Article: You should pay more for fuel

[ozbob]

   Good on you Paul! 

From the Courier Mail click here!

You should pay more for fuel

You should pay more for fuel
Article from: The Courier-Mail

By Paul Syvret

June 10, 2008 12:00am

BUS travel is fun. It's fast, reliable and comfortable, and it's also affordable.

And of course we now have the added convenience of the State Government's cutting-edge commuter technology in the form of the Go Card scheme. (And the beauty of Go Card is that given the touch points refuse to read my card, I've been travelling for free for weeks ? bonus!)

Bus travel also exposes one to a range of sensory experiences denied your everyday suburban car commuter.

There's the simple pleasure of listening to half a dozen of your fellow travellers conduct their personal affairs on their mobile phones; the olfactory delight that comes from being in a confined space with unwashed armpits; and of course the physical gymnastics required to negotiate one's way through a representative sampling of Australia's obesity epidemic.

It's character-building stuff.

So it was heartening to hear our Prime Minister effectively tell Australian commuters who are feeling the pain of soaring fuel prices to take a bus.

Good thinking, Kevin.

If you take his advice, though, just make sure you don't try catching one during peak hour, or there's a good chance you'll be left stranded on the side of the road as it lumbers past so laden with passengers the odd limb can be seen protruding from the windows.

To be fair to the PM, the political pain associated with petrol prices appears to have produced some form of epiphany when it comes to public transport issues.

Consider the following: "Hasn't the time come for some decent, decent public transport systems, invested in by the national government across our major cities so people don't burn their petrol prices on the way to work."

Mangled syntax aside, there's a revelation in there. And people say we lack political leadership in this country.

The catch, however, is funding this public transport revolution.

For starters there's a lovely new eastern busway slated to run slap-bang through Rudd's Griffith electorate and capable of catering for thousands of commuters each day, the only downside being the State Government doesn't have the folding stuff to fund it right now.

Expanded bus and rail networks, mass rapid-transit systems and the like are an excellent solution to greenhouse issues and fuel prices, but they cost obscene amounts of money to build.

So listen up Kevin (and Anna Bligh), because here's a solution.

Ditch the FuelWatch scheme, abandon Queensland's petrol subsidy, and increase ? yes increase ? taxes on fuel. Then hypothecate the extra revenue directly to public transport (and freight) solutions ? not more roads that no one will be able to afford to drive on soon ? but real, bums-on-seats bus and rail projects.

Firstly, the fuel subsidy (which costs Queensland $500 million a year) is anathema in a greenhouse aware world. All we are doing is subsidising the consumption of a carbon producing non-renewable resource. Over the past decade that subsidy has consumed some $5 billion that could have built a lot of public transport infrastructure.

And bear in mind too that a meeting of the world's top-five energy consuming nations over the weekend agreed that subsidies need to be wound back because they are distorting international oil markets.

Ignore hare-brained schemes put forward by the Opposition (well, some sections of its current leadership anyway) to cut the federal fuel excise by 5? a litre at an annual cost of $1.8 billion.

If the cut was implemented tomorrow it would likely be overtaken within the week by the forecast rises in the price of fuel.

No, Kevin, what you need to do is take the politically courageous path and unwind John Howard's 2001 decision to freeze the petrol excise at 38? a litre (the freeze removed the excise from indexation).

The revenue generated by such a move would be worth billions a year ? which again buys a hell of a lot of train lines and rolling stock.

We are now very likely entering the long-forecast state of Peak Oil ? that point where world production of this dwindling resource can no longer keep up with demand. While this doesn't mean the world is about to run out of oil, it means we have seen the end of cheap oil.

We have entered a new paradigm in terms of energy prices, and must respond accordingly.

In this environment your pre-election vows on fuel prices are up there with Howard's promises on low interest rates in the political liability stakes.

Effectively subsidising the consumption of petrol (via direct subsidies or through such instruments as excise freezes) will just prolong the inevitable ? and that is a fundamental shift in the way we travel, as fuel becomes increasingly unaffordable because of simple supply and demand issues.

Any tinkering around the edges distorts an already warped market, so it's time for a reality check.

Fuel is a commodity, not an affordable God-given right.

[ozbob]

My blogg comment:

Paul well said cobber!

Check out RAIL Back On Track http://backontrack.org  Rail is back!
Our Queensland Rail system will be the salvation of Queensland.  Thank goodness it was not flogged off as the once great Victorian Railways were.

Here is a list of immediate rail priorities

1.  Richlands to Springfield with stations at Ellen Grove and Springfield Lakes as well as Springfield Central.

2.  Duplication of the rail line to Cleveland.

3. Quadruplication from Darra to Ipswich.

4. Commence the line from Petrie to Kippa-Ring.

5. Introduce a south-west loop service Central to Yeerongpilly, Sherwood, Milton, Exhibition and back to Central in both directions would give passengers options other than transiting through the CBD when travelling cross suburbs. Also provides as service to Tennyson and Exhibition. Re-open Normanby railway station and integrate with the Normanby bus station.

6. All country lines to remain intact. More country passenger and freight services provided.  Consider hybrid rail-motors for rural services. 

7. Rail commuter services to be introduced from Toowoomba to Ipswich.

This is just the start ...

[stephenk]

My blogg comment:

Paul well said cobber!

Check out RAIL Back On Track http://backontrack.org  Rail is back!
Our Queensland Rail system will be the salvation of Queensland.  Thank goodness it was not flogged off as the once great Victorian Railways were.

Here is a list of immediate rail priorities

1.  Richlands to Springfield with stations at Ellen Grove and Springfield Lakes as well as Springfield Central.

2.  Duplication of the rail line to Cleveland.

3. Quadruplication from Darra to Ipswich.

4. Commence the line from Petrie to Kippa-Ring.

5. Introduce a south-west loop service Central to Yeerongpilly, Sherwood, Milton, Exhibition and back to Central in both directions would give passengers options other than transiting through the CBD when travelling cross suburbs. Also provides as service to Tennyson and Exhibition. Re-open Normanby railway station and integrate with the Normanby bus station.

6. All country lines to remain intact. More country passenger and freight services provided.  Consider hybrid rail-motors for rural services. 

7. Rail commuter services to be introduced from Toowoomba to Ipswich.

This is just the start ...

Can we add:-
8. Duplication Keperra to Ferny Grove.

I'm not too sure if 5 would work, as running loop services would have conflicting movements with other lines. This could lower maximum line capacity and reduce system reliability. Also, the Exhibition loop only really works in the anti-clockwise direction due to track layout at Bowen Hills.

[ozbob]

It is a matter of slotting into the timetable. The other big advantage is that more services can be express from both Yeerongpilly and Sherwood to CBD on the respective lines.

Feedback on this idea has been generally positive.

Yes the present arrangement around Bowen Hills is a restriction but with a bit of thought can be overcome.

As can be noted during Exhibition week fitting in the loop services is possible.

We have suggested before a 5 day a week Exhibition loop service, but by expanding it to include a station at Normanby and some additonal trackage eg. via Sherwood and Yeerongpilly it would be a very useful addition to the timetable.

It is just an idea to get some lateral thinking.

Cheers
Ozbob

[stephenk]

Yes the present arrangement around Bowen Hills is a restriction but with a bit of thought can be overcome.

I'll continue this on the thread about this subject......