1960's bus photo to match a 1960's bus only public transport reality
The
Canberra Liberals released their long awaited response to the Capital Metro
light rail master plan today. It is called 'Canberra's
Transport Future', and is bus only. This is the transport policy that the Canberra liberals hope will win them the october 2016 Assembly election.
The
Canberra Times reported on it here and here.
That this public transport policy
comes six months out from an election is a sign that after 25 years of
self-government, the Canberra Liberals have finally realised that people do
care about public transport. Previous Liberal public transport policies have
been released days from elections, when people have already decided on their
vote. At the 2008 Assembly election, the Canberra Liberals were very keen on light rail. In the face of an actual light rail system being delivered, they have doubled down on more buses and cancelling light rail contracts (an act described as economic lunacy by the federal Liberal government).
Before looking at the policy details the big picture needs to be examined. It just won’t work. It is that simple. Canberra has grown beyond
the point when a bus only public transport system will suffice. Canberra will have a population exceeding half a million people in less than twenty years, and will continue to grow. If the aim is
to get people onto public transport, the new policy won’t achieve that. More
bus services sounds great, but the new plan while having some appealing
features, won’t provide the infrastructure that Canberra needs for a growing
city. Many of the improvements to the bus fleet and network are improvements
that are already planned by the Government and ACTION.
The new Liberal policy is really a short
term election winning policy. It isn’t a vision. This plan might help for a few years, it may
solve some short term complaints about frequency and no public transport to the
Airport, but our long term future is light rail. Light rail brings carrying
capacity benefits, will attract Transit Oriented Development, will assist the
change to a medium and high density future, will guide urban renewal, will
attract tourism, will contribute to a reduction in climate change emissions,
reduce road congestion, increase public transport patronage and change the way
we travel around our city. No longer will a family have to be a two car (or
more) family. Better public transport will change our lives and our city for
the better.
While the Liberal policy has some
appealing features, such as the same route numbering 7 days a week, and
expanded late night services, it is a short term plan and seriously
underestimates the demand that the increased population will make on transport
services. While this plan may not lead to increased public transport use, it
will lead to more road congestion.
Let us look at the policy in
detail. The Canberra Liberals are promising (from ‘Canberra Transport Future’):
"Eight
Rapid routes: six new bus routes across
Canberra.
A
new Parkway Express route: linking
Canberra Hospital and Woden Bus Station to Calvary Hospital and Belconnen Bus
Station.
The
introduction of non-stop services, ‘X’ routes: to make travelling in peak hours even faster.
A
seven day bus network: the same bus
routes operating the same services, seven days a week.
Late
night services every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night: giving party goers and shift workers a truly safe and economical
transport option home.
Summer
services: during the summer months,
more services to suit the active lifestyle of the season.
Make
bus routes faster: by reducing circuitous
bus routes in Gungahlin, Tuggeranong and Belconnen.
Introduction
of additional Weston Creek to City routes.
Airport
services: finally bridge the gap
between the airport and the City.
We will keep every bus stop: there will be no reduction in access to services in suburban
areas.
Colour coded routes and buses: a fleet of new Rapid buses will be colour coded to reflect the
routes they operate including colour matching bus stations, signage,
way-finding and timetable information.
Introduction
of a simplified frequent timetable with the ambition of being timetable free.
Additional
cashless buses: to reduce boarding delays
and speed up travel times.
Real
time upgrade: create ‘moving dots’ to
see actual locations of buses, provide more real time information and push more
information to customers across the network using on-board information systems,
transport websites, mobile apps and social media.
‘Friday
free’ for nine rides or more in a week: we will reward loyal customers who travel with us by offering
free travel after eight paid journeys are completed.
Enable MyWay for other purchases:
consultation with convenience stores, cafés
and other merchants regarding accepting MyWay cards as a form of payment.
100%
accessible and air-conditioned bus fleet: to ensure that ACTION is striving towards full compliance with
the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and to ensure that passengers are
travelling in a pleasant environment.
Prioritise
the bus network: ensure that our buses and
bus stations are reliable and are a first priority when roadworks and major
community gatherings are being planned.
Stadium
transport: upgrade infrastructure to
make travelling to Canberra Stadium and Manuka Oval an easier and more
attractive option.
Accessible
Canberra: implement a wayfinding
system to help passengers navigate our public spaces and find the closest
transport services.
A great customer experience: a commitment to putting passengers first through a walk-in
centre for bus information and ticket sales in the City and deploying roving
customer service ambassadors to help passengers on the network.
Commitment
to intersection jump-starts: plan and
construct slip lanes as well as priority phasing for buses at traffic lights.
