Instead of repeated bailouts, permanent reform of public transport funding is needed.
In Victoria, the Andrews government’s level crossing removal project has lifted property prices by up to 28% around sites where work has been completed.
Tracey Nearmy/AAP
Value capture depends on infrastructure increasing the value of affected areas in the first place. Victoria’s level crossing removal project shows the impact on property values can be significant.
When political leaders swap suits for hi-viz vests the costs of the promises they make are high, and often not well justified.
Lukas Coch/AAP
The major parties are promising tens of billions of dollars in transport spending, but only a handful of projects are on Infrastructure Australia’s national priority list with approved business cases.
Marginal seat, major transport announcement: it must be election time.
James Ross/AAP
The Coalition’s infrastructure budgets over this term of government have been around the midpoint of government investment over the past decade. But how projects are chosen leaves a lot to be desired.
Another election, another infrastructure promise – in the Andrews government’s case, a $50 billion suburban rail loop.
Penny Stephens/AAP
In the election bidding wars, parties commit billions to transport projects, often before all the work needed to justify these has been done. More cost-effective alternatives hardly get a look-in.
Federal and state governments have put their hands up to fund airport rail links before we have even seen business cases.
David Crosling/AAP
Billions of taxpayer dollars are committed before all the evidence for, and against, infrastructure projects is in. As well as missing business cases, basic rules of economic modelling are broken.
TfL’s money troubles worsen, as passenger numbers fall for the first time in two decades.
Have Australian commuters really enjoyed gains in quality of life that would justify all those billions of dollars spent on transport infrastructure?
Hayk Shalunts/Shutterstock
We spend on average about an hour a day travelling. Given this is unlikely to change, how can we make this time more productive and enjoyable?
Transport Minister Andrew Constance and the Coalition government are under pressure to fix long-standing problems with Sydney’s train system which have now come to a head.
Daniel Munoz/AAP
The real challenge is finding appropriate ways to invest in public transport that will not only take pressure off the system but also support improved travel on all modes, including cars.
Reckless government investment decisions are sadly the norm when it comes to transport infrastructure. Three key checks on the decision-making process can help ensure taxpayers get value for money.
The report found that Sydney households face the highest transport costs of any city in Australia both in dollar terms and as a percentage of household income.
AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts
The Australian Automobile Association said that a new report showed that “the average Australian family is spending up to $22,000 every year to get around.” Is that accurate?
The budget doesn’t provide either the infrastructure investment or financing details needed to flesh out the Smart Cities Plan.
AAP/Mal Fairclough
The budget paints a picture of higher debt, little relief for growing cities crying out for infrastructure investment, and no detail of how City Deals might work to fix this.