Article: Melburnians want better system

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From the Melbourne Age click here!

Melburnians want better system

Melburnians want better system

    * Jason Dowling
    * October 20, 2008

Commuters are crying out for a better public transport system while the State Government pours hundreds of millions of dollars into the city's roads.

Almost one in three Melbourne drivers have reduced their car use in the past year, research by public transport promotion and information service Metlink found.

And 94% believe the Government should be spending more on public transport. Extra spending on roads was supported by 55% of those surveyed.

The survey, taken last month by Sweeney Research, involved 601 respondents in Melbourne and 2000 nationally.

Of all state capitals, the highest support for more spending on public transport was in Melbourne. Of those driving less, two-thirds said they had switched to public transport.

The survey comes as the State Government commits hundreds of millions of dollars to new road projects, including a $1.4 billion upgrade of the West Gate-Monash Freeway and a $700 million Frankston bypass, announced last week.

Metlink said Melbourne's "rail infrastructure has not changed significantly since the 1950s, yet the urban area has nearly doubled". Chief executive Bernie Carolan said the survey showed many car users prioritised investment in public transport over roads.

"For this city to continue to be the sort of place we like it to be, we need a rich mix of public transport," Mr Carolan said.

In its submission to Infrastructure Australia, Metlink calls for a new rail tunnel between Footscray and Caulfield - which would boost City Loop capacity by 40,000 passengers an hour - and for a rail line from Werribee to Deer Park.

A Public Transport Users Association analysis shows money spent on new roads in Melbourne by state and federal governments since 1999 has been five times that spent on new public transport.

Association president Daniel Bowen said the Metlink survey was further proof that people were switching to public transport and that it was time government funding reflected this.

"There is a lot of talk about funding public transport, but when it comes down to allocating the money it seems to go to new road projects," he said.

RACV public policy manager Brian Negus said the Government should spend money on "both public transport and roads - we don't believe you solve all the problems by spending on one or the other".

"Obviously Melburnians need a valid choice of mode and you can't solve all the congestion problems, for example, just by building roads," he said.