Kiss
& Ride facilities: to provide
additional locations for easy and safe drop-off locations across the network.
New
fit-out for buses: introduction of high
capacity four-door articulated buses on Rapid routes to deliver efficiency and
elegance. We will also look to bring bikes on board buses so that people can
quickly board and depart.
Local
technology and innovation budget: making funds
available to locals to contribute their great ideas to help make Canberra a
truly smart and innovate transport city.
Intelligent
transport systems: including signalisation,
variable speed limits and other technologies.
Electric
buses: undertake a trial to see
if electric buses are suitable for Canberra.
Major
Bus Station Infrastructure:
improvements to paths, lighting, shelters and security, and
mid-to-long-term improvements to the design of the infrastructure.
Audit
of bus stops:
to ensure that they are accessible for people of all abilities.
New
northside bus depot:
the establishment of an
additional facility to serve a growing city.
Creating attractive sheltered bus
stops: new super stops and
shelters at all Rapid bus stops with all weather shielding and heating, real
time information displays as well as detailed way-finding, static passenger
information and maps.
Publish
performance data and monitor the network: we want everyone to know how the system is functioning. We will
also establish a transport service control centre to coordinate the daily
running of the bus network with input from the road services group and
emergency services.
Possible statutory authority: to enable ACTION to become accountable for its expenditure and
service delivery."
That is the list of promises that
the Canberra Liberals are making in their bus only policy. Three thoughts occur
immediately.
- Many of the
improvements they are proposing are already going to happen under the current
governments plans,
- How much will
the really bold proposals like 7 to 15 minute frequency on all routes really
cost? That would require a doubling or tripling f the current fleet,
- Many of the
proposals are short term only. The need for light rail will still exist.
ACTION Fleet renewal is already occurring,
and will continue. Electric buses have already been flagged as a desirable
addition (and almost certainly a long term replacement over decades) to the
fleet. The implementation of Apps and software services to make route selection
and travel planning easier has already occurred, and will only get better.
How much will this all cost? The Canberra
Liberals say that:
“This proposal is an
economical solution that is suited to Canberra and will deliver world class
public transport services and facilities for all parts of our wonderful city. Through the combined
cost of ACTION's current budget and the cost of operating the Capital Metro
government department, we can deliver this network.”
Clearly this isn’t possible. Expanding the frequency
of all routes to operate at 7 to 15 minute frequency would mean that the plan
to increase the ACTION fleet from 410 buses to 460 buses (by leasing 50 buses)
simply wont be enough, it’s a mathematical impossibility. The Liberals claim
this can be achieved by combining the Capital Metro operating budget, and the
current ACTION budget (a total of around $160 million) and using that money. It
defies common sense.
Setting aside the inability to actually pay for the
policy, let us assume it is implemented as promised. The proposals may assist
in the short term at making local bus services better, but they wont address
the conditions that have led to the need for light rail. Yes local bus services
need to improve, yes there needs to be higher frequency, but to cancel light
rail and hope that the bus only transport plan will get Canberrans out of their
cars and into public transport is wishful thinking.
Much of the debate around Capital
Metro Stage One has been on capacity, and the claim that buses can achieve what
light rail can. The alternative to Light Rail is Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). That
is buses travelling on their own right of way. This new policy doesn’t mention
that at all, so it is more buses on the same roads. Buses are limited in their
passenger carrying capacity; even the articulated buses only carry 150 people.
The light rail vehicles Capital Metro will use can carry 220 people.
The best transport technology for mass transit in
Canberra is light rail, with integrated bus services. Increase the frequency of
local buses to feed light rail backbone. When Capital Metro commences
operations in 219, one million bus kilometres will be available for allocation
across the ACTION network. That will go a long way to increasing frequency on
all other routes. As the light rail network expands to the Parliamentary
Triangle, Woden, Belconnen and Tuggeranong, all those buses doing intertown work
can be reallocated to the suburban local services.
Capital Metro light rail will bring about a dramatic change in Canberra,
not only in public transport use, but also in reshaping Canberra for the future.
As it has on the Gold Coast, public transport patronage will increase dramatically
with light rail. Or, we can go back to the past on a bus only network that
Canberrans continue to walk away from, or should I say drive away from, as they
choose the private car over public transport.
The electorate now has two visions of our future to choose from at the October election, a Canberra wide light rail master plan with
expanded integrated local bus services, to be implemented over 25 years or a
bus only system with expanded frequency.
Is the Canberra liberals policy an election wining vision? No, it isn't. The Canberra electorate have already voted for light rail and an integrated expanded bus system. A bus only system offers no long term benefits.
