Transport

Creating sustainable, convenient, publicly-owned, free transport systems to reduce emissions, improve accessibility and strengthen communities across NSW.

Principles

The Greens NSW believe:

1. Cities with integrated public and active transport create better, stronger, and healthier communities;
2. Transport systems should favour public and active transport wherever possible, including personal mobility, walking, and cycling. Convenient door-to-door travel combines walking, cycling, and public transport;
3. It is crucial that public transport is frequent, reliable, and accessible to ensure that people want to use it;
4. People have the right to fare-free, efficient, accessible, and safe public transport;
5. Transport infrastructure and major services should be publicly owned and administered, and not run for profit;
6. Maintaining, improving, and expanding public and active transport is necessary for ecological sustainability, a healthier environment, and a better connected society;
7. Air, sea, and road transport are major contributors to climate change and air pollution. We must transition to low emission alternatives;
8. A shift to rail for long distance passenger and freight transport is an important and effective response to climate change, congestion, pollution, road safety, and fuel security.
9. Light rail functions both as a people mover and a means to make our streets cleaner, safer, and pedestrian-friendly;
10. Heavy vehicles should be taxed in proportion to the costs they impose on the environment, health, roads, and other infrastructure;
11. Regional and rural communities need public transport that is accessible, convenient, integrated, reliable, and free;
12. Air travel is an essential service in regional and remote Australia and should be guaranteed by a publicly-owned carrier if a commercial operation is deemed unviable or unsuitable;
13. There must be transparency and genuine public engagement in the planning and delivery of transport infrastructure and services;
14. Public transport should be resilient to disruption from extreme weather events as the impacts of climate change become more severe.

Aims

The Greens NSW will work towards:

15. Eliminating climate and other pollutant emissions from transport by encouraging active transport and favouring transport options with the lowest emissions;
16. Transitioning our transport systems to ecologically sustainable and renewable energy sources;
17. Building high speed and faster rail links;
18. Supporting upgrades to high-performance rail on strategic corridors;
19. Supporting and promoting initiatives which reduce the need for individual car ownership;
20. Advocating for taxation reform to promote the transition to sustainable transport;
21. Ending the construction of city motorways and redirecting funding to active and public transport infrastructure;
22. Ensuring the enforcement, expansion, and maintenance of priority traffic measures, including bus lanes, transit lanes, and bicycle lanes;
23. Introducing the world’s best practice standards on fuel economy, vehicle emissions, and fuel quality to reduce impacts on the environment from the transport sector;
24. Supporting the uptake of zero-emission vehicles and the widespread deployment of publicly and privately-owned charging infrastructure;
25. Planning and investing in rail as the predominant mode for freight transport;
26. Ensuring freight transport is safe and ecologically sustainable;
27. Phasing out the use of semi-trailers and B-doubles as the major form of freight transport and replacing them with a combination of rail, maritime transport, and non-articulated trucks run from renewable energy sources;
28. Where more sustainable transport options exist, removing the competitive advantage of road transport over other transport modes for travellers by implementing a fair pricing mechanism that incorporates the negative impacts of driving, such as environmental and social impacts, the costs of traffic congestion, and the damage to roads;
29. Implementing mechanisms to discourage the purchase and use of larger vehicles for private use in urban areas;
30. Introducing regulatory and taxation reforms that reflect the long-term environmental, social, and health impacts of air travel;

