ACT Light Rail

Farewell ACT Light Rail, hello Public Transport Association of Canberra

2017-03-16T21:05:00.003+11:00

Say hello to the 'Public Transport Association of Canberra' or 'PTCBR'.

Light railers, the following announcement is a little delayed in its release, but I'm sure you'll appreciate the wait.

Following on from our success in helping to secure a light rail future in Canberra, a question was raised amongst a few of us on the ACT Light Rail committee about where we should go from here. The consensus reached was that we should continue our advocacy, not just for light rail, but also for overall better public transport in Canberra and our immediate region.

To that end, a brand new community based public transport advocacy group has been created with members drawn from ACT Light Rail, and a few new faces. We have now formally registered the 'Public Transport Association of Canberra', or 'PTCBR'.

An interim committee has been formed, a constitution written (we are using the model rules, as recommended by the Office of Regulatory Services), and a set of objectives established. The organisation has been registered with the ACT Governments Office of Regulatory Services and in the New Year we will be in a position to start inviting applications for membership, and for those so motivated, several positions on the interim committee that remain vacant.

Along with the formation of PTCBR, we'll be starting a brand new website at ptcbr.org and changing the name of the facebook group to recognise this change from a focus on light rail to better reflect a bigger focus on public transport in Canberra.

This website will no longer be updated, but remain online for future reference.

Our objectives as an organisation will be as follows:
1. Promote public transport in the Canberra region.
2. Act as the peak body for public transport consultation in the ACT.
3. Further the integration of light rail, bus services and active transport within the ACT.

Whilst we won't be asking every member of the group to join the official organisation, we are keen for as many of you as possible to do so. The more people we count as members, the greater sway we'll have to effect better public transport and planning outcomes.

We will be asking people who wish to become members to pay a $20 annual membership fee, or $10 for students/pensioners.

Your fees will enable us to hold regular public forums where we intend to invite organisations, businesses and government departments involved in public transport to come and speak with us. We intend to become a proactive voice in Canberra’s public transport and planning future, and we need to do this in a professional and organised way.

You are of course welcome to remain in this group and continue contributing as you see fit without any further commitment, and we likewise understand if you no longer wish to be a part of the group following this change.

What we can say, however, is that becoming a member of PTCBR will provide you with the opportunity to become a part of a group that will have a real, tangible impact on the quality of our city's livability. It would be great if you could all be a part of it.

Damien Haas, Chair PTCBR
(on behalf of the PTCBR Committee)

ALP and Greens form agreement to govern for the new Assembly - light rail a key initiative both can agree on.

2016-10-30T19:28:00.001+11:00

Greens MLA Caroline le Couteur, Greens MLA Shane Rattenbury, ALP Chief Minister Andrew Barr and ALP Deputy chief Minister Yvette Berry

Congratulations to the ALP and the Greens on reaching an agreement to govern for the new Assembly. This is the third term in a row that the ALP and Greens have supported each other in the Assembly, and the second formal agreement. At the election on October 15, the ALP claimed 12 seats, the Greens 2 and the Canberra Liberals 11. Greens MLA Shane Rattenbury will take a position in Cabinet as part of the agreement.

For this term of government, there are 77 separate initiatives in the agreement that both parties can agree on. The primary initiatives of interest for this group are those related to public transport.

A link to the full parliamentary agreement is here.

ABC Online reported on the agreement here.

The Canberra Times reported on the agreement here.

In the 2012 to 2016 term, the agreement to govern delivered signed contracts and construction for Capital Metro light rail Stage One, and the delivery of the Light Rail Master Plan.

In this term, the agreement refers to 'Building an Integrated transport network' with a focus on light rail Stage Two improving bus services, looking at new transport technologies and promoting Active Travel.

For more frequent updates on Canberra Metro and Canberra light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'.

Map of polling booth results showing light rail is a vote winner

2016-10-17T09:53:00.001+11:00

This simple graphic indicates that light rail is a vote winner. Look at the percentage of the ALP primary vote by polling booth on this map with primary vote numbers from booths overlaid on to a map of Canberra. The proximity of a booth to the light rail route correlates to a 10-15% primary vote gain.

How will the data on this map change when in the 2020 Assembly election light rail from Gungahlin to Civic is operational and Woden route construction may be underway? Only more positively for the parties that support light rail.

Coloured circles are Assembly polling place results
Black line is proposed light rail route

Image from Australian Rail Maps Twitter page with data from #actvotes

For more frequent updates on Canberra Metro and Canberra light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'.

Canberra supports light rail future with re-elected Barr government

2016-10-16T20:21:00.000+11:00

Thank you to all supporters of light rail and improved public transport in Canberra. Your votes have secured a very different Canberra that will be able to grow without gridlock and increased road congestion. It will be able to offer a scalable public transport system that can grow as our population and urban form grows. It was not the only issue that the election was decided upon, but it was a major one.

If there are political lessons to be learnt they are firstly that the Canberra public want our city to grow and avoid the transport problems that other car dominated capitals have. We are on that cusp, and have decided to go another way. The second and bigger lesson is that we are not fools and negative political campaigning just doesn't work. We will support and vote for a positive achievable vision.

It has been a hard slog for all, but at last the four year election campaign has been decided. It has been a definitive rout of regressive negative politics. The Canberra of the future will have an integrated public transport system with light rail at its backbone, and more frequent local bus services.

Stage One from Gungahlin to Civic will be built and commence service by 2019.
Stage Two from Civic to Woden will have a series of studies prepared, culminating with a business case that may recommend construction.
An expanded rapid bus service will be extended to several group centres
Proper planning for further light rail stages can continue
A compact liveable city with Transit Oriented Development and more density, will emerge around transit corridors

These positive planning and transport policies can now occur with certainty as the Barr government has been returned with a likely coalition government with the Greens to be formed, once firm Assembly numbers are known. The polling booths closed at 6PM on October 15th and by 10PM the Chief Minister had announced the ALP were in a position to form Government, and opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson had conceded defeat.

That the positive election result was known so quickly, demonstrates confidence in the Governments plans. It was a resounding 'yes' for light rail.

For four years the Canberra Liberals had fought a relentlessly negative and dishonest campaign with false claims about costs and spending. These false and deceptive claims continued to the day of the election and it was a refreshing sign of a healthy democracy that the people of Canberra looked beyond the smear campaign and neglectful and lazy journalistic coverage from the Canberra Times, to form a view that resoundingly supports a light rail future.

However, the negative campaign is now history. The light rail debate has been resolved and it will be built. Stage One will be the first of five planned stages that will reshape our city and lead to better land use, higher standards of living, less road congestion and a more compact livable city.

The overwhelming endorsement of public transport at this election should be taken to heart by the Canberra Liberals. They should be proactive in creating light rail and public transport policy, and they should be cooperative and not obstructionist as further light rail stages, especially the Woden route, are planned and constructed.

Supporters of light rail in the community, including the 1300 strong members of ACT Light Rail, always knew the public supported better public transport. Now its future is secure.

