Let's boost the buses

Hobart Mercury, 24 July 2008

NEW Premier David Bartlett has indicated that public transport will be a major part of his future policy agenda.

That represents a major shift for the State Government and shows how the emerging politics of peak oil, climate change and social exclusion are starting to filter down to state level.

Rising fuel prices and concern about greenhouse gas emissions are leading Australians to consider their travel patterns to seek alternatives to the family car.

For most people in major cities, that is a simple choice between the car and public transport.

But in car-dependent Tasmania, public transport still battles against a perception that it is a transport option only of last resort, for students and people without access to a private vehicle.

Tasmania, in fact, has the second-highest level of car ownership per capita in the country, behind only Western Australia.

Tasmania also has pockets of significant economic disadvantage, especially in the broadacre public housing estates on the fringes of Hobart and Launceston.

Because those suburbs are geographically isolated and some distance from the CBD, they also suffer from poor access to transport services and have high levels of social exclusion.

All this means that Tasmanian families are particularly vulnerable to further increases in oil prices.

So what can be done?

First, we need to have a good, hard look at the sort of services we are presently operating and how they can be improved to better meet the needs of local communities.

There is a significant opportunity for the bus network to do more of the heavy lifting, particularly in the work commuter market.

Imagine a new network of rapid-transit services in Hobart and Launceston, providing fast, frequent and direct links from outlying suburbs to the CBD along major arterial roads.

Those services would differ from existing express buses in that they would be more frequent and would have user-friendly features to attract more patronage.

Services would be regular and frequent, stopping at a limited number of locations.

In Hobart, services could be provided to areas such as Brighton, New Norfolk, Sorell, Lauderdale and Kingston.

Park-and-ride facilities would be provided so people could drive to the nearest rapid transit stop and leave their car in a safe place.

Bus-only lanes or transit lanes would be introduced to some roads to help bus services beat peak hour traffic congestion.

Buses would be also equipped with technology to ensure they get green-light priority at traffic lights.

And electronic screens would provide waiting passengers with constant real-time updates about the expected arrival times of the next buses.

This model is successfully being used to develop a series of orbital bus routes around Melbourne -- effectively public transport's version of a metropolitan ring road.

There are plenty of other improvements that could also be made.

Regional and intra-city services are simply inadequate. More funding is needed to provide a better statewide network of bus links between Tasmanian towns.

Hobart should also have a single bus terminal for all intra-city services as Launceston does.

Routes and timetables should be simplified wherever possible to make it easier for people to understand where buses go and how often they come along.

And a major marketing push is needed to improve community awareness of local bus services, taking away the mystery surrounding public transport that deters some people from using it.

Finally, the State Government should recognise the potential for ferries to contribute to transport in Hobart and subsidise ferry services in the same way it subsidises bus services.

Ferries can not only provide a viable alternative to cars, they can also add immensely to life on and around the harbour. Sydney's ferry service not only carries commuters to and from the city, it is also an iconic part of the city's tourism experience. It is astounding that Hobart, with its glorious harbour, does not have a commuter ferry service of its own.

On the other hand, a more cautious note needs to be struck on the proposed light rail link to Brighton. That project would be extremely expensive and unlikely to attract the number of passengers needed to make it financially viable.

When you consider the benefits in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, overcoming high fuel prices, tackling social exclusion and adding to the tourism experience, you can see that it is time for a renaissance in public transport.

Let's hope we see some rubber hitting the road on new public transport projects in the very near future.

Stewart Prins, National Manager, Transport, Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF)