Article: Premier Bligh looks at tolls to beat traffic jams

[ozbob]

From Courier Mail click here!

Premier Bligh looks at tolls to beat traffic jams

Premier Bligh looks at tolls to beat traffic jams
Article from: The Courier-Mail

Peta Hellard

June 18, 2008 12:00am

QUEENSLAND Premier Anna Bligh says pay-as-you-drive road lanes could be introduced to tackle the state's traffic jams.
She spoke as she toured the fast-track toll lanes in use in San Diego, California, which have helped reduce peak hour congestion on major roads.

Ms Bligh said: "It's a very interesting idea that may be able to be picked up on some of our major roads.

"We're not rushing into a decision on these issues but we're not talking about something that is years away.

"If we decided to do this it could happen relatively quickly on some major arterial roads."

California's High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) routes are a fast-track lane where motorists pay to overtake slower traffic in the other lanes.

They are free for buses and cars with two or more occupants but single drivers have to shell out to use it.

"It has been very widely accepted here because it's a choice," Ms Bligh said. "People can make the choice if they are in a hurry and want to pay to go a bit faster. And people who aren't paying for it are happy to see people who do want to pay get out of their way."

The cost also changes depending on how heavy the traffic is. Ms Bligh said: "When the freeway is moving, the toll is low, and when it is busy, the toll rises accordingly."

Revenue from the Californian toll-lanes is used to pay for public transport services and police highway enforcement.

The Premier also examined other congestion-busting initiatives including the use of moveable lane barriers on freeways to widen them during peak hours, and special bulldozer trucks to quickly clear vehicles from accident scenes.

[ozbob]

Personal comment:

I am very ambivalent about these sort of proposals (HOT).

I think there is merit in lanes for buses and high occupancy vehicles, but I have some mixed feelings about the haves being able to buy access. It  leaves the majority languishing in the mire.

Often the revenue is never given back to improve transport and the very people designed to help.  It is also a way of Governments avoiding their responsibilities to the community as a whole.  If the revenue gained was watertight locked to real outcomes, eg. transport improvements it might have some value. But that one can never be sure, especially with the commitments made by the Australian political process. They are not commitments at all.

Again this also ignores some very fundamental issues, there will be considerable shift in road use in any case as fuel continues its relentless price rise. I have also noticed the tolls on the Logan and Gateway are going up 11% (see here!).  At a time when motorists are reeling from petrol and on road costs it just is going to move more onto our already stressed public transport.

No amount of spin and bluster is going to cover up the neglect and the lack of proper planning processes by Queensland Transport and its agencies as a whole. Queensland Transport has recently been highlighted as a very poor performer (see http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=1023.0 ). Flawed data, pork barrel policies, failure to utilise the properly qualified experts, political agenda over-riding social policy, it is a sad tail.  And Queensland wears the consequences like toothpaste stains down its front, sloppy!

So many people have been lobbying for years warning of these outcomes.  In George St they fiddled whilst the petrol and exhausts burned.