See polling results from booths adjacent to light rail here

Canberra Times coverage
Election win shows comprehensive support for light rail
Labor confident of win - expected to form government with Greens
Triumph for Labor - wakeup call for Liberals
Disappointing Hanson admits defeat at ACT election
Back to the drawing board for all sides
Labor victory a rejection of narrow minded fundamental conservatism

ABC Online coverage
Light rail in balance as Canberra heads to the polls
Labor claims victory, says Canberra voted for light rail
Feeling of exasperation as Canberra Liberals fall short
Where to now for Liberal leadership?

Television coverage of the election result

ABC TV news Canberra carried this report on Sunday 16 October 2016:

Part One

Part Two

WIN TV News Canberra carried this report on Monday 17 October 2016:

A few radio interviews were quite informative:

ABC radio carried this interview on Monday 17 October with Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Greens MLA Shane Rattenbury about what happens next

Duration: 7min 20sec Broadcast: Mon 17 Oct 2016, 5:30am

"The ACT Election finished on Saturday night but the final preference counting will continue for most of this week.
What will the larger Legislative Assembly chamber mean? How about negotiations for a new Labor-Greens Government?
Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Greens MLA Shane Rattenbury talk to 666 ABC Canberra breakfast host Philip Clark about what happens next."

Originally on this ABC webpage

ABC radio carried this interview with Liberal MLA Alistair Coe after the election.

Duration: 11min 57sec Broadcast: Mon 17 Oct 2016, 3:00pm

"After appearing to be within reach of Government for the first time in 15 years the Canberra Liberals lost the election by an increased margin compared to 2012, and it's raised questions over the position of leader Jeremy Hanson.
Mr Coe explained the ground campaign of Labor and the complexity of the light rail issue could have been contributing factors to the Liberals' loss.
He also told Adam Shirley on 666 ABC Canberra that he did not see Mr Hanson's statement that he argued against light rail "exceptionally well, but perhaps not well enough" as a criticism."

Originally on this ABC webpage.

For more frequent updates on Canberra Metro and Canberra light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'.

Canberra Liberals bus only alternative to light rail exposed as a lie - by themselves!

2016-10-13T21:15:00.001+11:00

One of the leased buses expected if Canberra Liberals are elected

Since 2012 the Canberra Liberals have been promising to kill light rail. They claim we don't need it, They claim that they would release a policy that would be better than light rail. They did, several months ago - and there were many questions about it. Could it be implemented? How much would it cost? Would it bring about any of the benefits that lightrail would? Would it be Bus Rapid Transit or just bus lanes?

See the Canberra Liberals promised bus only alternative here

Today TWO DAYS BEFORE THE ELECTION the Liberals provided their costings to ACT Treasury. It is in the detail that they expose their policy as really, just a flimsy three page description of well, not much really. Certainly not a realistic alternative to light rail.

Remember that this is the policy that they claim is better than light rail.

This is what it doesn't have:

No mention of a new bus depot
The "eight new rapid routes" only include assumptions of leased buses and operating costs
No new buses
No bus stop / road improvements
No new bus lanes
No intersection / traffic signal upgrade
No bus Interchange expansion (which would be vital)
No mention of ancillary equipment - such as additional NXTBUS modules and MyWay equipment
No staff increases
No opportunity for Transit Oriented Development
No opportunity for Canberra based construction jobs

By leasing buses one could assume that this is a cost saver, but in fact it isn't. To lease a bus at $5500 per month - not including inflation - works out at $1.3m for 20 years compared to $800000 to buy one outright.

What a flimsy unimplementable policy. Appalling. This is what they offer as an alternative t light rail?

This Saturday the two choices are:

A costed and funded light rail from Gungahlin to Civic (and then to Woden)

An unimplementable bus only plan that cannot match the transport objectives promised.

There is no choice - Vote for Light Rail.

Update: Friday 14 October
As of Friday morning (the day before polling day) Labor wound up with one policy uncosted (deemed withdrawn due to lack of time constraints) which was the not-insignificant upgrade of the Centenary Hospital.

The Liberals wound up with 4 deemed withdrawn due to time constraints. And they're pretty substantial ones:

The Zero percent lease variation charge
The cost of new 'Rapid' bus routes. They quoted $40m, and in my opinion, from the look of the document there seem to be a few items not factored into that number.
The $35m flyover proposal for the Barton Highway.
The widening of roads between Gungahlin and Civic (part of their no-light rail platform) which they costed at $58m

The Greens, for what it's worth, had all their policies costed by Treasury.

For more frequent updates on Canberra Metro and Canberra light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'.

ALP commits $25 million for design and scoping work for light rail to Woden

2016-10-11T21:35:00.001+11:00

Election advertising for the Woden light rail policy
(Photo by Chris Richards)

The 2016 election date draws closer, and although the Liberals are yet to announce any costings for their bus only transport policy, the ALP and Greens have been releasing regular updates on their policies.

Today the ALP announced $25 million for the design and scoping for the proposed Stage Two of light rail to Woden. This is essential for the preparation of a business case (that would be required before a final decision on whether to proceed, could occur).

See the ABC Online article: Labor announces big spend on Woden light rail extension
See the CT article: Labor promises $25 million for design and scoping work for the second stage of light rail

In early September, the ACT Government announced that if re-elected, they would build light rail to Woden, through the Parliamentary Triangle from Civic. This would create a light rail line running from Woden to Gungahlin.

See Light Rail Stage Two announced - off to Woden we go!

The announcement today attaches funding to that proposal for design and scoping work. Transport Minister Meegan Fitzharris said the $25 million would provide information that would hopefully progress the project to the procurement stage.

"We have done preliminary technical analysis that shows us that it is a good route, it has excellent and sustainable outcomes for the development of our city, connecting the north and south of our city,"

"It's really important that we get the scoping and design work right in consultation with the community and with technical experts just like we have on stage one."

ABC TV Canberra covered the funding announcement on its 7PM news on 10 Oct 2016

A media statement was released by Minister Meegan Fitzharris on 11 Oct 2016

Labor’s plan for light rail stage 2 and free buses across CBR

A re-elected Labor government will start work immediately on stage two of our city-wide light rail network and encourage more people to use public transport with a free trial of all new Rapid Bus services.

Almost 210,000 Canberrans will live, work or study within one kilometre of the Woden light rail corridor by 2041. Planning for this growth will be vital to reducing congestion on our roads and providing commuters with a quick, practical and efficient alternative to driving their cars.

Labor has already committed to take light rail to Woden via the Parliamentary Triangle and create a north-south spine for our public transport network. This will get light rail across the lake, and buses, bikes, walking routes and later stages of light rail will feed into this spine, making it even easier for Canberrans to get where they need to go.

To support this city-building infrastructure, Labor will invest $25 million for scoping and design work to progress the project to the procurement stage. This important work will assist in understanding the stage two route alignment, develop the funding and financing model for the project, and determine the best procurement approach for the Territory.

Light rail is an affordable infrastructure investment for the future of Canberra, and only Labor will deliver a city-wide light rail network. Light rail has been talked about for 100 years, and it’s now or never. It has to start somewhere, but under the Canberra Liberals, it never will.

