Free Public Transport for STC Forum and AGM

The STC is holding a forum on 'Transparency in Infrastructure Decision-Making on Monday 3rd November at City West Lotteries House in West Perth (http://sustainabletransportcoalitionofwa.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/forum-on-transparency-in-infrastructure.html)

As well as the venue being in the Free Transit Zone and very accessible by the free Green and Yellow CAT buses, the WA Government has announced that you will be able to travel free on public transport to and from the Forum, wherever you live in Perth.

We strongly encourage you to take advantage of this 'once-in-a-lifetime' opportunity if you live too far away to walk or cycle.


























Posted by Ian Ker, Deputy Convenor, STCWA

Forum on Transparency in Infrastructure Decision-Making.

Please pass this on to anyone you think might be interested - and encourage them to come along.

Transparency and Objectivity Needed in Transport Appraisal

http://www.bitre.gov.au/publications/2014/overview-project-appraisal.aspx

On Friday 5 September 2014, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, the Hon Jamie Briggs MP, released for public comment, a proposed project appraisal framework, developed by the The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics, in consultation with state and territory governments.

This paper is described as the outcome of Australian, state and territory governments agreeing to consult to develop a more sophisticated and consistent framework to assess and evaluate major infrastructure projects.

Unfortunately, the consultation period has only been four weeks (closes 3rd October) and there appears to have been little real attempt to engage transport professionals, practitioners and other stakeholders - we only became aware of it, indirectly, a few days before the closing date.

The STCWA has made a submission addressing key issues in the appraisal framework (see below), but our primary concern is that all projects should be subject to objective appraisal and that there should be transparency (ie appraisals should be made public) - see http://sustainabletransportcoalitionofwa.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/lack-of-transparency-in-transport.html. 

Posted by Ian Ker, Deputy Convener, STCWA

WA Bicycle Network Plan Needs More Oomph

This review of the WA Bicycle Network Plan is presented here as a contribution to better-informed decision-making in public policy.

The WA Bicycle Network Plan is a useful updating of previous bicycle network plans, but it fails to consider:

- complementary behavioural and encouragement initiatives, to maximise the additional cycling activity created by the bicycle network;

- higher population forecasts than those on which the 2012 draft Plan was based; or

- how the plan is to be effectively implemented over a reasonable period of time.

Education and encouragement, directly linked to infrastructure investment, needs to be added to the Plan. Targeted funding in these areas, especially in conjunction with infrastructure improvements, can increase cycling dramatically.

The Plan should ‘fight its own cause’ by providing evidence of the significant economic benefits of cycling – see the previous post on the STC Blog: ‘Cycle and Walking ARE Economic Activities’ (http://sustainabletransportcoalitionofwa.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/cycling-and-walking-are-economic.html).

Beyond the planning, there are insufficient funds in the WA State Budget to implement this Plan within 10 years. The identified funds for 2015 are about half what is needed, and the following three years are less than a fifth of those needed. There is no indication of, nor commitment to, funding beyond 2017/18.

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Written and posted by Ian Ker, Deputy Convenor, STCWA

Cycling and Walking ARE Economic Activities

This piece is derived from a paper presented to the VeloCity Global Conference, Adelaide, South Australia, 27-30 May, 2014. The full paper can be read at http://www.slideshare.net/Catalystian/140528-ik-paper-v20. It is presented here as a contribution to better-informed decision-making in public policy.

Walking and cycling are too often thought of as primarily having social and environmental benefits, but the economic benefits are even greater and are sufficient in their own right to justify funding of infrastructure and supporting programs.

While they do have useful social and environmental benefits, walking and cycling programs deliver economic benefits that are greater than most people realise, with BCRs of around 3 to 5. This is typically more than most transport BCRs.

The financial benefits of walking and cycling, that is the direct dollar benefits to individuals, are also substantial. Public investment in walking and cycling has the same effect as a tax cut for those who choose to change from car driving for some of their travel.

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Written and posted by Ian Ker, Deputy Convenor, STCWA

Lack of Transparency in Transport Priorities

The STC has been concerned for some time about the lack of transparency in the selection and prioritisation of transport investments - particularly when the choice is between two very costly projects (MAX light rail and the Perth Airport Link) that have entirely different contributions to make to the future of travel in Perth.

This concern has been echoed by the Productivity Commission in its report on Public Infrastructure that was released last month. The Commission called for "subjecting all public infrastructure investment proposals above $50 million to rigorous cost-benefit analyses that are publicly released … prior to projects being announced". 

