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Please enter a valid web address * About * Blog * Projects * Help * Donate * Contact * Jobs * Volunteer * People * Sign up for free * Log in Search metadata Search text contents Search TV news captions Search radio transcripts Search archived web sites Advanced Search * About * Blog * Projects * Help * Donate Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape * Contact * Jobs * Volunteer * People Full text of "PTUA News - Volume 25 No. 2 - May 2001 " See other formats PLA News Public Transport Users Association ISSN 0817 - 0347 Aston by-election The sad and unexpected death of local MP Peter Nugent means a by-election in the Knox-based seat of Aston. This is, of course, the heart of the area affected by the debate between supporters of im- proved public transport and the Scoresby Freeway lobby. The PTUA has been campaigning for im- proved public transport in Knox since 1995, and the by-election provides a never-to-be-repeated chance to demonstrate that the public are nowhere near as freeway-obsessed as those who claim to represent them. The announcement, on 13th May, of $220 million in Federal funding for the freeway by Prime Minister John Howard means we have to make the by-election a referendum on transport policy. The PTUA will be joining with community and environment groups in a "Vote 1 public transport” campaign in Aston. If you are able to help - by staffing a stall, distributing leaflets or staffing a polling place on election day - please contact the PTUA office. Please send your petitions back We have had a fantastic response to the ‘Put Public Transport First’ petition, with over 2000 signatures collected so far. We now need to present the petitions to Federal Parliament, so please try to return your to the office by the end of May Volume 25 No. 2 May 2001 Country Trains to Return Eight years of campaigning by the PTUA have been rewarded by the announcment this week by the State Government that passenger trains will return to Ararat, Bairnsdale, Mildura and Leongatha. Passenger services were removed from these lines by the previous Liberal government and repiaced by buses (other services, to Warrnambool, Swan Hill, Shepparton and Albury were saved after heavy cam- paigning). This week's announcement includes an allocation of $33 million in the State Budget for for capital works and subsidies. Apparently, deterioration of the lines has meant that trains cannot be immediately re- turned. New trains will also be purchased to operate the Mildura and Leongatha lines. The PTUA is very pleased by this positive contribu- tion to public transport by the State Government. In his press release, the Premier stated that train times would be faster than before the cuts. The PTUA looks forward to working with the government to ensure that frequency and connectivity are upgraded as well. One lesson can be drawn from the fact that three of the lines pass through the electorates of independent MPs and the remainder through an electorate (Ripon) in which a coalition MP was unseated by a huge swing. The lesson is thata strong protest vote concen- trates politicians’ minds enormously. The PTUA will be seeking to apply this lesson in the Aston by- election. IN THIS ISSUE Batchelor Bans PTUA Heidelberg Meeting Opposes Freeway Lalor Residents Grill Batchelor Outer East Study Announced PTUA Seeks Comment on Rural Paper Vale George Yule City Link Case Heads to High Court. In brief Keeping in touch... PTUA office Second Floor, 247 Flinders Lane, Melb. Telephone: (03) 9650 7898 e-mail: office@ptua.org.au Committee Meetings Third Tuesday of each month. Please call the office for details. Membership Enquiries Graeme Gibson: (03) 9650 7898 World Wide Web Our home page is at http://www.ptua.org.au/ Committee Members Paul Mees — President Anna Morton —Vice President Vaughan Williams — Secretary Les Chandra — Assistant Secretary Daniel Borowski — Treasurer Glen Boyce John Cox Roberto D'Andrea Hayden Jones Anthony Morton Miriam Powell Tim Petersen David Robertson Tim Mattingsbrooke Dominic McMullan Batchelor bans PTUA from transport study Peter Batchelor has established a "com- munity reference group” to work with Department of Infrastructure road engi- neers on the study of transport options in the "inner nor:nern corridor” between the Eastern and Tullamarine Freeways. The group is very large, with some 25 repre- sentatives including councils, residents’ groups, government bureaucrats, the RACV and trucking lobby peak group the Victorian Road Transport Association. The consultants wanted the PTUA in- cluded, but ‘Transport Minister Peter Batchelor, in a fit of pique, intervened and had us excluded. 