Victoria: Transport Matters Party

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age -->'Melbourne grinding to a halt': New political party for transport

Rod Barton doesn't shy away from a fight.

Less than one year ago, the warrior of the taxi and hire car industry started approaching lawyers to wage a class action against global ride-share company Uber.

As work to build the case gets under way at law firm Maurice Blackburn, the Commercial Passenger Vehicle Association president is now ramping up his fight on the hustings, as he leads the birth of a new political party in Victoria.

The Transport Matters Party, now registered with the Victorian Electoral Commission, comprises 900 members - mostly drivers and license plate holders - who are furious about the Andrews government's move to deregulate the industry late last year.

Many of them have also registered to join a possible class action against Uber, in which drivers and license holders allege they lost income while Uber operated illegally from 2013 to 2017.

In Parliament, Mr Barton wants to work "from the inside" to fight for better conditions for taxi drivers, who face an average pay of just $13 an hour without benefits, and are struggling to compete with dominant Uber.

But Mr Barton insists he is not launching a "protest party".

Environmental issues and small business interests will shape part of the "centre-left" agenda, but transport will be at the party's core, with major road projects proving a key battleground in the 2014 election and signs that this could repeat in November.

Candidates will target marginal seats where the party's multicultural membership has strong backing, including Cranbourne, where there is a sizeable Indian community, and bayside seats such as Oakleigh, home to many Greeks.

The campaigning has already started from drivers' seats, Mr Barton said.

There, members hear customer's frustrations about a city growing larger than its infrastructure can handle, and the desire for a new political voice, said Mr Barton.

"Melbourne is grinding to a halt," he said.

"It's hopeless trying to get around in peak hour these days, and peak hour lasts so much longer. People like us deal with this every day, and we hear from the public from the inside of our cars.

"I think there is a real mood for something new ... you'd be surprised at the level of support we are getting from our customers."

Urgent gaps in public transport needed to be filled, such as improving "first and last mile trips", which is the link between a commuters' closest public transport stop and their home, Mr Barton said.

While the $11 billion Melbourne Metro Tunnel is a good project, it will be "obsolete once it's finished", Mr Barton said.

He called for a long-term plan to expand the state's public transport to cope with the city's enormous growth.

"We're not seeing the future plans or direction of how we will move forward in five, 10, 20 or 30 years' time," he said.

Building the East West Link - a toll road linking the Eastern Freeway and CityLink, backed by Liberal leader Matthew Guy - is a "no brainier", Mr Barton said.

"The end of the Eastern Freeway is a shocker ... If you're on the road like I am, doing more than 100 kilometres a day for at least 25 years, you know how traffic works. This road has to happen."

The $16.5 billion North East Link connecting the M80 and the Eastern Freeway backed by Labor, "should happen", Mr Barton said, but not before the East West Link, which would free up the Eastern before it takes more cars from the north and the east.

Transurban's $6.8 billion West Gate Tunnel is "required" to improve truck access to the Port of Melbourne, "but the fact that it has been done without a tender process is very serious", Mr Barton said.

An airport rail link should be built, Mr Barton said, but it should be "owned by the government".

"We are not massive fans of the public-private partnership model."

Mr Barton said he was inspired by the successes of Reason Party, a micro party led by Fiona Patten, who Mr Barton described as a "formidable operator".

"People are frustrated with the antics of the red team and the blue team ... we need some fresh blood," he said.

[SurfRail]

Disaffected cab drivers pushing for more motorways and protectionism.  No thanks guys.