When an academic titles a chapter in his public transport
policy assessment paper ‘
Canberra: A spectacular transport policy failure’
don’t expect there to be too much good news in it. Paul Mees is an academic
with a particular focus on public transport and has been following the issue in
Canberra from a distance for many years.
Many of his assessments on
public transport policy in this paper are correct. All governments since
self-government have abjectly neglected ACTION and focussed on road
construction. The lack of
investment has seen the frequency of ACTION services decline, especially
outside peak hour and off the major routes. This service failure has led to
patronage declines.
In his executive summary, Mees concludes:
Canberra has experienced a sustained decline in
public transport, and a steady rise in car driving, for the last two decades (apart from a
temporary reversal during 2001-06). The current car driving rate is the highest ever
recorded, something that has not occurred in any other capital city except
Hobart. Public transport mode share actually declined slightly in the five
years to 2011: Canberra was the only one of the seven cities where this
occurred. The problems are the result of poor transport policies, which have
focussed on road construction, while reversing the successful public transport
approach employed in Canberra until the late 1980s.
Mees is also correct that the focus on
investment on roads over public transport needs to be addressed, but its not
one or the other - that’s a simplistic view which has led to the current public
transport system failings. The ACT government needs to consider road and public
transport funding as infrastructure. Improve public transport and car drivers
may return to the public transport system. The ACTION system can be improved,
but its future as a mass transit system is in the past.
It is
important when assessing this paper, to look at previous works from the same
author. Mees has written papers critical of ACT Public Transport policy before,
his most recent contribution on ACTION bus failure coming in 2012. He views
investment in roads as bad, and investment in public transport as good.
This
simplistic approach doesn’t take into account changes in society and employment
mobility. Canberra is a spread out city, and the ACTION bus approach has not
served that geography well. As it grows, it is likely that employment centres
may change from the present focus on Civic and the Parliamentary Triangle. Decreasing
service frequencies outside peak hours and long circuitous routes that increase
travel times are valid criticisms.
The public
has sampled this service and voted with its cars. Arresting this decline in
patronage has proved difficult by successive governments, reluctant to invest
in changes to a public transport system that they can’t figure out how to
improve. As the cost to acquire a car has declined, its become more viable for a person to buy one and bypass poor public transport.
ACT Light
Rail has long argued that the best way to improve public transport in the ACT
is to build light rail as a mass transit backbone, increase local bus services
to feed passengers to light rail, and properly integrate light rail and buses.
Paul Mees’ main objection seems to be that there is only one light rail route
planned.
This is not
the case. There is only one light rail route under immediate consideration –
from Gungahlin to Civic – but there is a plan for light rail to be the
territories long term mass transit solution. It’s a massive change in policy
direction from the ACT Government and Capital Metro is a plan that needs
political and financial support.
If the
Capital Metro plan receives funding and construction begins within the current
Assembly term, then a future version of this paper may contain a vastly
different assessment. Canberra has the potential to lead the way in showing how
a medium sized city can reverse car usage and deliver sustainable public
transport.
You cant excuse government policy failure from the past, but credit needs to be given to present policy initiatives - and people need to ensure that these policies move from election platform promises to properly funded projects.