2 PTUA News - May 01 The exclusion of the PTUA, and Mr. Batchelor's subsequent anti-PTUA dia- tribe, have been greeted with astonish- ment by local councils and community groups, as well as the local media. Even the consultants working on the project have quietly let us know that the don't agree with the Minister's decision and are happy to consult PTUA informally. Mr. Batchelor's latest behaviour comes only a fortnight after he unleashed a similar dia- tribe against the Cities of Moreland and Darebin, and respected transport analyst Professor Bill Russell. At least we are in good company! ----~< =.” nny "~ SS Heidelberg meeting overwhelmingly opposes freeway Concemed residents of the Yarra Valley voted overwhelmingly torebuke the State Government for its plans to build a free- way linkage through the sensitive Yarra Flats riverland. The public meeting, held in Heidelberg on the 26th of March sur- passed organisers’ expectations by first exceeding the capacity of the hall being used for the event, and by later producing a more strongly-worded motion than the organisers had been prepared for. Several local community groups initiated the meeting, which featured a number of speakers who stated the cultural, environ- mental and historical importance of the Yarra Flats region to Melbourne. PTUA PresidentPaul Mees spoke to the meeting about the plans for the freeway link, which are part of long-buried plans by VicRoads to build a single ring-road surrounding Melbourne. As mentioned before in the PTUA news- letter, this freeway would almost cer- tainly be built to link the controversial Scoresby Freeway (in reality the Eastern Ring Road) with the Westem Ring Road, and would be an unsightly and devastat- ing above-ground road that runs through miles of present-day parkland. Residents were urged not to be conned by the claim that the worst effects of this PTUA forces The transport policy Labor took to the 1999 Victorian election promised a series of community-based transport studies designed to improve public transport and reduce car dependence, beginning in the outer eastern suburbs. On being elected to office, Transport Minister Peter Batchelor dropped this promise and supported the Scoresby Freeway. The work program for the Departmentof Infrastructure's stra- tegic planning section for 2001 made no mention of the promised study. In March, the PTUA issued press releases to local papers pointing oul that the gov- bypass could be avoided by making a large portion of it run underground. Such a tunnel would end up facing the same problems as the disastrous Burnley Tun- nel, while costing three billion dollars, and all the time keeping only a tiny por- tion of the freeway hidden from view. Residents were urged by organisers to send a message to their local councillors and state and federal representatives by voting for a motion opposing these plans. The organisers were heartened by the large tumout (around four hundred) which meant that many people were forced to stand in the aisles or listen from outside the open doors. They were then een more pleasantly surprised when those attend- ing voted to change the wording of the prepared motion to many it more explic- itly condemn the plans. Local Labor member Craig Langdon not only attended the meeting, but also helped to publicise it in a letter to local residents. He was obviously surprised by the sheer level of opposition being shown and has since made efforts to gauge public opin- ion about the proposed freeway. The meeting approved the forma- tion of a group to coordinate the com- munity's opposition to both the Scoresby Freeway and the Heidelberg Freeway. The group is now meeting and planning a more extensive campaign that will in- clude a public meeting in July. (Details in next issue). Lalor residents grill Batchelor On Monday 7th May 100 people gathered in Lalor to hear Prof Bill Russell talk about the freeway and the alternative packeage that his team developed. The night was organised by the Lalor group People Of Whittlesea Refusing Entry (POWRE). At the end of the meeting a show of hands was taken about 'who wanted a freeway" only 3 people said they did - a man sitting next to Peter Batchelor, and the owners of the truck wreckers in Cooper St Epping. Peter Batchelor the local MP responded to heated criticism from the organisers and audience. An eyewitness reports: “Most of what he said did not wash with the residents. People felt that they had been excluded from decision making." Batchelor to announce outer east public transport study ernment had failed to honour its election promises. On 2nd May, Peter Batchelor announced that $2 million would be allo- cated to fund a study of outer eastern public transport. While generally supportive of this move, the PTUA does have concerns. In particu- lar, we need to be reassured that the study will be genuinely community-based and that it will be directed to reducing de- pendence on cars. We have concems about the possibilities for reduction of car de- pendence, because the Transport Minis- ter's press release seems to imply that the Scoresby Freeway is not going to be as- sessed as part of the study. Given that the Kennett Government's 1998 Environmen- tal Effects Statement found that the free- way would increase car use, we believe it should be on the study's agenda too. The PTUA is also concerned that projects like the tram extension to Knox, which were firm commitments in 1999, appear to have been downgraded to "feasibility studies”, PTUA News-May01 3 COUNTRY VICTORIA PTUA seeks comments on rural transport paper The PTUA is inviting members to com- ment on its draft Connecting Victoria paper. The paper will form the Associa- tion's policy on public transport in rural Victoria. For the first time in many years there is a real political desire to improve public transportin country areas. HoweverCon- necting Victoria wams that current plans to