Mass-transit Mayhem

The recently-released PriceWaterhouseCoopers report, Cities of Opportunity, contains bad news for transport planners in Sydney.
The comprehensive analysis of 20 cities examined ease of doing business, tourism, community standards, infrastructure and green qualities. It rated Sydney overall as very good averaging fifth in the world and coming top in housing, entertainment and life expectancy. But the city came last in one indicator: transport and infrastructure.
Sydney Chamber of Commerce’s Patricia Forsythe says Sydney’s mass transit system is a major throttle. “All these other cities have been building infrastructure to support their communities, metro rail in particular,” she said. “We are so far behind. You can’t be way out in front in terms of sustainability, global readiness and yet come last in public transport if you want to send a message to the world that this is a great place in which to invest and live and do business.”
NSW Transport Minister David Campbell stated that the government was aware of the problem. “The government will bring on line next year the Epping to Chatswood rail link and there are also 600 rail carriages on order,” he said.
Greens Senator Scott Ludlam called for a senate inquiry into mass transit and major investment in the nation’s public transport.
“We are initiating an audit of all public transport in his country. Australia needs to clearly understand what public transport exists, what condition it’s in, where the gaps are, and what can be done to increase its usage in the community,” he said. “We are working to shift federal funding away from roads to public passenger transport which does not currently receive any federal funds, leaving this vital responsibility entirely to the states.”
Meanwhile Greens MP Lee Rhiannon has criticised the NSW Government’s recent passing of the Transport Administration Amendment (Metro Rail) Bill 2008 which establishes a separate Sydney Metro Authority to manage plans for a CBD metro.
Ms Rhiannon said the Bill was misguided, expensive and went against the worldwide trend to integrate transport management in cities. “Sydney needs a single transport co-ordination authority, not another separate agency going about its business in isolation,” she said. “The Greens support the extension of public transport, but this $4 billion CBD metro project is not the solution to Sydney’s transport crisis. The government could deliver a better outcome at a fraction of the price by extending the existing light rail service.”