Tasmania - public transport

[ozbob]

https://x.com/mathewasharp/status/1785785855107564005

[ozbob]

Mercury --> Hobart teenagers Oscar Wadsley and Konan Masuda speak out about Tasmania's youth brain drain $

Young people say inaccessible public transport, exorbitantly high rents, and the soaring cost of living are leading to a brain drain of Hobart's "best and brightest" as they flock to the mainland to seek better opportunities.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Tasmania had the weakest population growth in the country in the year to September 2023 at just 0.29 per cent, compared to a national average of 2.52 per cent.

While the state saw a net overseas migration inflow of 825 people in the September quarter, it recorded a net interstate outflow of 744 people in the same period, which was the sixth consecutive quarter of negative growth in that measure. ...

[ozbob]

https://x.com/mathewasharp/status/1809463325178359935

[ozbob]

ABC News --> It's been 45 years since Tasmania's last passenger train service ran. Could it make a comeback?

Tasmania, once considered an Australian leader in public transport, now ranks among the worst in the country, according to a report published earlier this year.

The 29-page A Better Deal: Fixing Tasmania's Broken Public Transport System report by progressive think-tank McKell Institute described it as having patronage in "terminal decline" with "no meaningful investment" in decades, and found Tasmania's existing bus network failed to adequately service areas of greatest need. ...

Fixing Tasmania's broken public transport system

https://mckellinstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/McKell%E2%80%94A%20Better%20Deal%20(2024).pdf

[ozbob]

Could passenger train services make a comeback in Tasmania? | ABC News

[#Metro]

A busway could be really good and allow a mix of express and all stops services. With LRT it is generally all stops, always.

SEB does ~ 40 million pax per year, more than GC LRT or Canberra LRT combined.

[AnonymouslyBad]

^ The scenario is totally different though.

The rail line in Hobart already exists and has a pretty good catchment. To get a decent passenger service you need to do upgrades. You also need to extend ~1km into the city centre but the same is true for BRT, a major cost equaliser.

Ripping the whole thing up and replacing it with tarmac just doesn't make sense to me

[#Metro]

The corridor exists, but the rail line there is at end of life and will need to be removed and replaced.

You also have a bridge issue crossing the Derwent. Single track. Would need duplication at minimum and a new bridge crossing. Bus could just use the road.