Article: Public transport investment a winner

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Public transport investment a winner

Public transport investment a winner

Australia's multitude of urban commuters should count themselves as winners in this year's federal Budget, writes Greg Harvey, national secretary of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union.

This Federal Government has become the first in Australia's history to commit significant funding to urban rail passenger transport.

Transport funding could always be greater and there are always worthy projects that miss out. These things are certainly true of this Budget.

But the measures taken are a good start and set an important precedent we can expect to build on in the future.

The initiatives in this Budget recognise that the economic, environmental and social benefits of efficient urban public transport are so significant that they deserve federal support.

Some of the projects to receive federal funding include $3.2 billion for a new rail line in Melbourne's west for regional services; $585 million to build and modernise rail lines in Adelaide; and $365 million towards light rail construction on the Gold Coast.

These projects will take time, but each will make an important contribution to the city it services.

The 44 kilometres of new track for Melbourne's west - which won the biggest slice of federal funding - will provide capacity for an extra 9,000 regional and suburban rail passengers an hour by disentangling regional and metropolitan train lines.

To my mind, that's $3.2 billion well spent.

We have become accustomed to multi-billion-dollar investments in road projects, but this Federal Government has cottoned on to the fact that public transport isn't just good for people, the economy and the environment - it's politically popular too.

There is strong support in the electorate for better public transport.

Public transport use in Australian cities has been growing significantly, fuelled by high petrol prices and road congestion.

In Melbourne, for example, rail patronage grew from 137 million boarding in 2004 to 200 million in 2008.

Public transport systems in some of our major cities are failing to cope with the pressure.

Until now, public transport planning and funding have been treated as an issue for the states to deal with alone.

While the states have a very important role to play in public transport planning, the RTBU has long called for federal funding for public transport projects.

Furthermore, we believe the Federal Government has a role to play in setting national standards for public transport, ensuring projects meet the needs of the population and catering for future growth.

The establishment of the Infrastructure Australia taskforce to review transport proposals on a national basis has been useful and goes some way toward putting public transport on the national agenda.

Efficient, accessible and affordable public transport is an important quality of life issue for Australians as they go to school, uni and work each day, making their contribution to society.

We see again and again that where public transport is efficient, accessible and affordable, people use it.

In Perth - where the State Government has massively invested in suburban and interurban rail infrastructure - public transport usage has doubled.

Public transport is also important for social justice reasons, giving people - particularly those in outer-urban areas - access to social infrastructure.

But most importantly, better public transport will be critical for Australia if we are to tackle climate change and reduce our carbon emissions.

Private car use and the growing road freight industry are major contributors to Australia's high per capita output of dangerous greenhouse gases.

There is growing recognition globally of the benefits of strong investment in public transport - passenger rail has been a clear beneficiary from the US to China and Europe as governments look for effective recession-beating stimulus measures that will benefit society and the environment.

Unfortunately, spending on rail in the Budget was, as usual, dwarfed by spending on roads.

However, the Federal Government has taken an important first step toward a national approach to public transport.

Greg Harvey, national secretary, Rail Tram and Bus Union.