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newsbusiness/aap/8216595/clem7-toll-failure-is-no-surprise-racq

2. Clem7 operators lose $470 for each vehicle through the tunnel http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/clem7-operators-lose-470-for-each-vehicle-through-the-tunnel/story-e6freqmx-1225912533108

3. Gold Coast Rapid Transit: Fast facts http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2009/07/07/95891_about-gold-coast.html

4. Queensland Motorways Freaky Facts http://www.qldmotorways.com.au/childrensactivities/freakyfacts.aspx

5. Private interest in toll projects 'to dry up' http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/private-interest-in-toll-projects-to-dry-up-20110225-1b8ea.html

6. Kingsford Smith Drive Upgrade http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/traffic-transport/plans-projects/transport-projects/Kingsford-Smith-Drive-Upgrade/index.htm

7. Why not just build better public transport in this area (A public transport ONLY option?) A public transport project could be pursued in its own right, and does not necessarily require packaging with a logically separate road project to proceed. A busway on Kingsford Smith would eventually require the bus to exit the busway and run on bus lanes (Class B) or congested streets (Class C) in the CBD and Fortitude Valley.

The rail option's advantage is two-fold:

  a. It is an exclusive right of way (Class A, absolute and total priority, no stopping for anything), separate from cars and their congestion for the entire length of its journey, all the way to Central Station; and

  b. it already exists now.

8. Why are young people driving less? Trends in licence-holding and travel behaviour Tim Raimond and Frank Milthorpe, NSW Bureau of Transport Statistics http://www.bts.nsw.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/82/CP2010-4-Why-are-young-people-driving-less.pdf.aspx

9. Car makers fight to win back young drivers http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-news/car-makers-fight-to-win-back-young-drivers-20110217-1ax9g.html

10. Why is Gen Y Driving Less? http://melbourneurbanist.wordpress.com/2010/06/28/why-is-gen-y-driving-less/

11. Carmakers' next problem: Generation Y http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39970363/ns/business-autos/

12. Buying the vehicle, Petrol, rego etc.

13. For interest: Space, time, economics and asphalt An investigation of induced traffic growth caused by urban motorway expansion and the implications it has for the sustainability of cities Dr Michelle Zeibots, UTS, Sydney http://utsescholarship.lib.uts.edu.au/dspace/handle/2100/609

14. "Car Rapid Transit": A low capacity, high cost rapid transit mode that attempts to speed up traffic by separating cars from general traffic and building more roads.

[ozbob]

Discussion thread on roads --> http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=3331.msg48716#msg48716