Normally I agree with Paul Mees, but I think his criticism of light rail advocates is misplaced. The bus system is beyond its capacity, and still cant satisfy its mandate. There needs to be a modal change with lightrail as the backbone of a public transport system and buses feeding commuters into light rail nodes, park and rides etc.
Otherwise, he is right. Canberra is being locked into a car dependent future.
My other response is that if it wasnt for light rail advocates lobbying for better public transport, you would not be seeing any improvements or even discussion of improvements. Governments only react when pressure is applied.
What Mees also overlooks is that a big chunk of the Canberra population has lost trust in ACTION management and in the ACT Government to not rip the rug out from under bus services.
ReplyDeleteA dedicated traffic-free solution like light rail is widely viewed as 'locked in' and therefore difficult for any government to screw up. Therefore, worthy of our trust and support.
There is also the realisation of Canberra locals that the trees down Northbourne Ave - our highest priority public transport route - are largely untouchable and it would be far easier to get two light rail tracks down the middle of them with minimal damage than it would be to fit two dedicated bus lanes.
Dont forget the last grand plan - the 2004 Sustainable Transport Plan - the following year they sold off many buses and slashed service frequency. ACTION patronage plummeted and has still to recover.
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