introduce fast rail services to regional cities, will fail unless matters such as network coverage, service frequency, co-ordination with buses and convenient links to town centres are addressed. Connecting Victoriapoints out that though Australia is one of the world's most sparsely populated countries, much of Victoria has population densities compa- table to parts of Western Europe that enjoy good public transport. Connecting Victoria examines public transport ex- amples from around the world ane rto- poses anefficient and affordable statewide transport system for Victoria. History Before World War II, most Victorian towns and cities had passenger rail links to Melbourne. Services remaine:’ sire- quent, slow, and uncomfortable. . hey proved no match for the private car run- ning on continually expanding publicly funded roads. As a result train patronage declined. Apart from some innovations in the 1980s, the general response to the challenge posed by the car was to reduce services further and replace trains with buses. Not sur- prisingly this led to further patronage loss. More recently, train and coach serv- ices were corporatised and then priva- tised. Evidence that these reforms im- proved service levels or operational effi- ciency appears lacking. Current government proposals Labor won office largely due to large swings in country areas. It promised the provision of ‘fast rail’ services along four corridors (Melbourne to Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Traralgon). $550 mil- lion has been pledged towards the project. The benefits of parts of the ‘fast rail’ plan are questionable. For example it is pro- posed that tracks be removed from the Bendigo and Traralgon lines. This would make it impossible to run frequent trains in both directions throughout the day, hamper freight traffic and require trains to wait in passing loops. Furthermore, the current proposals emphasise commuters from the larger centres, and could disad- vantage those whose towns are bypassed or suffer reduced service frequencies if intermediate stops are removed. Alternatives iu examine alternative approaches we looked at best and worst public transport examples in the UK, US, France and Switzerland. UK: Competition The UK deregulated regional city buses and transferred rail services to the private sector in the 1980s and 1990s. Passengers wishing to transfer between services are particularly disadvantaged due to a lack of timetables or fare co-ordination. Serv- ices on quieter routes declined as compa- nies scrabbled to compete on the main routes. The rail system appears to have become less efficient as fares and subsidies paid to private operators have both risen. Safety has emerged as a major concern, with Britain suffering several serious rail acci- dents in recent years. US: Commuter rail Many US cities do not have urban rail services throughout the day. Instead ‘com- muter rail’ services are offered. These are peak-hour trains between a dormitory suburb and the CBD in the morning and back again in the afternoon. Service at no other times is provided. Commuter rail makes little contribution to public mobil- ity, entrenches car-dependency andis very expensive to run. France: Fast trains France's TGV trains provide fast trans- > port between major centres. The system required the construction of expensive new lines, which bypassed smaller towns. The train turned many towns into dormi- tory suburbs of Paris. Initially services were concentrated in peak hours, though hourly services now exist on some lines. Switzerland: A network solution Instead of spending billions on new track, Switzerland improved services on exist- ing lines. Interchanges in major cities receive services every 30 or 60 minutes. Careful planning has created rail, bus and taxi services that together form an inte- grated network covering the whole coun- try. The result is a go anywhere anytime system that meets many public travel needs at reasonable cost. A transport network for Victoria Population density is often cited as the main reason for rural Victoria not having good public transport. However, if the less settled half of Victoria is excluded, the remainder has population densities more than twice that of Sweden and over half that of countries such as Ireland, Spain and Austria. There are over 20 regional towns with populations exceed- ing 9 000. Therefore Victoria can have effective rural public transport, provided services are properly planned and do not 4 PTUA News - May 01 duplicate one another fund a model. These are: 1, All-day operation: early morning to midnight for key services 2. Frequent service: at least hourly, ex- cept in remote areas 3. Quality rail: to link regional cities to Melbourne and provide network ‘back- bone’ 4. Convenient buses: to link regional cen- tres with easy to understand routes that reflect local travel needs 5. Statewide coverage: all but smallest towns receive service 6. Easy transfers: Able to be made at rail and bus route junctions. Services to oper- ate to ‘pulse timetable’ to reduce transfer times. 7. Quality interchange facilities: Trans- fers be as easy as possible. 8. Priority for buses in urban areas . 