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Policies to set up an independent Public Transport Development Authority, new trains and rail lines to Rowville and East Doncaster appear to have delivered the Coalition victory in the Victorian state election, the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) said today.

“Victorians clearly recognised that public transport had been turning into a shambles,” said PTUA President Daniel Bowen. “Three out of four voters wanted an authority to make public transport work [1], and the ALP’s refusal to listen on this issue helped feed the big swing away from them in the last week, just after the Coalition released its own better policy.”

Mr Bowen said the PTUA had received a great deal of support for its campaign to shake-up public transport governance [2]. “Voters recognise that public transport won’t work until it’s run by experts instead of politicians. The next government now has a popular mandate to set up a public transport authority in Melbourne based on successful examples in Vancouver, London and Zurich.
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Public transport in Melbourne’s east has been a major factor contributing towards the swing to the Liberal Party, according to the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA). The PTUA has welcomed policies such as the Rowville and Doncaster railway lines, along with the independent Public Transport Development Authority, which helped deliver victory to the Coalition.

“Commuters are fed up with the decades of neglect towards public transport that we’ve been experiencing,” said the PTUA’s outer east convenor Jeremy Lunn. “The Brumby Government had no plans to address the serious public transport problems that plague this city.
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How slow is the “Smart”bus from Holmesglen to Chadstone? On this recent Saturday afternoon, 8.5 km/h.

The PTUA wants better priority for buses in the Chadstone area, and more services on Smartbus routes, including 903.

Join our Facebook groups: Better Public Transport to Chadstone, and We want Public Transport That Works!, and send a message to the politicians that you want problems like this fixed.

With public transport the big issue for many voters, the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has given its verdict on the transport policies of the parties going into the State Election, with the Greens coming out on top, followed by the Coalition.

PTUA President Daniel Bowen said that packed trains, slow trams, and infrequent buses had voters looking to all political parties for a solution to Melbourne and Victoria’s transport woes.

And he said the Green and Coalition promises for reform through an independent public transport authority were crucial in their party policies receiving the best marks.

Updated 24-Nov-2010

Full scorecard details

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The PTUA has applauded the Liberal/National Coalition’s transport policy, noting that their commitment to establish a new Public Transport Development Authority is likely to make the huge difference to Melbourne’s ailing transport system.

“For too long Melbourne’s public transport has drowned in a sea of red tape, with scores of agencies, but nobody taking responsibility for such things as co-ordinated timetables”, said PTUA president Daniel Bowen.

“Ad hoc upgrades won’t solve our transport woes. It requires a dedicated authority that will take a holistic view of the system and pin point where the issues are.

“Provided it is well-managed and run, the Authority will help to fix train, tram and bus co-ordination problems, providing a seamless network across Melbourne and Victoria, while planning for the future to ensure investment is directed towards continuing to encourage and cater for increased patronage.
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Melbourne’s public transport is in crisis — and your vote can make a difference.

• Cancellations
• Poor connections
• Crowding
• Trams stuck in traffic

Read the full brochure (PDF 338 Kb)

The current privatisation arrangements need to end. There could be a role for private operators — as subcontractors providing the services specified by a public authority — but the ‘franchise’ model introduced in 1999 by the Coalition and renewed in 2004 and 2009 by Labor hasn’t worked. Scores of organisations are arranged in an impenetrable maze of bureaucratic confusion, and with no central control there is poor coordination between services, poor planning, and buck-passing.

Find out more about why public transport management and planning needs a shakeup, and send your local candidates an email at the Public Transport That Works web site.

This brochure is directed at residents of Melbourne’s inner suburbs, but remember, wherever you are: If you want better public transport, in this election, look carefully at the policies of all the candidates. Make your vote count.

The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has welcomed the launch of Labor’s transport policy, and said that it contained a number of worthwhile initiatives that would make life easier for passengers, but warned that it was not a comprehensive vision for fixing Victoria’s public transport woes.

PTUA President Daniel Bowen said it was pleasing to see a number of the PTUA’s priorities[1] in the ALP’s policy, and that the deployment of staff to all Metro electrified stations was significant step forward.
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The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has welcomed Labor’s policy, announced today, to run more frequent Geelong trains during the day on weekdays. But they have also called for better planning to help passengers get to stations, saying many new buses will only meet every third train.

The Labor Party policy promises trains every twenty minutes between Geelong and Melbourne, on weekdays between the morning and afternoon peaks.

Geelong Branch convenor Paul Westcott welcomed Labor’s support for more frequent trains: ‘We’ve been asking for better off-peak services for years. At the moment, you can drive all the way to Melbourne in the time you’d spend waiting between trains’.
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A north-east freeway link would create mayhem on Boroondara roads according to the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA). “A freeway ending right on Boroondara’s doorstep will dump many more cars on our roads,” said PTUA spokesman Jeremy Lunn.

“Roads such as Burke Road, Bulleen Road, Doncaster Road, High Street and Balwyn Road would become traffic sewers. Home owners will pay the true price as property values plummet from all the extra traffic.
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A north-east freeway link would create mayhem on Manningham roads and would put the much needed Doncaster railway at risk according to the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA).

“The Brumby government is so intent on denying Doncaster residents with rail, that they’re already looking at ways to dig a grave for Doncaster rail,” said PTUA spokesman Jeremy Lunn. “All the north-east freeway will do is dump many more cars on our roads.
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