Brad Hanson wrote:
> I am by no means an expert in this field, but I'd like to have my $0.02
> worth in this discourse. Isn't part of the problem the following two key
> elements:
>
> 1. The short term solution is "rewarded" in that it is least politically
> risky to try to bite the bullet of sustainable transport (and industry!),
> despite the reality that ignoring the problem is suicidal in the long
> term. Hence the woeful history over the last half century of the leading
> firms "buying and burying" more environmentally friendly private transport
> technologies (e.g. LH2) and the lamentably poor level of funding for either
> research into alternative technologies or support for lifestyle changes
> such as telecommuting.
>
> 2. The issue is distorted in that the power elite are least impacted, even
> by the comparatively minor vagaries of energy costs we are experiencing
> (which I would strongly agree are considerably less than the "real"
> environmental costs). They continue to be chauffuered around, cocooned in
> their "gas guzzlers", oblivious to the situation. Those who would be
> required to make the "hard decisions" would also be those less impacted by
> them.
>
> I may end up being flamed here but I'll throw in a few points and questions
> because I'd be interested in list members' reactions.
>
> 1. My impression is that it is ultimately impossible to develop a public
> transport mode that even approximates the convenience of private transport
> (I exclude European cities from this generalisation, obviously). While the
> Olympic transport system I was fortunate enough to avail myself of
> yesterday _was_ as efficient as a private vehicle would have been, this
> standard as only been attainable through a massive, short-burst, national
> effort, involving commandeering a high proportion of the entire country's
> bus fleet. Ordinarily, in my own location in inner suburban Sydney, I
> would be sacrificing almost an hour a day to move to public transport. Is
> this a global experience?
>
By no means. I haven't contributed to this list for a couple of years,
more as a result of being "out of touch" one way or another than for
lack of interest. But this (I'm sorry, Brad) seems like crazy talk to
me.
I moved to Adelaide (Australia) from Melbourne (Australia) about a
decade ago and such a move in general does not mean accessing better
public transport. But for me it did. I live about 5km from the centre of
Adelaide, just near an express-bus route. Time to the city centre (for
example) is less than ten minutes and the buses travel at five-minute
intervals during the off-peak periods and at more than one a minute
during peak periods. You don't need a timetable. My next-door neighbour,
who has lived in this area for over forty years, told me once that he
hated the idea of the bus system when it was introduced in the middle
1980s (he is a keen motorist) but since the busway opened he and his
wife have NEVER taken any of their cars to the city. For me, and for
tens of thousands of aothers on this bus network, public transport is
significantly faster than private trasnport.
Of course you have to exclude the European cities because they so
dramatically disprove your case (and yield some surprises - I can
remember being very surprised at the subway frequency in Milan early on
a Sunday morning). But to sustain your case you also have to exclude all
at least medium-density large cities where sensible attempts have been
made to introduce useful public transport. One reason I haven't been
contributing here is that for most of 1997-1999 I was working in Kuala
Lumpur, a place where private transport by car is tough to use (though
not alnmost impossible as in some larger Asian cities). During that
period I have seen the construction of several public transport elements
which (when I last used the system) actually made it possible to get
around at a reasonable speed. Travelling by car is paralytically slow,
by contrast.
For most of my life, therefore, travelling by car (which in my case
would mean by taxi) would add to my travel time.
> 2. Based on (1), this admitted assumption of mine has meant that any move
> (enforced or voluntary) on the part of we mere mortals to sustainable
> transportation entails a lifestyle sacrifice, i.e. less free time at home
> as we stand in queues on railway platforms, slog home on the sidewalk, or
> wait at bus stops. This sacrifice would also be being demanded at a time
> when the ruling elite are demanding more and more working hours, as labour
> market competition globalises.
>
As I indicate above, yours seems to me to be not a universal experience
at all.
> 3. While I agree in principle with making energy prices reflect the
> environmental costs, how would you handle it in reality? In Sydney (and
> all the Australian capitals), we would be basically rendering it impossible
> for hundreds of thousands of workers in far flung suburbs to commute. What
> is to happen to them? A 50 km pushbike commute every day is very difficult
> for all but elite athletes. The public transport system would be
> hopelessly overwhelmed - not to mention the social costs of adding three or
> four hours per day to the ten to twelve hours work being demanded by
> mainstream corporate employers. What about the unemployed? What about
> child care?? Places are short now, but if parents were waiting in
> kilometre-length queues for buses, trains or ferries, for many hours each
> week, the child care workload would dramatically increase. What about the
> inflationary impact of additional delivery costs? Our rail network
> couldn't possibly cope with delivering all freight across the country. And
> these are just the challenges a comparatively wealthy country (Australia)
> would face....
>
The fact that the cost of transporting goods from A to B using private
enterprise (i.e. trucks) is subsidised in terms of fuel prices surely
has many unpleasant side-effects. Why do you think that the Australian
rail system couldn't cope with delivering freight all across the
country? It used to, before privatisation became the mantra of the
unthinking classes.
John Foyster
Adelaide, South Australia