Before the 2012 election, ACT Labor committed to “plan, finance and develop the first stage of a Light Rail Network” with “construction estimated to commence in 2016”. We’re delivering on our promise with stage one now underway.

Stage two will continue the renewal of Woden, where the town centre is already benefiting from recent upgrades and the ACT Government decision to relocate more than 1000 public servants to Woden at a time when the Federal Liberal Government has taken jobs out of Woden.

Labor will also offer all passengers on our new Rapid Routes a free two-month trial of the service to encourage more people give public transport a go.

The first new rapid buses to begin would be the Green Rapid from Woden to the City via Manuka and Barton, and the Black Rapid from Belconnen to Gungahlin. Passengers on these new routes will be able to ride for free for the first two months of service from mid-2017.

In another reform to the bus network, Labor will also relaunch the Xpresso routes as ‘Peak Express’ services. On average these services carry around 13,000 passengers a week - 3.7 per cent of total bus patronage, but they could do better.

A rebranding and marketing campaign will be undertaken to encourage more people to use these ‘Peak Express’ services, which are a great way to commute quickly to work every day.

A new Peak Express service will be trialled from Gungahlin to Tuggeranong, offering three express non-stop morning and evening services between the two centres.

While the Liberals are concreting the whole of Northbourne Avenue and turning it into an eight lane highway with massive bus bays that will replace footpaths, Labor has a real plan to improve our public transport system so it becomes more convenient, efficient, affordable and reliable – a genuine alternative to driving.

Ends

Woden to Gungahlin light rail

For more frequent updates on Canberra Metro and Canberra light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'.

More buses, the ultimate band-aid solution

2016-10-11T21:00:00.002+11:00

As a regular public transport user, I meet the cry of “more buses” as a solution to Canberra’s long term transport future with rolled eyes, a sigh and the odd scream. Sure, buses are a serviceable part of public transport system, but once you reach a certain population and size, they cannot be the only solution.

For a bus system to potentially service a population of just shy of half a million people, we’re looking at building supporting infrastructure and changes to business and staffing models and the costs incurred with these changes. Providing a rapid bus service does not simply mean buying a couple more bendy buses, whacking a logo on the side, and letting them fang down Northbourne Avenue or Adelaide Avenue in a way that would make Daniel Ricciardo proud.

To enable rapid bus services we would need to see changes to Northbourne (such as less stops, raised platforms, priority lanes and specialised vehicles) that are already happening for light rail that people seem to have such a problem with, and yet apparently it would be okay if we did all that for buses?

First let’s understand the difference between buses and light rail and what they’re meant for in city public transport.

Light rail provides a backbone to public transport. Light rail is not intended to be flexible, meander through suburbs like a big maxi van and stop at your door. In fact, you’ll be hard pressed to find a bus service in a city the size of Canberra that does this.

The purpose of light rail is to service major arterial roads on a regular basis, connecting town centres in the most efficient and reliable way. From the start and end points of light rail services, buses take up the service of suburbs. Stage One of light rail will free up hundreds of bus hours, making them more useful in the suburbs than they ever will be trapped behind dozens of cars on Northbourne Avenue.

There are drawbacks to buses that people who don’t take them regularly won’t understand:

they are subject to the flow of traffic,
they aren’t very roomy,
there aren’t as many seats as you think there are,
they can (and do) break down, and
rides can often be jerky and uncomfortable.

In peak hour, buses are filled very quickly (for those who say you’ll never get a seat on the light rail, try taking a 200 series Rapid Bus in peak hour), and reliability and adhering to timetables is reliant not only on traffic but also the behaviour of the passengers, particularly where suburban routes turn into arterial routes such as the 259 and where multi modal travel wins over a single route that lasts an hour and provides more opportunities for delays.

Light rail, by comparison, will effectively have its own lane and its progress along the route will not be hampered by what motorised traffic is doing. Unless there’s a car crash right on the light rail track, a dingle on Northbourne Avenue will make no never mind to the light rail.

Passengers who don’t have their MyWay card out of the wallet and ready to go when the service arrives also won’t hinder the progress of light rail – when light rail pauses along its way at each stop, there is a pre-determined amount of time for passengers to get on and off, passengers have a bit more time to tap on and off with ticket facilities at stops as well as on the light rail vehicles, and if you have a question, you won’t be holding everyone up by taking up the driver’s time.

The driver is separate from the passengers and instead customer service officers at stops and on the light rail will field questions and concerns so the driver can get on with driving and keeping the service on time. Many people who don’t use public transport don’t realise that it’s often passengers who can hold up the service along its route.

“More buses” screams nothing but “more traffic” along routes that are already congested and slow particularly in peak times. Without dedicated bus lanes – which would either require road widening or taking a lane off current traffic – more buses is not a long term solution. “More buses” also comes at a cost. More vehicle purchasing costs (which have to be paid immediately, as opposed to the light rail PPP model), more drivers, more maintenance, bigger depots, not to mention massive infrastructure changes that are required to make additional buses actually worth the initial outlay.

Can you imagine the outcry that car loving Canberrans would make if Northbourne Avenue became two lanes so that the third could be bus only? The Letters to the Editor section of The Canberra Times simply isn’t big enough!

Alternatively, the proposal of an additional lane for motorised vehicles down the middle of Northbourne Avenue makes even those who couldn’t care less about the current public transport debate raise an eyebrow in bewilderment. It’s still going to require tree removal and building of infrastructure such as stops, and it will result in an additional lane that makes the ‘country chic’ median pointless, as well as providing a precedent to turn medians into roads.

In a city over 100,000 people, buses have their place as part of an integrated transport system with light rail at its spine. A massive shift in how Northbourne Avenue and, in the future, other arterial roads in Canberra are used will have to happen either way in order to make light rail or “more buses” actually have an impact on the quality of public transport in Canberra.

There is only so wide we can make a road for “more buses” until there isn’t any room left for anything else. Utilising the ready made medians for level light rail tracks will, however, provide a substantial change to public transport access and availability with minimal impact to how the roads in Canberra currently work.

When you consider all the implications, “more buses” will provide more headaches for Canberra road users in the long run, either by losing current lanes or creating more of an eyesore of our medians than light rail ever could.

The “more buses” argument is not only unsustainable, but is a band aid solution that will require additional updates and fixes in the very near future.

Light rail allows buses to do what they do best which is servicing suburbs along existing roads, with light rail transport easily and efficiently servicing major roads where flexible routes are not required.

As a regular public transport user, this is what Canberrans need now in order to save time commuting, and increase the usability of the existing bus service. Multi modal travel has been shown to cut commuting times, simply by allowing the right mode of transport to do what it does best, and this is where integrated public transport will allow Canberra’s public transport system and its efficiency to grow.

More buses, in isolation, are only a band-aid solution.

Article by Cyn Piromali

For more frequent updates on Canberra Metro and Canberra light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'.

Why rails instead of rubber

2016-10-09T22:33:00.002+11:00

It’s clearly a polarising question in the lead up to the ACT election, the future direction of public transport in Canberra. The Canberra Liberals are staking their election chances on outright opposition to light rail, (it’s not a tram, just to be clear Mr Hanson), and have proposed to effectively provide more of the same. Wider roads, more buses, with maybe a couple of bike paths. Labor and the Greens on the other hand promise to extend light rail across the city as a high capacity ‘spine’ for an integrated bus/light rail public transport network.

So what’s the better option? You’ll get no argument from this author that as a pure transport policy, buses are the cheaper way to provide immediate effects for commuters on the existing road system. So why, I hear people ask, did the Barr government decide to invest in the more expensive, fixed transport option? For me, it all comes down to land use, and human behaviour.

In case you didn’t know, Canberra has a problem with car dependency. We have the highest Vehicle Kilometres Travelled (VKT) per capita in the country, and over 82% of us commute to work by driving. Our urban form makes it nearly impossible to get by without a car. If you doubt it, ask yourself what you’d do if tomorrow you lost your ability to drive. Now think about a person living in Banks, Duffy, MacGregor, or Casey.

The problems associated with urban sprawl, exactly the problems our city has, are not disputed by any rational observer. Canberra’s low urban density, vast single use suburbs spread out like carpet into the distance, extensive road networks and car parks, and large scale retail complexes are the types of land use which produce our high VKT and resultant congestion, energy use, and emissions.

Then there are massive economic drawbacks. It costs an average of $12,000 a year to run a car for individuals, most of which is not returned to the local economy, while the government pours hundreds of millions of dollars a year into road construction and upkeep. This is an expenditure road users come nowhere close to funding, so inevitably it is the rate payers of Canberra who pay. Additionally, each new suburb that we build piles on the requirement for the territory to not only maintain existing infrastructure, (power, water, sewerage, parks & gardens etc), but to construct and maintain the required new infrastructure. Spreading this compounding liability over a sparsely populated tax base logically results in a higher cost per rate payer.

So what do we do about it? We work to find a way to change land use that encourages better use of existing infrastructure, eliminates car dependency, and encourages ‘trip localisation’, i.e. creating places where residents can access services locally by walking to it. Light rail, in case examples from all over the world, is a proven mechanism for anchoring Transit Oriented Developments (TOD) which are typically mixed use and walkable. TOD encourages more efficient land use through greater urban density, and a focus on functional design that people react to in a positive way.

And this leads to the next point. While some people point out that a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system would be cheaper to build and result in the same change to land use, the evidence doesn’t support the claim. People are not mathematical constants. You cannot look at passenger numbers on a bus-only transport system and automatically translate that across to a future light rail option. When the Gold Coast light rail commenced operation in 2015, public transport usage overall increased 22.6%, an extension to the light rail in Adelaide saw an increase in patronage of 39% in its first week, and when a new light rail line opened in the US city of Minneapolis, a full 40% of riders professed to never having used public transport in the past. This author’s own wife refuses to ride a bus, but was an avid user of the Sydney train network when we lived there. People will, and do, go out of their way to use rail based public transport over road based.

A lot of this behaviour has to do with the urban amenity supported by an electrically powered, wide & low floored, high capacity transit system that can deliver large numbers of people directly into a pedestrianised environment. It is far more comfortable to walk beside a light rail line in the city than it is a road capable of carrying the same amount of people as that line. Picture George Street in Sydney and the enormous noise problems and danger of being hit by a truck if you step off the curb, compared to Bourke Street in Melbourne. It’s not hard to see why Sydney is moving to emulate Melbourne in this respect.

Oh, but what about self-driving cars I hear people ask. I ask this in return. How does a continuous stream of individual vehicles on roads which are now completely hostile to pedestrians promote urban amenity, so necessary for changing land use habits? Where do we park these vehicles? How do autonomous vehicles move a crowd of 15,000 people away from Canberra stadium after a rugby game? How do we power these thousands of vehicles? Autonomous vehicles have their place, but it isn’t in the role of efficient mass transit which is what light rail is all about.

When the clear benefits to the urban environment that light rail can produce are taken into consideration, it becomes increasingly frustrating to listen to the continuing opposition from certain elements of the Canberra community. What’s more frustrating for this author is the fact that a party who would seek to be our government are promising to reverse the project despite the clear economic, social and environmental benefits. To accept the current land use/transport status quo is regressive. It denies there’s a problem, shows zero vision for a more liveable city, and exposes their position to inconsistency with reality. How, for example, are they going to pay $300 million in penalties for scrapping the light rail and build better schools and hospitals all while lowering our rates? When are we going to see some bipartisan support for evidence based public transport and land use policy?

I guess that depends on what we all say on the 15^th of October.

Article by Robert Knight

For more frequent updates on Canberra Metro and Canberra light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'.

How are we paying for light rail in Canberra?

2016-10-05T16:09:00.000+11:00

Since 2012 we have seen almost every action and decision of the ACT Government linked to light rail by opponents of better public transport. They see light rail behind every government decision and spending announcement. It’s a deceptive, shallow and misleading campaign that the public is tired of.

My intention in stepping through the economic arguments in this article is to assure you that the big numbers are not scary numbers, that the Territory is in a position to afford light rail, and that you are paying for light rail in the same way as you pay for any other public service provided by the government, and that your rates are not increasing to pay for light rail.

Neglecting road and public transport in Gungahlin 20 years ago, has had negative impacts on Canberra today. Northbourne Avenue is still Canberra’s most congested road, despite Majura Parkway and the GDE being built.

Stage One of Canberra’s light rail network is now underway. The long suffering residents of Gungahlin and north Canberra that endure road congestion and jam-packed ACTION buses, can travel past light rail construction and know that a better alternative to driving and parking every day, or riding in sardine packed bus (if it doesn’t drive past them already full), is on schedule to commence in 2018.

Despite this overwhelmingly obvious need for improved public transport, the community has been subjected to increasingly shrill and unbalanced arguments from opponents of public transport. Many of the arguments against light rail are focussed on the economics.

The economic claims fall into several broad categories: that the costs don’t ‘stack up’, light rail is unaffordable, the money could be spent elsewhere (with health and education the key areas), and too much money is being spent in Gungahlin to benefit too few people. Then there is the claim that rates are rising to pay for light rail.

Let’s examine these various claims one by one.

The ACT Budget papers for 2016/2017 show that health, education and disability services are 56% of the total budget, and public transport only 4%. Light rail was allocated 0.4% of the budget, to pay for the Capital Metro Agency. A contract for the construction and operation of light rail stage one was signed in 2016. We now know that the cost of light rail will be $65 million a year for 20 years.

The $65 million a year cost for light rail does ‘stack up’. Public transport is a service delivered by the government in the same way as it delivers health services, educates our children and collects our rubbish. We pay for all these services, even if we don’t use them.

We don’t ask students to pay for their education (although their parents can choose private schools), we don’t ask those who can't pay for money before medical treatment (although they can privately insure or use private medical facilities), and we don’t charge the blind or the elderly the full cost of a bus ride.

The reason we don’t do this is that there are public expectations that the money used by the government on our behalf will be expended equitably. In areas that may never benefit us directly. As Canberra expands and grows to half a million residents, we need to provide support for that growth and manage it so it doesn’t negatively impact us directly or indirectly. Public transport is no different, and light rail is no different.

