1 Jan 2011: Australia: Sustainable safe transport is the priority ...

[ozbob]

Media Release 1 January 2011

Australia:  Sustainable safe transport is the priority for Governments that want to govern ..

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport commuters has said the latest Opinion survey from the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies for Quarter 2, June 2010 has clearly indicated the immediate and long term direction for transport in Australia (1,2).

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"One of the key findings in the survey is that over half of Australians (53%) said the highest priority issue for transport in Australia is public transport improvements, more than double who said road improvements were the highest transport priority (22%)."

"Australia needs roads, roads that are not constantly ruined by heavy trucks. Flood damage is exacerbated by constant heavy vehicle traffic."

"A car centric, road centric transport policy is now demonstrably a failure all over.  All bulk freight needs to be moved back to rail, and  high frequency high capacity public transport put in place in all major population centres.  Further support for active transport needs ramping up."

"Governments all over Australia have seem to be held captive by the road lobby, but citizens have had enough.  As was demonstrated in the 2010 state election in Victoria, the citizens of Australia have had enough of the congestion, the chronic chaos and devastating road trauma, and governments will turn on this issue.  The looming oil crisis is another factor of why we need to act now (3,4,5). Australia is particularly vulnerable to 'oil price shock'."

"The bulk of the road funding must be given over to sustainable transport options for the future. Electric rail, light and heavy will be the transport saviour for our nation."

References:

1.  Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies–Interfleet Transport Opinion Survey (TOPS) Quarter 2, June 2010 http://sydney.edu.au/business/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/72397/TOPS-data-1006.pdf

2.  http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=5041.msg42144#msg42144

3.  New Zealand Parliament Report: The next oil shock? http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/ParlSupport/ResearchPapers/4/6/a/00PLEco10041-The-next-oil-shock.htm

4.  http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=4932.0

5.  Report warns of oil woes http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=5164.0

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org