For over fifty years, our politicians have answered every urban planning and transport question by shrugging their shoulders and saying, “people can just get in their cars and drive.”
But driving everywhere we go is not only expensive and unsustainable – economically and environmentally – it’s also an option that is not available to everyone. In particular, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities all suffer extreme isolation and disadvantage in suburbs where the car is the only way to move around.
To provide for a better lifestyle for our ageing population; better equity and connection to their community for our children; and more alternatives to getting in a car and adding to the traffic congestion for everyone, we need to do a better job of providing safe and connected walking and cycling routes throughout our suburbs.
Living, as I do, a few hundred metres from the Aspley Hypermarket, I have been able to live without a car for about 5 years; it’s a wonderful lifestyle, and one which I wish was accessible to more people.
Public Transport is also an area where we need real reform – not just more money thrown at commuter-oriented services, but a rethink of how we can use our existing resources in a more efficient and useful way.
Here are a couple of articles I have written over the years about the problems with our bus network – which, as a former BCC bus driver, I have some first-hand experience of:
- Three types of bus route diagrammed (or; why our public transport is inefficient and overpriced, yet overcrowded and underfunded)
- A nominal suburban bus network
A public transport system designed for the needs of the community, not just those of commuters, would be more equitable and useful for everyone – and take cars off the road and reduce traffic congestion, as well.