Why is it important that the costs ‘stack up’? If we want public transport to be profitable, we need to insist the government charge the full cost of every trip to every bus passenger, and dramatically reduce the salaries the ACTION workforce enjoys. It is unlikely that either side of politics would adopt this view.

The real question is – what are the costs of not having public transport? The community accept that public transport needs to be provided as it benefits all sectors of society and the cost of not providing public transport would lead to massive road congestion. Those buses that take your children to school, or ferry you from Floriade and Raiders games, would still need to be provided for in some way.

Privatising ACTION would not bring about any budget joy as the public would still have expectations such as subsidised school fares, concessions for pensioners and health care card holders.

Political realities would dictate government subsidies to private operators to perform services in areas where the private operator would not be able to profitably operate a route.

Because we demand certain concessions for different sectors of society, public transport may never be profitable. Is this wrong? The cost of public transport is the same as any other service that we expect the government to deliver. This is the reality of all public transport services across Australia.

The main focus should be on delivering public transport in the most efficient way, in cost and service delivery.

The fare box of ACTION Buses provides only 20% of its funding, and that amount has been declining as patronage declines. If we want that revenue to increase, it needs to come from full fare paying adult passengers that commute every day. Light rail is a proven way to increase public transport patronage. This has been recently demonstrated by Gold Coast light rail.

Light rail is proven to attract and increase public transport patronage, and is cheaper to operate over the longer term than buses. When a truly integrated public transport system exists, public transport use rises and road congestion decreases. In Canberra public transport use has decreased and road congestion increased. Buses alone cannot serve our current or future public transport needs.

The other claim of the anti public transport forces is that light rail is unaffordable. They quote the total project cost of $930 million and fulminate about this cost. They invent a fictional cost of $1.8 billion.

They don’t tell you that this will be paid over 20 years. That the actual cost to the ACT is $65 million a year, for twenty years. That this is how most infrastructure assets are paid for. They realise this figure is affordable, and pretend it doesn’t exist.

Paying for light rail over twenty years is the same way that we all pay for a home when we seek a mortgage. Few of us are in the position of paying for a home from the money we earn this year. It is the sensible way to acquire any asset.

Where is this money coming from then?

The majority of the money to pay for light rail will come from selling assets such as ACTTAB and old public housing stock. These assets aren’t leaving the ACT; they have transferred ownership and the money is being reinvested in the ACT.

New public housing of better quality is being built to house the tenants that are relocating, and this is part of a long-term program to improve public housing stock. No tenant will be homeless as a result, and will certainly be rehoused in better quality housing than the rundown housing along Northbourne Avenue.

Recycling these assets is a very successful way to fund new public transport infrastructure, spark urban renewal along a tired corridor and rehouse public tenants in better quality housing. The benefits transcend public transport and benefit several areas of our economy such as employment and construction.

The asset recycling program has already raised $400 million of the expected $930 million before the first payment to the Canberra Metro consortium is required (in 2018, the first year of light rail operations). The Federal Liberal government has also contributed $66 million towards this project, as it is seen as a way to boost productivity.

The rest of the money for light rail will come from the ACT Government via General Government Service revenue totalling around $5.1 billion in 2016/17. Commonwealth Grants are over 40% of this $5.1 billion, our rates less than 20% at $447 million. Interestingly the amount received from payroll tax was almost identical to the amount received from rates, yet I have never heard anyone complain that payroll tax is increasing to pay for light rail.

If we can’t pay for $65 million a year for 20 years out of $5.1 billion dollars a year (in 2016 terms), we are in bigger trouble than cancelling light rail will solve. It is a small one percent of our annual budget that is entirely manageable and a sound investment in our future. Most people’s car payments are greater than 1 percent of their annual income.

The selfish argument that light rail will only benefit a small percentage of the population is also false. Gungahlin’s population will be at 100 thousand within ten years. Based on ABS statistics from the 2011 census, the corridor for light rail Stage One that takes in much of North Canberra, has 9% of Canberra’s population within one kilometre of the light rail line.

That doesn’t take into account the population of Woden or the Inner South of Canberra that would benefit from the Stage Two extension. That doesn’t take into account the people that would catch one of the more frequent integrated bus services to a light rail station. That doesn’t take into account those that will use the free ‘Park and Ride’ instead of paying around ten dollars a day to park their car in Civic or the Parliamentary Triangle.

It is also selfish and disingenuous to object to public funds being spent in areas that don’t directly benefit the individual. You may never need to use a sewage pipe in Theodore, but the greater public of Canberra benefit from a sewerage system. Public transport and road infrastructure are exactly the same.

Public infrastructure is for the general use and benefit of us all. Schools and hospitals are expensive to construct and staff, but no one objects to publicly funded health service or schools, even if we haven’t used them in years. They may be used by friends or loved ones, or ourselves at some point in the future.

No one uses every road in the ACT. However we all contribute to the funding and construction of these roads. People in Canberra’s north may never use the Monaro Highway, but they appreciate and understand how these roads benefit people in other areas of Canberra, including friends and family. Light rail stage one and stage two are no different.

Finally, let us look at your rates. The ACT Government went to the 2012 Assembly election with a range of taxation reform measures. It proposed removing stamp duty and inequitable taxes and slowly increasing rates. In the face of a concerted ‘your rates will triple’ campaign from the Canberra Liberals, the public returned the Government.

It was a courageous election policy, so courageous that Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has supported it, and described the political difficulty in securing this type of taxation reform as ‘ten out of ten’. It is a taxation reform that almost all economists recommend other states adopt; yet they lack the political will to attempt it.

Our taxation reform is designed to ensure a predictable income stream buffered from the stamp duty property boom and bust cycle. Stamp duty has been reduced; eventually it will be removed altogether. There have also been cuts to insurance taxes, car taxes and payroll taxes.

This provides a more predictable stream of income that prevents slashing services in years when stamp duty income suffers from a real estate ‘bust’ period. No one likes paying bills, and no one likes rates increasing, but they would also complain and be materially impacted if services had to be cut if the real estate market collapsed

The ‘triple your rates’ campaign ran in 2012 is again being run by the Opposition, although as the tripling didn’t occur, they are now referring to rates increases as ‘unfair’. Yes our rates will steadily increase. Stamp duty elimination is only a part of that. Rates are also increasing as our home values increase.

Note that the fear campaign doesn’t have a promise of reversing taxation reform and reintroducing the inherently illogical stamp duty grab.

The real issue for this election campaign is this - are the increases in rates related to light rail? No.

Categorically they are not. As shown earlier, rates are less than 20% of our total budget. Light rail is not being paid for from your rates. To suggest that rates will increase to pay for light rail is a deceptive fear campaign not based on any evidence.

When light rail begins operation, the ACT Government will pay the private operator an annual fee to operate the light rail service and pay the balance of the construction cost. In twenty years, the consortium operating light rail on our behalf will hand the asset back to the ACT government, and we will have a workforce and administration with the experience to manage the network.

