Many operators have lost almost all their fare revenue. Even those who operate on contract terms that reduce the impact of falling patronage must bear the costs of disinfection and other precautions.
Many people don’t realise high-income earners are the biggest users of public transport in Australian cities, but it’s still low-income earners who are most vulnerable to service disruptions.
Australia can learn from what has been done overseas, especially in China, to keep public transport running while containing the spread of coronavirus.
On-demand public transport has now provided over 1 million rides in 36 trials in various Australian cities. Is the problem of poor suburban public transport on the way to being solved?
Only the inner suburbs of Melbourne and other capital cities meet the 20-minute neighbourhood test. But we could transform the other suburbs for much less than the cost of current transport projects.
The neighbourhoods of Paris, Barcelona and Amsterdam with densities 3-5 times those of Melbourne and Sydney offer an insight into how we could transform our cities for the better.
Installing light rail is costly, as Sydney has found, but it’s the gold standard for public transport along road corridors. What trackless trams can do is rapidly expand such services at low cost.
Two-thirds of surveyed workers work from home one day a week on average, but could do at least half their work out of the workplace. If they commuted less often, congestion could be greatly reduced.
A program aimed at getting people home safely has cost A$300 million but has had little impact, aside from increased intoxication in CBD venues. Rates of assaults and road crashes are much the same.
How many opportunities you can reach depends on where you live and how you travel. A new report maps accessibility for our eight capital cities by car, public transport, cycling and walking.