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The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) today warned that the imminent opening of Eastlink will only have a short-term impact on the problems of traffic congestion in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, and do nothing to overcome car dependency.

The PTUA’s Outer East Convenor Jeremy Lunn said that spending billions on the new freeway at the expense of investment in public transport would maintain car dependency for another generation.

“The problems of growing traffic congestion and spiralling petrol prices will not be solved by this new road. Public transport is non-existent or woefully inadequate for most of Melbourne’s growing east.”
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As featured in The Age this morning, the PTUA has looked at the carbon emissions per person kilometre for a range of cars of various types and sizes, and compared them to the different forms of public transport.
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The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has called on the government to take the next big step in upgrading public transport services.

In launching their “Every 10 minutes to everywhere” plan at a climate change and transport forum at Melbourne Town Hall on Sunday, PTUA president Daniel Bowen noted the urgency for action on climate change, and said that it was time to provide people right across Melbourne and regional cities with a viable alternative to driving.
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Click here for full details of this Sunday’s free forum at the Melbourne Town Hall on transport and climate change.

15th June: Slides are now available

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Commuters have called on the Brumby Government to stop making excuses for the lack of progress on Rowville railway line and to simply fund it. The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) says commuters are sick and tired of hearing the same old Government rhetoric when action is what is needed.
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The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has welcomed Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s call for national investment in public transport to provide relief from high petrol prices.

Mr Rudd was reported as saying “hasn’t the time come for some decent, decent public transport systems, invested in by the national government across our major cities so people don’t burn their petrol prices on the way to work.”[1]

PTUA President Daniel Bowen said it was heartening to see the Prime Minister begin to recognise that a long-term solution to petrol prices was needed, and that this meant shifting travel from cars to public transport.
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GetUp! have launched a petition calling on the Federal government to fund public transport, to fight petrol prices and climate change.

You can sign it on their web site.

Commuters save 15 minutes

The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has renewed calls for bus lanes to be installed on Springvale Road in each direction, to coincide with the opening of Eastlink. With petrol prices widely expected to reach two dollars a litre by 2009, public transport improvements are essential.
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The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has called for a restructure of the tram and train contracts, as the government prepares for the next phase of privatisation.

PTUA President Daniel Bowen said that moving to a “fee-for-service” model (also known as “gross cost”) would ensure that growing patronage benefited commuters, rather than the private companies’ bottom lines. Under the current arrangements, Connex and Yarra Trams benefit from increased ticket sales, and while they cite overcrowding for increased delays and fines on their performance, they are not compelled to invest back into the system to fix problems.
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