Sustainable transport

[ozbob]

Minister for Transport
The Honourable Rachel Nolan
28/05/2010

Towards sustainable transport

Transport Minister Rachel Nolan today stepped up her commitment to sustainable transport in a bid to reduce greenhouses gases, respond to peak oil, and secure a stronger future for Queensland.

Ms Nolan was joined by Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) Executive Director Don Henry to launch the Office of Sustainable Transport (OST) which will operate out of the Department of Transport and Main Roads.

"With transport accounting for more than 10 per cent of Queensland's total emissions, we have to take a long hard look at how we travel," Ms Nolan said.

"The OST will aim to deliver more sustainable transport solutions for Queensland. This dedicated team is charged with taking a futuristic look at transport solutions across the state.

"I'm serious about reducing the state's greenhouse gases and we're committed to achieving this through a number of targeted initiatives led by the new office."

Ms Nolan said the department will spend $1.4 million to trial hybrid electric-diesel buses.

A 12-month regional trial to start later this year in Cairns is the first of two trials, the second will be undertaken within south east Queensland once the results of the first trial have been assessed.

The buses will be wheelchair accessible and air conditioned to ensure passenger comfort.

"These buses could make a serious difference. They could cut emissions by up to 40 per cent over a traditional bus, if US trial results are achieved here in Queensland."

The bus uses both an electric motor and a diesel engine to propel it forward, with excess energy stored inside the battery and recycled, when needed.

The diesel-electric hybrid bus trial is also part of the Government's ClimateQ program which uses $196 million of the Queensland Climate Change Fund to reduce the State's greenhouse gas emissions, and to support the community and industry to adapt to a changing climate.

Ms Nolan said Government would seek advice from key stakeholders on OST policies including the RACQ, Australian Conservation Foundation, Queensland Conservation Council, Bicycle Queensland, Rail Back on Track, Queensland Trucking Association, Queensland Bus Industry Council, Taxi Council of Queensland, and Heart Foundation.

The Office is also working closely with the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and the Queensland Conservation Council on a Sustainable Transport Forum.

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[ozbob]

http://www.transport.qld.gov.au/Home/General_information/Environment/Sustainable_transport/

The Queensland Government established the Office of Sustainable Transport to develop transport policies that balance and integrate economic, environmental and social needs to deliver a sustainable transport system.  Initial areas of focus for the Office include climate change, building resilience to oil vulnerability and related issues.

[ozbob]

How can Queenslanders make a contribution?

[ozbob]

Active and public transport are two key components in the sustainable transport culture.

Public transport must be frequent, be accessible (be there and easy to use), and relatively affordable.
Public transport and active transport are linked.

Please feel free to comment.

[Golliwog]

Active transport could easily be better encouraged by the provision of a bike rack at bus stops and stations. Sure, the bike lockers that are getting put in at stations are nice, but why do you need a big box for just a bike? Just a simple hoop to attach a bike lock to are all you need. I know some stops have them, but its usually just the "major" ones, and even then its rather selective. Similarly, if they are trying to convince people to cycle to work in the city, how about putting these hoops on the streets?

[stephenk]

The Office of Sustainable Transport? Lots of bureaucratic jobs created to tell us what we already know - invest more in public and active transport and less on roads.

[Golliwog]

I think it will be more useful than we think. Sustainability in general is limited by what the average joe knows about it. Giving planners an office to turn to for advice on this sort of thing I think should improve things in the years to come. Its still not going to convince everyone (hey, I know a guy who thinks recycling is a waste of money ) but providing a port of call for the people planning new developments to turn to for advice on these sorts of things will improve their knowledge on these issues.

[ozbob]

I think it will help gain a further focus - which public and active transport will be a major part.  I have suggested that the economic benefits of public and active transport be constantly highlighted which hopefully will start to see a better share of public funds going to sustainable transport options for the long haul.  Also the OST can lobby within the bureaucracy as well?  I hope a staff member or two from OST can make our forum in September, I will let them know about it.

[Golliwog]

That'd be good. No, I definitly see them as an improvement. In my sustainable construction class, one of the main things holding back sustainability being more widely accepted and used, is a lack of know-how from the people both planning and building these things. They either don't know where to find out how to do these things, or don't realise the benefits to be had from it. A great case study was building demolition for example, what usually happens is it jsut gets knocked down and everything sent off to landfill. Not much thought put into whats still perfectly usable in there (say all the wiring, fixtures, not to mention that concrete can be ground up and reused in new concrete). By looking at it instead of as a source of waste, but as a source of resources they can not just reduce the amount of waste to landfill, but actually reduce the costs of building the new building. I know this isn't quite so readily applied to the sustainable transport issue, but having someone to point out how to plan for it is somewhat similar to this.

[Mozz]

http://qld.psnews.com.au/Page_QLDpsn1234.html

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