The annual payment to the Canberra Metro consortium will be $65 million or 1% of our current annual budget. In 2036 that $65 million will be a fraction of the annual budget of the ACT. Recall that the Commonwealth Grants totalled $5.1 billion dollars.

Funds used for major projects are usually raised through asset sales, Commonwealth Grants and borrowings. That is what is happening in the ACT. We aren’t paying for light rail from your rates, and they aren’t increasing to pay for light rail.

When you look at all slices of the budget pie, 1% is not much compared to 56%. There may be room for reform and productivity savings in the ACT Health and education sectors; and this would bring about far greater benefits on the front line of services than taking the 1% allocated for light rail and having to endure the future costs associated with road congestion and the drag on productivity that this would result in.

The case stacks up for light rail.

For more frequent updates on Capital Metro and light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'.

If a tree falls on Northbourne Avenue, is light rail to blame?

2016-10-04T23:34:00.004+11:00

On the afternoon of 4 October 2016 a severe storm cell swept over Canberra. The local SES reported 116 incidents they attended, mainly due to damage from trees.

This photo is of a eucalyptus tree on Northbourne Avenue, across two lanes of traffic. We can only hope that the tree didn't cause any injuries or damage a persons car when it fell.

Many of the existing eucalyptus trees along Northbourne Avenue are diseased or unsuitable for urban locations, due to a propensity to drop limbs without warning. When light rail construction is finished, the trees that have been removed will be replaced with around 1000 more than there are now.

These trees fall over constantly. They would need replacement, even if light rail wasn't being built.

See also: Northbourne Avenue trees and light rail - facts not fiction

For more frequent updates on Capital Metro and light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'.

Vote for Light Rail signs

2016-10-03T14:42:00.000+11:00

With the 2016 Assembly Election in full campaign mode, members of ACT Light Rail donated enough money to buy signs to demonstrate our support for light rail, and the candidates that are campaigning for better public transport.

Although we have only a few thousand of these signs, any light rail supporter can print their own sign and display it. The files are roughly 600x900mm in size when printed, but you can print them at whatever size you desire to display in your home, office or car window. All signs carry appropriate authorisation to conform with the Electoral Act.

You can download them from here (click on links for the PDF files):

Vote for Light Rail
Light Rail and Hospitals - ACT Can do BOTH
Trapped in Traffic? Vote for Light Rail
Future Light Rail station here
Light rail for Belco makes sense
Light rail for Tuggers makes sense
Light rail for Woden makes sense

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Mark Parton was loving light rail in 2011 and now that he is a Liberal?

2016-10-01T13:19:00.000+10:00

Liberal candidate Mark Parton 30 June 2011

Back in June 2011 Mark Parton was his own man, with his own views, and in this column he discusses that after visiting a city with appalling road congestion, and buses not coping, even with bus lanes, that he thought it was time to talk about light rail in Canberra.

Now it is September 2016 and Mark is a Liberal candidate, running in an election where the singular obsession of the Canberra Liberals to the detriment of all other policy areas, has been light rail.

How much input has Liberal candidate Mark Parton had on the Liberals bus only transport plan? He certainly has some insights from visiting a city with outrageous road congestion. Here is what he said in 2011:

"If Northbourne Avenue was in Bogota there would be six lanes of traffic - each way!"

"Bogota is the classic example of what happens when you don't plan for the growth of a city"

"There is a bus service - some of it designated bus lanes - but it doesn't help much"

"If there is a lesson to learn from my traffic experience in South America, it is that the best time to build a public transport network is well and truly before you need it.
Maybe its time to talk light rail in Canberra again"

I wonder if Mark still holds these views? Does he still feel we need to plan for growth of a city? Does he still feel bus lanes don't help much? Does he want Bogota like congestion in Tuggeranong or the rest of Canberra?

For more frequent updates on Capital Metro and light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'.

Don’t wait for driverless cars - build light rail now

2016-09-30T15:40:00.000+10:00

The autonomous car

Light rail has already started construction in the first stage of what will be a Canberra wide network. This will transform our city and change our culture over time, from a car-centric society where each family needs to have at least two cars, to a place where public transport is easily accessible, frequent and reliable.

Opponents of better public transport are largely drawn from the 93% of Canberrans who don’t use it now, and can’t see why they should have to pay for it. They are used to driving everywhere and parking at the door for free. That is what it was like when they arrived in Canberra in the 1970’s and they can’t understand why it needs to change.

Canberra is changing. The Y Plan was of its time and followed current planning trends, but the NCDC is not a religion and logic needs to be applied to future planning. Some elements of the Burley Griffin vision were adopted, others weren’t. Some elements of the Y Plan have been successful, others not. The current trend of a family home having not one or two cars, but four or more in the driveway is a trend the Y Plan fostered, that cannot continue.

Parking is no longer free, and the vast free car parks of Civic and our Town Centres are no longer there. Free car parking in the Parliamentary Triangle no longer exists. As our city matures, those vast spaces are being replaced with buildings that are of greater economic use than having a car sit on them for eight hours or more a day.

Buses in Canberra once coped admirably with the task assigned; yet as the Y Plan stretched to Tuggeranong and Gungahlin, a bus trip became long and circuitous. We asked ACTION to be both a local bus service and a mass transit provider. It has struggled with this dual task, and under varying management and union approaches, it has seen patronage trend down as private car use soars.

At the same time, the intertown routes are at capacity. On some routes the buses sail past people, as they are full. Clearly a better approach needs to be adopted, and in 2012 the ALP and Greens went to an election with light rail as that better approach.

In 2016 light rail construction has started. Over time a network will link Canberra and encourage greater public transport use, better planning around transport corridors and decrease road congestion.

If you could travel in comfort to work every day, why would you drive? Wouldn’t you rather sit and read, or rest instead of wait in a traffic jam and then spend fifteen minutes looking for expensive parking?

Opponents of light rail talk up a bus only solution, yet it is obvious that more of the same will deliver us, well, more of the same. More buses wont lead to greater public transport use or encourage Transit Oriented Development. More buses on the roads wont reduce road congestion either. Not on Northbourne, and not anywhere else.

They also claim autonomous cars will suddenly emerge from labs and become the panacea to the private car, and miraculously reduce the need for mass transit. While this technology may eventually become practical, it isn’t now and not for the foreseeable future. Even if it was, it really only replaces one car for another, and a robot car going home and returning twice a day doubles road congestion instead of reducing it.

14,000 Raiders fan leave Bruce Stadium and have to wait for 14.000 autonomous cars

The biggest flaw in the self-driving car dream is what happens when fourteen thousand Raiders fans exit Bruce stadium after a victory? Or when the Department of Inland Drainage closes down at 5.30PM and eleven hundred employees walk out the door at once? Which person’s car arrives to pick them up first? Where do they queue?

We replace traffic jams with driverless traffic jams. Driverless cars are not a mass transit solution. They are a part of a larger transport picture with multiple solutions to multiple demands.

Light rail offers passenger capacity beyond current buses, with 220 people able to be carried in a single light rail vehicle. When light rail service commences, over a million bus kilometers a year will be freed up to increase frequency of local bus services.

