Government must heed think tank’s calls for more public transport: Greens

2016-11-30

Greens spokesperson for Transport Lynn MacLaren MLC has today welcomed the City of Perth’s Get a Move On report, which calls for greater investment in public transport.
“Perth is currently on track to have seven of the most congested roads in Australia by 2031,” Ms MacLaren said.
“We can’t keep doing what we’ve always done and expect a different result.”
Ms MacLaren said The Greens had been saying all along that a dramatic change of course towards more public transport was needed. 
She said the Greens’ public transport plan for Perth would provide the whole community with an interconnected network of high frequency public transport.
“The Government must show this kind of vision.  Instead, it has dropped MAX light rail from its transport plans – yet another broken promise undermining the future of our public transport network,” Ms MacLaren said.
“The Barnett Government’s approach is outdated. 
“It continues to prioritise roads over public transport, including the nightmare that is Roe 8.
“Building more roads is not the answer to congestion as the City of Perth report shows.”
The Green's Transit City plan details a network of public transport options including:

  • 71 km of heavy rail
  • 65km of Light Rail
  • 283km Bus Priority Transit
  • 811km High Frequency Buses

The capital cost to deliver Transit City would be approximately $9.65billion and would be implemented within 15 years, not 35 as vaguely suggested in the Government's Transport plan.
QUICK FACTS

  • Perth commuters could save up to $1,500 a year, or $30 per week if they use public transport rather than drive a medium sized car. 
  • About 30% of Australians do not own or use a car
  • Only about 85% of Perth homes currently have easy access to public transport, even then the services are not frequent enough to be convenient 
  • Over the past 10 years patronage on our rail network increased by 67% - three times the rate of population growth.
  • People say the only way to make public transport viable is through density, but a Dispersed Network system means even a sprawling city like Perth can be a transit city.  

Read the Green's Transit City plan here: http://greens.org.au/wa/wa2.0/transit-city
Related portfolios: Transport