The West Australian, 23rd August 2014. Click to enlarge

We'd suggest that the threshold trigger should be much lower than this, although the detail of the assessment could vary, but this recommendation clearly catches MAX and the Airport Rail Link - as well as many other potential rail projects, as Gareth Parker also pointed out.

The West Australian, 23rd August 2014. Click to enlarge

Even without rigorous analysis, the widely differing relativities between cost and passengers for these projects requires investigation before committing to any of them. It is not good enough for Transport Minister Dean Nalder to say, with respect to benefit-cost studies, that "some had not been done, while others had been done but would not be released". It's public money being spent (or not spent) here, and we have a right to reassurance that it is being spent wisely.

Mr Nalder is wrong when he says that "public transport projects typically struggled to exceed BCRs of 1". The Government's own public transport plan (Public Transport for Perth in 2031) was assessed as having an overall BCR of between 1.8:1 and 2.2:1 (reported on page 34 of that plan). The Airport Rail Link, on Mr Nalder's own figures (BCR of 1.5:1) performs less well than most of the rest of the public transport plan, which is presumably why it was put into Stage 2 projects not into Stage 1.

This raises yet another question raised on Saturday - why has the Government chosen different priorities from those identified in it's own plan? And it isn't good enough for Mr Nalder to say that it reflects higher population growth forecasts since the Plan was developed - his BCR of 1.5:1 for the Airport Rail Link presumably includes that faster growth and such growth would also increase the returns from other public transport investments.

The West Australian, 23rd August 2014. Click to enlarge

No one disputes that we need to invest more in public transport, but this is not an encouraging assessment of the way in which decisions are made on how our taxpayer dollars are being spent. 

Posted by Ian Ker, Deputy Convenor, STCWA

STC Support for Fuel Excise Indexation

The Sustainable Transport Coalition of WA made a submission to the Senate Economics Committee Inquiry into the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) Bill 2014. This submission (below) supported indexation, as a 'small but useful' contribution addressing transport energy issues, but with the proviso that the additional revenues be hypothecated to 'walking, cycling and public transport as well as for roads in general'.

 






















The Committee recommended that the Bill as presented be supported (ie with revenue hypothecation to roads but the Senate as a whole did not vote to pass the Bill. The report is downloadable from  http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/Fuel_Indexation_2014/Report/index) 

The ALP and Greens voted against the Bill for reasons set out in their dissenting reports (http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/Fuel_Indexation_2014/Report/d01 and http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/Fuel_Indexation_2014/Report/d02). These reasons, largely to do with the revenues being hypothecated to roads, are supported by the STC, but the STC is concerned that simple rejection in this way carries its own risks. 

Roads are not only for cars.  Buses run on roads, cyclists use roads and pedestrians use the footpaths on roads. Also freight for delivering goods to shops and businesses rely on roads, as do emergency services and tradesmen for whom there are no reasonable alternatives. 

Roads per se are not the problem. The problem is the out of balance expenditure on conventional roads compared to public transport and walking/cycling facilities. 

The Human Scale

For those interested in cities for people, here is the official trailer for the Jan Ghel-inspired film, 'The Human Scale'. The movie itself is available on ABC iView (http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/human-scale-in-five-chapters/ZX9994A001S00) until 27th July.

The film has its own website - http://thehumanscale.dk/the-film.

People Are Always Important - Not Just In The Arts Season

Letter to the Editor, The West Australian

Pedestrians are the lifeblood of the city

Your editorial, “Summer arts season helps clean up streets” (24 February), makes the valid point that the large number of people has transformed Northbridge into a safe place.

The Sustainable Transport Coalition has long been advocating the importance of pedestrians to city life. Pedestrians add vitality and interest, they are the eyes on the street that reduce crime, they are the shop and business customers, and there is evidence that the active transport modes (walking and cycling) help reduce obesity, improve health, reduce congestion and CO² emissions.

So why is it that our transport and land use planners give so little attention to pedestrians? Sure, car and truck transport are important, and so is public transport. A similar level of recognition given to the pedestrians could make big improvements in many parts of Perth.

David Rice
Convener, Sustainable Transport Coalition of WA

Transport Energy Vulnerability: Submission to Federal Government Energy White Paper

The STCWA has made the following submission to the Federal Government's Energy White Paper.

In summary, the STC submits that the Australian Government has a duty of care to seriously consider the vulnerability of Australian society to a cut in overseas supplies of transport fuel. This risk is clearly predictable and while some argue that the likelihood of this happening is small, the consequences are extreme.