Policies > Public Transport

The people of Australian cities and towns need public transport. Our vision is that our cities and towns could be transformed into clean, efficient, more livable places with fast, reliable and convenient public transport and healthier people.

The Problem

1. Traffic congestion costs the Australian economy more than $24 billion per year (in 2010).

2. Road vehicle crashes cost us more than $18 Billion every year, kill over 1,600 Australians and injure 30,000 more.

3. Physical inactivity costs over $11 billion per year in direct health costs.

The Solution

• Increase dedicated bus lanes on multi lane roads and allow cars with three occupants to use these lanes;
• Invest more into bus rapid transit systems;
• Give tax breaks for businesses that have at least one third of their employees starting stating work outside the peak hours (7:30 to 9:30);
• Have trains and buses operate frequent peak hour services for longer periods in the morning and afternoon;
• Introduce low cost measures to increase patronage on existing public transport;
• Provide more cycle paths and on road bicyle lanes; ensure there is cycle parking at each end of trip and park and ride at bus and train stations;
• Intergrate well planned feeder services with the rail network- including coordinated bis and tram/light rail routes and timetables, as well as bicycle routes servicing train stations and mini-bus services.
• Introduce bike hire systems within cities and towns for short trips.
• For every new housing development, suburb or area of new high density apartments - provide $200 000 funding for a free bus service. The residents of the new community can organise where the bus is to be driven and by who. For example a few retired or semi retired people drive the bus one morning a week each from the suburb to the nearest train station every half hour. During the day it travels to the nearest shopping centre and back on the hour. If this bus is introduced at the start of the suburbs development, then people will be used to taking public transport. When the subsidy runs out, the habits of the residents should stay the same.

As a general rule, for every $1 the government spends on roads, it should spend $2 on public transport.

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