A six point plan for better Public Transport

Samantha Dunn – Upper House candidate for Eastern Victoria
29 October 2010

“People on the fringe and in regional Victoria are sick and tired of a failing public transport system, this issue comes up time and time again out on the campaign trail, “said Samantha Dunn, Greens candidate for Eastern Victoria at the launch of the Greens Six Point Plan to Fix Public Transport.

“It is the Greens who are strongly committed to fast, frequent, well connected, safe and accessible public transport for Victoria. A key step in achieving that is the establishment of an independent and accountable Public Transport Authority,” Samantha said.

“There’s a myriad of agencies connected to the provision of public transport, The Greens would abolish these bureaucracies and transfer their powers and funding, but not necessarily their staff, to the new Public Transport Authority.”

Under the Greens plan urgent problems needing immediate action would be tackled, buses, rail, myki and a future growth taskforce all in the mix.

V/Line was taken back into public hands in 2003. Until recently, it operated in limbo, as the Bracks and Brumby governments tried to devise a way to reprivatise it. As a result, there has been little long-term planning. It needs reform, rather than wholesale replacement.

“There needs to be a concerted effort to integrate our regional transport and devise an integrated rail-bus network connecting regional Victorians to local, inter-regional and Melbourne destinations. This includes a staged program for track duplications, electrification and standardisation to allow for additional services across regional Victoria,” Samantha concluded.

The Greens Six Point Plan to Fix Public Transport:
1. End the failed privatisation experiment
2. Establish a powerful, accountable public transport authority
3. Fixing urgent problems
4. Make public transport safe
5. Extend rail and tram systems
6. Integrated public transport for regional Victoria

For the detailed plan click here.