What if public transport didn't exist (or was shutdown)?

[WTN]

What would happen if public transport didn't exist? Or if it was totally shutdown for whatever reason (declining patronage, funding cuts, etc)?

Feel free to let your imagination run wild. It may make one realise the importance of public transport in an urban landscape.

[#Metro]

Just look at any city that has a transit strike

[Mr X]

Expect to be f**ked in peak.

[Arnz]

I do remember BT and the old QR Citytrain striking at separate points throughout the decade (with the non-striking identity having to provide extra buses or trains from their limited resources alongside whatever the private operators had available).

Imagine if BT and QueenslandRail workers striked at the same time.  Private Operators would be struggling with their available bus rollingstock and pretty much the city would be in gridlock.

[HappyTrainGuy]

QR have had several strikes. Longest was in 94'? drivers/guards walked off the job for 24+ hours which f**ked up Monday commuters and saw the BT fare collection skyrocket!

If QR striked soon its really only the long distance passengers that would be disadvantaged. Just look at the most recent faults related to the city network. The bus network now spreads out and duplicates a fair distance of the railway so its just a small delay eg an hour for a major provider strike is pretty good. However if the bus network striked expect chaos as people flood trains trying to get to their nearest station to then get a taxi home.

[SteelPan]

I'd buy a 2nd hand bus and start up a bus service, to begin with my local area and grow from there!

yes I would, yes I would...

[#Metro]

If public transport didn't exist, taxis and private operators would take over. So public transport would exist, it would just be extremely expensive and inconvenient.

[Fares_Fair]

What would happen if public transport didn't exist? Or if it was totally shutdown for whatever reason (declining patronage, funding cuts, etc)?

Feel free to let your imagination run wild. It may make one realise the importance of public transport in an urban landscape.

Given that the enterprise bargaining negotiations are not quite finalised and await employee approval, do you have inside information?

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[STB]

I'd buy a 2nd hand bus and start up a bus service, to begin with my local area and grow from there!

yes I would, yes I would...

Good luck with the legal mumbo jumbo and start up and running costs!

[Mr X]

Cash in hand, STB, cash in hand 

[achiruel]

State Gov't would soon shut you down, you cannot carry passengers for hire or reward without a permit/license.

[mufreight]

In the event that no services were being provided it would be a fairly rapid process to gain accreditation for anyone who met the criteria for a public transport operator.
Government has the authority to grant a licence which can under the present regulations be granted over an existing licence it the licenced operator for that area does not or can not supply an appropriate service.

[STB]

In the event that no services were being provided it would be a fairly rapid process to gain accreditation for anyone who met the criteria for a public transport operator.
Government has the authority to grant a licence which can under the present regulations be granted over an existing licence it the licenced operator for that area does not or can not supply an appropriate service.

Out of pure curiosity, would that someone need to be aware of the laws regarding safety, IR etc?  Eg: at uni where I'm studying TV producing, we're having to learn IP law, contract law, copyright, among other things as was recommended to the university by the industry.

[SurfRail]

I could have a look, but I am by no means an expert.  There are some lawyers in town who specialise in transport and who may be persuaded to do a guest post if anybody knows one (I'm at a different level of the food chain).

[WTN]

Given that the enterprise bargaining negotiations are not quite finalised and await employee approval, do you have inside information?

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

No I do not have any inside information. Besides, isn't that question a bit off topic?

If public transport didn't exist, taxis and private operators would take over. So public transport would exist, it would just be extremely expensive and inconvenient.

That would be a likely scenario. Given that coach/tour bus operators exist (and charge full commercial rates), a limited service could exist, only very expensive, infrequent and not very useful. Which in turn would do little to ease the massive gridlock created.

Parking, especially in the CBD, will also be a big problem. Imagine, in a typical office floor there is a car in place of everyone's desk. So if everyone drove their own car to work, you would need a carpark about the same size as the office itself. There's not much space in the CBD, even if the botanic gardens and all the city parks are turned into carparks.

[Stillwater]

No public transport?

If there were no public transport, Australian cities would have to introduce a 'cordon tax' around their CBDs to counter the increased car use.  Obviously, that money would go to more road construction.  People could avoid the tax by using their cars for P3 travel – three people in a car on a designated transit lane means the car owner would not have to pay the tax.  As exists elsewhere around the world, there would develop a 'rider market' – professional passengers gathered beside the road who would negotiate with the driver to ride into town past the gantry where the tax would be collected electronically.  They would walk back past the gantry and catch another ride for a price they would negotiate with the driver.  That price would be less than the congestion tax to make it worthwhile for the driver.

Governments may have to introduce a ballot system for car registration, or registration would soar to $10,000 a year, or thereabouts.

Obviously there would be a ramp-up of bicycle travel.  And walking.  Innovative pedal-powered vehicles would develop, including more motorised bicycles, or use of scooters.

The most profound change would be that the taxi industry would need to be deregulated.  Some regulation would still need to exist – taxi drivers and their vehicles would still have to be licensed, but there would be far, far more taxis allowed on the road.  The cost of a taxi licence would fall dramatically.

http://www.harryrclarke.com/2009/05/23/the-uneasy-case-for-deregulating-taxis/
http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/8281/taxiregulation.pdf
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/deregulation-can-save-the-taxi-industry-from-itself-20110402-1csg1.html

There would develop nodes where cars would gather in the morning and evening, and where people would mill about negotiating a fare to where they wanted to go.  Regular drivers and passengers would establish a travel relationship.  This is another form of car pooling.

Industry would develop 'worker estates', where housing (either free or subsidised) would become part of an employee's wages and conditions.  The factory or office block would sit at the heart of the company estate, surrounded by residential towers.

Pollution would be a real problem – the carbon tax would need to be hiked up for car use.  Because the price of fuel would be much dearer, its use by motorised transport would add to the cost of living for everyone.  In turn, that would feed into inflation and interest rate setting.  For those who could not afford to pay off a home loan, they would be forced to live in slums, or a cardboard box.

Let's not not have public transport.