9, Fares tocompete with the car: with free transport: these matters to be taken seri- ously, with adequate staffing and facili- ties Proposed services Connecting Victoria proposes a core net- work of hourly bus and train services. These provide convenient linkages be- tween large rural cities and with Mel- bourne. The network will also allow cross-country travel without going via Melbourne. Most services outside the core network will run every two hours. Remote areas will receive three services per day. All services will be timetabled to allow con- venient transfer to other routes. The third component is intra-town buses. These need to run frequently 7 days per week. Fares and timetables should be integrated with the statewide system de- scribed above. Conclusion Connecting Victoria will be the PTUA's policy paper for rural transport. Your comments on the draft paper would be invited. Please contact the Association office to obtain a copy. We wish to com- plete the paper shortly, so would appreci- ate member comments as soon as possi- transfers, easily purchased tickets and sensible discounts for regular travellers 10. Safe, clean, comfortable and reliable George Yule 1919 - 2001 George Yule's obituary in The Age touched on his work as an inspiring church leader, historian and teacher, but he was also one of the PTUA's most valued long-time members. George was active in the PTUA, Amnesty and community issues, always willing to offer advice, send letters to papers or politicians and help out with fundraising appeals. In 1993 he travelled to Ararat to speak on behalf of the PTUA at a rally to save the local train service (George would have been very happy to hear the announcement of the line's re-opening this month). Many of us fondly remember his largely extem- pore presentation two years ago at the panel hearing into the Scoresby Freeway. With acharacteristic mixture of affabil- ity and seriousness, George outlined the deprivation ofouter suburban residents trapped in their homes by inadequate public transport, a problem he had encountered repeatedly in the course of his ministry. George and his three sisters an” **.!!:2r were brought up in the semi-rural environment 4 in the 20s, where the rolling hills of Doncaster, covered with orchards andremnant bushland, made one of the most attractive landscapes in Australia. His childhood play with a model Hornby train layout based on Grimsby had developed into a fascination with British railways, and he explored the British Isles from north to south. While he lived simply, George enjoyed many of the pleasures of life. First came his family, Esther, Peter and Cathy - a fourth child, Patrick, died as a baby - and seven grandchil- dren. He enjoyed the bush, and in his later years he gained great pleasure from helping to restore the Valley bushland reserve in Mt Waverley. He loved music, and Bach, Handel and Mozart were a constant background in his home. George will be remembered for his gentleness, kindness and humour, and for the infectious enthusiasm he brought to his preaching and teaching, andindeed to everything he enjoyed, from medieval churches to clearing weedsfrom native parks.He died peacefully after a short illness, at home, surrounded by his family, with Bach playing. PTUA News - May 01 5 City Link case heads to High Court West Brunswick resident Peter Allan's challenge to the City Link tax breaks is listed for hearing in the High Court in Canberra on 23rd May. Some readers may have seen the report on Peter's case on Insight on SBS on 10th May. It's probably a good time to briefly recap on what the case is about. In 1996 Transurban City Link was awarded a certificate entitling it to tax breaks, which allow banks who lend money to the project to receive interest tax-free. The breaks have also been used to pay tax-free dividends to shareholders. The total value of the tax breaks is un- clear, but current estimates are $800- $1200 million. The tax breaks were awarded under a scheme set up by the Keating govem- ment, in the Development Allowance Authority Act 1992. In 1997, the Howard government abolished the scheme, be- cause it was being used for tax avoidance (mainly using City Link as a vehicle), but people who already had tax breaks got to keep them. Section 930 of the Development Al- lowance Authority Act states: "If.. there is in force... a law that... will prohibit or restrict the operation of other facilities in competition with the infrastructure facil- ity concerned, the DAA must not issue the certificate." But there are restrictions on compet- ing facilities, as was dramatically demon- Strated in February, when Transurban claimed $36 million in compensation from the Victorian government for road im- provements that it claims have diverted traffic away from City Link. Of even greater concern are other parts of the City Link agreement, such as that entitling Transurban to compensation if the gov- ernment restricts central city car parking, introduces free or cheap public transport or builds a freight-carrying heavy rail line 6 PTUA News - May 07 to the Airport. So Transurban have been granted per- haps a billion dollars to taxpayers’ money they were never entitled to! Peter Allan has applied to review this decision. If he succeeds, the decision will be reversed retrospectively and Transurban will have to pay all the money back. However, the real issue (whether Transurban were entitled to the tax