Affordable and accessible public transport

31. Encouraging, supporting, and prioritising public transport and active transport over private motor vehicle use;
32. Improving planning and boosting funding for public transport and safety upgrades in rural and regional areas of New South Wales;
33. Stopping the sale and destruction of public transport infrastructure;
34. Replacing privately-owned public transport services with publicly-owned services;
35. Improving and extending all modes of public transport services to areas of need through long-term investment;
36. Ensuring that major gaps in the metropolitan rail network are filled by new rail;infrastructure and services.
37. Ensuring that existing railway lines are retained wherever possible while extending the current railway network;
38. Providing late-night public transport services, utilising rail where feasible;
39. Promoting and supporting cycling and walking to public transport facilities as convenient and healthy forms of 'first and last mile' travel;
40. Maintaining sufficient staffing levels to ensure that public transport services are safe, user-friendly, reliable, and efficient;
41. Building a bank of institutional knowledge within the public service that includes professional, engineering, and technical expertise to enable long-term integrated planning for establishing and delivering transport infrastructure;
42. Providing public transport information in both English and other community languages;
43. Abolishing fares for public transport to ensure that everyone gets free public transport at the point of service. If fares remain, they should not create a barrier for unemployed and low-income people using public transport;
44. Ensuring that railway stations, bus stops, ferry wharves, and light rail stops are safe, and providing adequate seating, shelter from sun and rain, bicycle storage, and accurate timetable information;
45. Developing efficient and accessible interchanges between different public transport services;
46. Ensuring there is functioning lift or ramp access at all railway stations;
47. Initiating a program for reinstating regional rail services where they have been discontinued;
48. Developing seamless public transport links with all adjacent states and territories.

Integrated planning

49. Implementing Council and State Government development plans that prioritise public and active transport;
50. Phasing out Public Private Partnership (PPPs) arrangements for transport projects;
51. Applying ecologically sustainable development (ESD) principles when planning transport infrastructure;
52. Ensuring integrated transport and land-use planning;
53. Allowing local councils to use developer contributions for local and regional public transport schemes;  
54. Ensuring revenue from road-user pricing, such as congestion charges and parking space levies, is prioritised by the government for spending on public and active transport, not to maximise the profits of private toll road companies;
55. Requiring pollutants from motorway tunnels and stacks to be filtered to world's best practice, strengthening compliance measures, and directing resources into ensuring this compliance;
56. Ensuring that airports have minimal air and noise pollution impacts and are well-connected to public transport links.

Active transport

57. Prioritising and providing incentives for active transport;
58. Providing a safer environment that caters for a variety of cyclist needs and purposes;
59. Ensuring residential speed limits are safe for cyclists, pedestrians, and mobility devices;
60. Creating a publicly accessible road safety database to report cycling injuries and near misses, including locations, road conditions, and severity and nature of injuries;
61. Providing convenient access, storage, and free passage for bicycles on public transport;
62. Developing a safe and secure network of on-road and off-road cycling and walking routes, bicycle parking, and end-trip facilities, including the construction of physically separated cycleways where desirable;
63. Full and ongoing safety and utility evaluations of all active transport facilities that are constructed;
64. Developing a budget for active transport in line with the United Nations recommendation of at least 20% of the total transport budget, including a minimum proportionate contribution from road projects;
65. Supporting the provision of city bike schemes;
66. Reviewing the impacts of bicycle helmet laws;
67. Redesigning town centres where possible so they provide a welcoming and accessible environment for cyclists and pedestrians;
68. Ensuring bicycle travel receives the same tax rebates and business travel allowances as car travel.

General

69. Reducing road usage pricing for motorcycles relative to cars;
70. Mandating the disclosure of business cases and cost benefit analyses for all major road and transport infrastructure projects, including details on how such projects meet the best interests of the community and the environment before the Government commits to any project;
71. Evaluation of all major transport infrastructure projects with respect to environmental and social considerations.

Definitions

1. Integrated transport refers to implementing the following principles of integration:

1. Functional and modal integration: Different modes of transport complementing each other and making travel easier, as well as ticketing and fare systems that allow for multi-modal journeys;
2. Transport and land use planning integration: Simultaneous consideration of land use and transport planning to reduce demand for travel and promote public transport, walking and cycling.

2. Sustainability refers to the practice of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) principles:

1. The precautionary principle – if there are risks of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation;
2. Inter-generational equity – concerns fairness between generations, and holds that the present generation should ensure that the health, diversity, and productivity of the environment are maintained or enhanced for the benefit of future generations.

Last revised February 2024.