Victoria’s new road safety strategy must offer alternatives to car travel if it is to succeed in slashing the road toll, the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) said today.

“You’re over five times more likely to die in a car than on public transport, and over 10 times more likely to be seriously injured on the road than on a train,” said PTUA President Tony Morton. “Getting people out of their cars and onto public transport saves lives, reduces life-long injuries and has numerous other benefits like cutting congestion, emissions and fuel bills.”

Recent PTUA studies have shown public transport services must be improved significantly, particularly in outer suburbs, to offer a genuine alternative to driving [1]. “While government advertising implores people not to drive if they’re tired or they’ve had a drink, government transport policy is offering many people few options,” said Dr Morton. “In fact, multi-billion dollar road tunnels will encourage even more traffic and starve public transport of funding for decades.”
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