2015-11-11
Record congestion costs set to continue without express investment in public transport
With the cost of congestion in Australia’s capital cities rising to $16.5 billion a year, the Greens have called for investment in public transport to be prioritised.
“The old way of trying to fix congestion with more and more roads is like loosening your belt to fix obesity,” said the Australian Greens spokesperson for transport and infrastructure Senator Janet Rice.
“The world’s major cities that are easy to get around don’t rely on cars. These cities have made a conscious effort to build infrastructure that gives people the option to catch public transport, ride their bike or simply walk to where they’re going.
“For decades, our trains, trams and buses have been ignored in favour of great big toll roads with shonky business cases like the East West Link.”
The report by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) shows the cost of congestion has risen almost 30% since 2010 and estimates that business-as-usual policies will see the congestion costs rise to $30 billion by 2030.
“We’re not going to reduce these costs to the community by going down the same track of building multi-lane carparks and spaghetti junctions,” said Senator Rice.
“We must correct this underinvestment and prioritise congestion busting trains, trams and buses, starting with the Melbourne Metro Rail tunnel.”
Media contact: Sam Drummond 0400 352 935