OverviewDiffering forms of land transport systems are used to provide people with safe, convenient, efficient and affordable ways to travel for:
Land passenger transport systems comprise;
Public Transport ServicesMajor metropolitan urban rail and light rail (tram) networks are predominantly used for public transport, moving commuters to and from work and university/school during peak periods. These services are operated by State-owned corporations (except in Melbourne where train and tram operations are franchised to separate private operators). Passenger journeys by rail networks have steadily increased from 596 million to 665.87 million in the five years to 2006/07 (Endnote 2). Significant increases in petrol prices has seen many more commuters getting out of their cars and using public transport. Unfortunately this has put strains on some public transport networks highlighting past years of poor public policy and inadequacies in investment. Buses provide connecting services to rail stations and interchanges and link neighbourhoods located between rail lines. These are operated by a mix of State or Local Government-owned corporations and the private sector. Inter-capital and Intra-state Regional ServicesRail services around Australia are generally provided by State-owned corporations. The exception is private operator Great Southern Railway which provides high-quality travel services on the ‘Indian-Pacific’ (Sydney-Adelaide-Perth); the ‘Legendary Ghan’ (Adelaide-Alice Springs-Darwin); and the Overland (Adelaide-Melbourne). On the eastern seaboard, inter-capital rail services have not kept pace with the increased use of domestic air travel for both business and recreational purposes. In Queensland, long distance rail services are an integral part of the State’s tourist industry. Integrated rail and bus services connect regional and rural communities where regional rail lines have been closed or are now only used for seasonal freight traffic. Non-urban rail passenger journeys increased to 11.22 million in the five years to 2006/07 (Endnote 2). Private bus services also operate on inter-capital routes and to selected intra-state regional areas. Private Motor Vehicle UseIn Australia, private road vehicles are the heavily preferred mode of transport for journeys up to 400 km and in 2003/04 over 75% of the total vehicle kilometres travelled on the road system were in passenger vehicles (Endnote 1) . The diverse spread of residential, work, commercial and recreational activity locations in urban areas contribute to 90% of passenger journeys being undertaken by private motor vehicle. Car use in urban areas has been forecast to increase by 33% between 2002 and 2020. This together with existing levels of urban road congestion impact on the efficient movement of people and freight within our cities (Endnote 1) . Contributing factors to the dependency on the motor vehicle include the flexibility and convenience and zero or low public transport facilities in urban fringe areas forcing households to operate two or more motor vehicles. Around 86% of longer distance trips up to 4 hours from the traveller’s home are also taken in private vehicles (Endnote 1) AusLink and Public TransportThe AusLink White paper (2004) – ‘Building our National Transport Future’ stated: ‘Many submissions …..argued that the interaction of the freight and passenger tasks needs to be factored more fully into the future development of the land transport network. For passenger transport there are significant challenges in responding to emerging demographic trends and changes in population distribution. These changes are occurring in urban, rural and regional areas’ (Endnote 3) . ‘…. that funding urban public transport systems is fundamentally a State responsibility as these systems primarily serve and deliver localised passenger movements and local benefits. However, this should not be an impediment to urban public transport being considered when the AusLink National Network and its connections to the broader urban network are planned. There could be benefits from improving cooperation on passenger transport policies undertaken by governments at all levels, under the auspices of the Australian Transport Council’ (Endnote 4) . The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in December 2007 identified seven areas (including infrastructure) for its 2008 work agenda – which specifically will focus on (Endnote 5):
‘Following completion of the National Infrastructure Audit, the Working Group will deliver strategies to address any identified bottlenecks and deficiencies and develop options for better coordination of infrastructure planning and investment across jurisdictions and the private sector, including possible improvements to both Commonwealth, State and local planning mechanisms (including AusLink).’ Future ChallengesTransport affects all Australians in many and differing ways. An efficient transport system is vital to Australia’s small, trade-dependent economy and geography with its wide-dispersed population and industry. Most Australian goods and services produced or consumed require transport at some stage of production or distribution. People must be moved to places where these goods and services are produced.
These issues, as they relate to public transport, are discussed in greater detail in the separate Information Sheet on Public Transport - Part 1 and Part 2. Endnotes. 1. COAG Meeting 13 April 2007 – Australia’s Infrastructure, National Overview Report, April 2007 – p.11&13.
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