Transport costs to society

[mufreight]

Worth considering before the election since it is obvious that No Policies Newman like Anna B Liar has not the faintest idea when it comes to transport overall within the state and public transport more specificly.
A recent report, The True Value of Rail produced by Delotte Access Economics 31st October 2011 makes worthwhile reading not only in respect of commuter rail passenger services but also the provision of infrastructure to meet the growing freight transport task.
One section worth the effort of acquiring a copy and reading is TRANSPORT COSTS TO SOCIETY

Both road and rail generate costs that are not taken into account in prices.  These costs known as externalities, must be borne by society.  These costs should be taken into account in order to make correct investment decisions.

Importantly, rail transport creates less of these external costs than does road transport.

Modelling indicates that a passenger journey made by rail and not road transport can reduce costs relating to congestion, carbon polution and accidents by around $3.11 in Brisbane or up to $8.41 in Sydney.  On the freight side, moving from road to rail can decrease these costs by around $0.80 for every tonne kilometre; this translates to around $124 for a single container transported between Melbourne and Brisbane (or Brisbane and Townsville) Road freight also creates costs for other road users as larger trucks tend to under-pay for access compared to the costs that they create.  Rail also generates benefits by allowing for greater social inclusion.

These costs have tangible effects on the lives of all Australian's and the economy.  Congestion eats away at leisure time and reduces economic productivity as workers and goods take longer to reach thier destination and cost more to transport.  Carbon polution creates social costs to be borne by future generations who will face the duel costs of a changed climate and the need to reduce emissions. In addition to deaths caused by vehicle accidents,injuries create ongoing effects in terms of pain, reduced ability to work and the need for care.

Now Mr No Policies Newman justify your refusal to comit to build Cross River Rail and your refusal to this time to commit to the duplication on the NCL north of Beerburrum to Nambour and your do it in half the time upgrade of the Bruce Highway while totaly neglecing rail infrastructure despite an annual actual growth in freight of better than 8% that can not presently be accomodated on rail due to lack of fit for purpose infrastructure.
The proposed expenditure over two of the ten years as Mr Newman proposed to spend on his upgrade of the Bruce Highway if spent on rail infrastructure would not only see rail able to absorb that annual growth in freight but able to reduce the current tonnage of road freight at present being carried on the Bruce Highway with significent ecenomic and social benefits.

Worth considering.  

[ozbob]

The true value of rail --> http://www.ara.net.au/UserFiles/file/Publications/TVOR_Report.pdf  PDF 6 MB

[Stillwater]

The state government's latest 'world class' glossy brochure detailing its plan for the Bruce Highway acknowledges that the highway will need to be widened from four to six lanes between Caboolture and the Sunshine Coast Motorway.  In rail terms, thats between Caboolture and Eudlo, roughly.  At the same time, the Sunshine Coast Regional Council has noticed informal car parks springing up as people car pool around the Coast.  It has begun investigating how it can formalise these 'park-and-ride' facilities and relocate some to safer locations.

What's happening?

-  The state government, which is responsible for funding railways, has reneged on its promise to duplicate the SCL to Nambour in the reasonable timeframe it first set and publicised
-  People are switching from rail to road, exacerbated by SC tradies travelling to and from Brisbane for work (slowdown in local market, but work in Brisbane, post floods)
-  The state's expectation is that the federal government, which funds the Bruce Highway, will meet the cost of relieving congestion - congestion that will be exacerbated more by Caloundra South development
-  Non-action by the state government on the SCL duplication, thereby shifting costs to local government, which is responsible for car parks.

The Queensland Government does nothing about the rail duplication (creating a false impression that it is 'saving' money) and forcing its tax base - you and me, mums and dads - to pay through federal taxes and council rates for alternative and inefficient transport solutions brought about by that inaction.  People still end up paying, and they will pay again ultimately when the necessary railway duplication finally goes ahead at probably three times the cost if started today.

We can take little comfort from the possibility of a change of government.  After being very hairy-chested about the rail duplication, and criticising Labor for a lack of action, the LNP has gone very coy on this matter.

Meanwhile, credible reports warn of socio-economic decline brought about by not duplicating the SCL, the local tourism bodies warn that their visitor surveys show that Bruce Highway congestion is deterring families from driving up from Brisbane for holidays.  They are heading south instead, on the six and eight-lane M1.  It's plain crazy.