breaks) has not yet been addressed. Instead, the case has been fought on the technicality of ‘standing to sue’, Initially, the DAA denied Peter stand- ing. He appealed to the (Commonwealth) Administrative Appeals Tribunal and lost. He then appealed to Justice Mansfield of the Federal Court and lost again. A fur- ther appeal to the Full Court of the Fed- eral Court was successful (decision given Feb. 1998). The case was sent back to the AAT, which denied standing again, ona different ground. He appealed to Justice Merkel of the Federal Court, who upheld the appeal and sent the case back to the AAT, telling the AAT to stop wasting time on preliminary points and decide the real issue. Transurban then appealed, suc- cessfully, to the Full Court (comprised of different judges from last time). Peter applied for leave to appeal to the High Court, and the High Court granted leave on 8th September 2000. The PTUA has been helping Peter with the costs of the case, thanks to gen- erous donations from members. Peter has also been able to secure the pro bono services of three barristers: Mark Dreyfus QC, Mr. Rob Heath and Ms. Dinusha Joseph. A decision is expected 3 to 6 months after the hearing. If Peter wins on standing, he then has the right to go back tothe AAT fora hearing on the merits (i.e. into the question whether Transurban were actually entitled to the tax breaks). Perth to expand rail network The WA Government has approved fur- ther expansion of Perth's passenger rail network. A new line to Mandurah, 80 kilometres south of Perth, and expansion of the northern suburbs line to Butler are part of the $1.47 billion project. Other iniliatives include a doubling of the train fleet with faster trains capable of speeds of up to 130 km/h and two new stations on existing lines. Work on the project will start immedi- ately. The northern extension will openin 2003 and the Mandurah lire in 2005. The plans are part of a government strategy to boost patronage by 60 per cent to 50 million annual passenger trips by 2006. On current trends, this will give Perth the second-highest per capita use of rail in Australia after Sydney (yes, higher than Melbourne). Connex stops shopping express Connex has ceased running its eastern suburbs shopper service. This hourly weekday service provided express travel between Ringwood, Mitci:.., Blackburn, Box Hill and Camberwell. The last ran on Friday April 27. Connex Managing director, Bruce Hughes said that poor patronage led to the deci- sion to cease running the service. "When we launched the service on 2 January 2000 we said we would run the service for at least 12 months to give people an opportunity to get used to the service," Mr Hughes said. "Despite innovative marketing, patronage remained very dis- appointing. The PTUA is concerned that the service has been removed without the approval of the Director of Public Transport or the Public Transport Customer Charter Con- sultative Committee. In Brief.. nnna WRONG WAY GO BA Tram conductors or ticket inspectors? In the December 2000 PTUA News, we cautiously welcomed the return of tram conductors, but expressed concern that the private operators may attempt to use them as ticket inspectors. Unfortunately, the early signs indicate that our concerns were well-founded. The "tram attend- ants” appear to be roving in groups of two or three, and checking, rather than sell- ing, tickets. If this continues, it means that the private operators have sneakily nego- tiated an increase in their subsidy, since they are supposed to pay for inspectors from their own pockeis. The PTU. calls on Transport Minister Peter Batchelor to intervene to make sure that public money is not diverted for private purposes and that we get the tram conductors we were promised. PTUA seeks printer donation The PTUA is seeking a donation of a computer printer for its office. If you have a spare printer, please contact the office. Risson centenary The Transport Research Centre at RMIT hosted a commemoration of the cente- nary of the birth of Major General Sir Robert Risson on 20th April. Risson, who died in 1992, was the Chairman of the Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board from 1949 to 1970 and played a key role in the retention of Melbourne's tram system, the only complete tram net- work to survive in the English-speaking world. Copy Deadline for the next PTUA News is | 5th June Newsletter Production Team: Les Chandra, Dominic McMullan and Peter Parke Printed on recycled paper by Pulp & Pigment, Collingwood Our thanks to the dedicated mailout team PTUA News - May 01 PTUA News SURFACE | | POSTAGE Newsletter of the Public Transport Users’ Association, Org. No. A-6256L PAI D Print Post: Publication No. PP 331088/00009 M Al L If undeliverable, return to: PTUA Office, Second Floor, 247 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 3000 AUSTRALIA A Warm Welcome to All Our New Members ! Changed your address? Fl | Make sure your PTUA News follows you when you move! | | Cut out or photocopy this form, fill in and return to us, at | | PTUA, Ross House, 247 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 3000. | Name l New address i | Town / Suburb Postcode | Phone (H) (W) (M) Responsibility for electoral comment in PTUA News is taken by Vaughan if Williams, 247 Flinders Lane Melboume.