Your once an hour bus service in Kaleen could become once every half hour or better. As each light rail stage rolls out, the integration of bus and light rail becomes better, and service becomes more frequent and more reliable.

Driverless cars and buses alone cannot provide these future options. We need to support the politicians that have invested enormous political capital in our future, by recognising that the Canberra of the past has changed, and we need to let that change happen in a planned way.

A version of this article was published in City News on 2 Oct 2016

For more frequent updates on Capital Metro and light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'.

Your rates aren't rising to pay for light rail

2016-09-29T23:13:00.001+10:00

Your rates aren't rising to pay for light rail. Taxation reform introduced following the 2012 election has seen inefficient taxes removed and stamp duty start to be phased out. Rates and land tax has risen as a result. The reasons for taxation reform are that the ACT requires a reliable revenue stream, and the stamp duty income is heavily dependent upon land sales and real estate booms.

These articles explain this quite well:

Land tax an option as Turnbull pushes states on inefficient taxes Australian Financial Review
Time to stamp out inefficient duties ABC Online
Taxation reform ACT Government Budget 2016-17
Do we pay the highest rates in Australia? The Riot Act

The idea to eliminate stamp duty was the result of best practice, non-partisan recommendations from taxation specialists, primarily the Quinlan review. Read the ACT Taxation Review from May 2012 here.

Rates are also increasing because of our compounding capital and maintenance costs of the city's infrastructure, namely roads, sewerage and draining systems, electrical distribution network, telecommunications, waste management, parks and gardens upkeep, etc.

This ever expanding infrastructure liability, spread over a very low density taxation base, i.e. Ratepayers, means that each of us has a bigger and bigger bill as we spread our suburbs further into the surrounding countryside.

Light rail and its associated land use relationship is proven to actively combat the problem of suburban sprawl. Making use of already existing infrastructure and attracting development within the established urban footprint it will increase the taxation base such that Canberra will be more than able to afford future infrastructure capital and maintenance liabilities.

Plus, with the uncoupling of the city's reliance on stamp duty as a source of income, we can also combat suburban sprawl by not being reliant on the sale of land to fund these things.

The two graphs below illustrate two things:

That light rail is a small component of the ACT Budget
That there is no possible way that rates increases are driven by light rail in the context of all other government spending

But aren't our rates skyrocketing? There is no question that peoples rates are increasing. They have not tripled. No ones rates have tripled. Increases have been due to stamp duty reduction and the associated increase in rates, and the increase in your property value since 2012. As property values increase, so will your rates.

This graphic from the Riot Act demonstrates this well.

For more frequent updates on Capital Metro and light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'.

Public transport policies in the 2016 ACT Election

2016-09-27T11:03:00.000+10:00

ACT Light Rail have a page with all the public transport policies of the competing major parties, for the 2016 Election.

It is here: http://www.actlightrail.info/p/public-transport-policies-2016.html

If we have missed a policy announcement, please email info@actlightrail.info

For more frequent updates on Capital Metro and light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'.

Candidates in the 2016 Election

2016-09-27T11:01:00.001+10:00

ACT Light Rail have a page with all the pro light rail candidates competing at the 2016 Election.

It is here: http://www.actlightrail.info/p/public-transport-policies-2016.html

If we have missed a pro light rail candidate, please email info@actlightrail.info

For more frequent updates on Capital Metro and light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'.

Canberra Liberals Northbourne Avenue bus-lane policy arrives with a thud

2016-09-21T17:14:00.001+10:00

The proposal by the Canberra Liberals for widening Northbourne Avenue and slicing the median strip in half, to accommodate bus lanes is a very poorly thought out idea. A disappointing policy in many areas. It fails on transport, planning and economic grounds. Not only does it fail to address current road congestion and public transport problems especially those in Gungahlin, it adds to them. Extra road lanes will inevitably be filled with more cars.

The proposal released today to a resoundingly unenthusiastic thud is Option One from their December 2015 options announcement. See "1995 faxes bus plan to Canberra Liberals" here.

The proposal will fail because buses are already at capacity on the Gungahlin to Civic route, and there is little ability to add more buses. That is one reason that light rail has been chosen. Each bus carries 70 people, each light rail vehicle carries 220 people.

For years the Canberra Liberals have been telling us that light rail wasn't needed because bus rapid transit was cheaper, and could do the same job. They also said that bus rapid transit wasn't simply bus
lanes. Yet that is what today's bus lane announcement is.

The Canberra Liberals have also admitted we will need light rail 'down the track'. By widening Northbournes road surface and slicing the median strip in half - where exactly will light rail go down
Northbourne under this plan?

Will we sacrifice the Northbourne median strip to asphalt and concrete only to rip it up again in 20 or 30 years years? It is a very poor approach to planning. As to the idea that the median strip of Northbourne can simply be eaten away for more roads - It is doubtful the NCA would sign off on that.

When asked by the Canberra Times, the NCA responded: "Any alternative proposal for transport options for this main avenue ... would be rigorously assessed in accordance with the provisions of the [National Capital] Plan ..
"The NCA supports improvements to Canberra's public transport system and any sustainable initiative that increases accessibility to central Canberra. The NCA considers that a complementary mix of transport modes that supports workers and visitors being able to easily move around the national capital should be the desired goal."

The Canberra Liberals also claim that no trees will be lost. That is simply not realistic. Cutting the median strip in half will lead to tree loss. Trying to appeal to people by deceiving them is a low point in territory politics.

Under this plan we lose the trees, we lose the median strip, we lose the bicycle lanes. We get more roads, and more cars.

None of the alleged bus time savings will be realised as bus services on that corridor are at capacity now. The proposed bus lanes - and not bus rapid transit mind you - are only on Northbourne, not the whole corridor. As traffic on Flemington increases, what happens? They are building in a traffic bottleneck.

This proposal doesn't solve any transport problems, and will only lead to further traffic congestion and decreased public transport use. It also erodes any TOD benefits and land value capture that will accrue from light rail.

Any cost savings from tearing up the light rail contract and building bus lanes are illusory. The premise that the light rail consortium will simply build a road instead is deceptive. The penalty for breaking the contract at 300m plus needs to be factored into any of these claims of cost saving.

This bus lane policy is one of the most poorly thought out policies the Canberra Liberals have produced. If this plan eventuates, then we lose the opportunity to re-engineer our city for the next century. Instead we will continue to be stuck with 20th century road oriented city planning. We deserve better. We deserve light rail.

The Liberal bus lane policy

The Canberra Times reported on the policy "ACT Liberals plan to widen Northbourne Avenue with two bus lanes plus a bike lane down the middle" here.

"A Liberal government would build a wide bike lane down the middle of Northbourne Avenue and a bus lane down either side, carving five metres out of the median strip to fit the extra lanes.
"...Alistair Coe said the Northbourne work would cost up to $58 million with a generous contingency.

"He said about 2.5 metres would be taken from each side of the centre strip on the main gateway road. That would reduce the width of the Northbourne median from about 27 metres to about 22 metres."

"The extra road space would create enough room, when combined with the current kerbside bike lane, for four southbound and four northbound lanes of traffic on Northbourne Avenue from Barry Drive to Antill Street. One lane in each direction, adjacent to the kerb, would be a dedicated bus lane, with bus bays where possible."

"Mr Coe said the bus lane was expected to bring travel times for a non-stop bus from the Gungahlin centre to the city at peak hour down to 18 minutes, and 30 minutes from any suburb of Gungahlin.
The central bike path would be three metres wide, and run all the way from the Gungahlin town centre to the city through the middle of the median. The bike lane would have its own lights, which would be phased with the traffic lights, allowing bikes to cross major intersections with the flow of traffic."
"Work would begin early if the Liberals were elected to government, and Mr Coe believed he could re-purpose the light rail consortium to do the Northbourne construction work."

"Mr Coe said he caught the bus from Gungahlin where he lives to the city at the peak morning time on Tuesday. It was not a non-stop service and was scheduled to take 28 minutes from the town centre. It took 31 minutes. Mr Coe believes his bus lane can knock as many as 10 minutes from the scheduled travel time."

"He also believes he can carve as many as 2.5 metres from each side of the median strip without affecting many of the Northbourne Avenue trees. He says there is space in the middle for the bike lane without having to cut down trees."

"Mr Coe said the Liberals would also redevelop the corridor, including the public housing, but not at the rate nor with the urgency of Labor. With no demand for large numbers of new apartments at the moment, the Liberals would be "far more strategic" about the corridor development, he said.
North of Antill Street and into Gungahlin, the Liberals would have just one south-bound bus lane. They would also build an extra traffic lane on each side of Flemington Rd and include lights to give buses priority at intersections."

Media responses

ABC Online reported on it here
Canberra Times reported on it here

WIN TV News Canberra broadcast this on 21 Sep 2016

ABC TV News Canberra broadcast this on 21 Sep 2016

Government responses to the bus lane plan

The response from the ACT Government has been spot on in identifying the flaws. Describing them as "un-costed" and "half-baked". Transport Minister Meegan Fitzharris said.
"The travel times that they are proposing are simply untrue,"
"A 30-minute travel time from Bonner to the city is completely unrealistic, unless the Canberra Liberals have flying buses in mind, because they simply cannot deliver that.
"This is the first the Canberra community has seen of an alternative plan and it doesn't stack up. It's unaffordable and it will only lead to further congestion on Northbourne Avenue."

Greens Minister Shane Rattenbury said he was "staggered" by the decision to widen Canberra's main thoroughfare to eight lanes.
"I don't think many Canberrans would be really excited by the idea to make the road even wider," he said.

Transport Canberra and City Services Minister Meegan Fitzharris MLA issued the following media release:

Libs will turn Northbourne Ave into concrete traffic jam at cost of hundreds of millions

The Canberra Liberals’ plan to concrete Northbourne Avenue will turn it into an eight-lane gridlocked highway, at a cost of hundreds of millions.

Concreting Northbourne Ave so more people can sit in a traffic jam would take the ACT backwards.

The plan announced today would allow for nothing more than a conga line of buses clogging up the city’s main entry road, which won’t even stop to pick up passengers along the route. It is a bandaid solution that will fix nothing but cost a fortune.

The proposal is poorly thought through, massively underfunded and excludes the $300 million cost to rip up the existing light rail contract. First they want to rip up the light rail contract and now they want to rip up Northbourne Ave to turn it into an eight-lane highway.

The travel times floated are simply impossible, especially when the extra lane runs out at Flemington Road.

Their plan does nothing for Flemington Rd except add more congestion at its northern end, with their conga line of buses clogging it up. Labor's light rail will free up Flemington Road for all users.

Today’s announcement also includes the ridiculous notion that an international light rail consortium would agree to lay concrete and build bike paths instead. It is like asking someone who is building your house to build you a car instead.

This morning the Liberals’ transport spokesman even admitted on ABC radio that their costing for concreting Northbourne Avenue was a guess.

The Liberals must immediately provide their ‘costings’ to Treasury to reveal the full cost of their plan, including cancelling the light rail contract.

They must also confirm that they have received NCA approval to concrete Northbourne Ave, with no hope of replanting any of the trees that would have to be removed.

As we celebrate opening our city to the world today through direct international flights, the Liberals are scurrying around trying to gridlock our city.

The Canberra Liberals have again demonstrated that they have no clue how to procure, manage or deliver large infrastructure projects.

ACT Labor's plan for an integrated transport network delivers a dedicated right of way for public transport, frees up the cycle lanes and the road network, reducing congestion and improving travel times for everyone.

Statement ends

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Light rail Stage Two announced - Off to Woden we go

2016-09-02T00:42:00.001+10:00

In its final Cabinet meeting before entering Caretaker period, the ACT Government has endorsed a Civic to Woden route for Stage Two of Canberra's light rail. by creating a north-south spine, the light rail network will stretch from Gungahlin to Woden. From this mass transit spine, frequent bus services will radiate out and increase public transport options for everyone.

The Canberra Times reported on the announcement here "Labor announce light rail to go to Woden"
ABC Online reported "Canberras light rail second stage link to Woden" here

By declaring a bold stage two of light rail, the ACT Government firmly indicates to all of Canberra that the light rail project will eventually reach their town centre. Crossing the lake and travelling through the Parliamentary Triangle are the two big factors that the rest of the network depend upon.

Future extensions to Tuggeranong, or even Queanbeyan are now extremely feasible. A Civic - Russell - Airport route would connect to a light rail network that travels to many national attractions and hotel/entertainment precincts. Going across the lake opens up the other routes from the Light Rail Network Plan for realistic implementation.

The ability of light rail to act as an urban renewal catalyst, as well as a tool to deal with road congestion and increase public transport patronage is well known, and the main reason Canberra chose light rail over BRT. This announcement is well timed, and politically savvy. It will appeal to voters in the South of Canberra and provides an overwhelmingly superior policy when compared to the Canberra Liberals bus only policy.

Civic - Parliamentary Triangle - Woden light rail Stage Two route

ABC Online reported:

"Stage two of Canberra's controversial light rail project will be extended to Woden if Labor is re-elected, the ACT Government says. The Government today announced the second stage of the tram line would join Civic and the Woden town centre. The announcement could counter concerns Capital Metro would only benefit a small area of Canberra, living between Gungahlin and the city centre.

The light rail project has a been a key election issue with the Opposition threatening to scrap the project. ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the new plan would create a north-south public transport spine for Canberra from the first stage from Gungahlin to the second stage to Woden.

Mr Barr said the route was yet to be determined, with plans to be developed over the next parliamentary term. But the line is expected to run through the Parliamentary Triangle.
"There are of course the complications of getting over Lake Burley Griffin and the preferred route there is over Commonwealth Avenue Bridge," he said
"There may be some additional costs in getting south of the lake but, broadly speaking, we anticipate the costs to be similar to the costs of stage one."

Greens MLA Shane Rattenbury welcomed the announcement and said future extensions to the route were already in the works.
"By 2040 we expect thousands more people travelling from Woden towards the city in the morning peak and employment in the Parliamentary Triangle is expected to dramatically increase between now and 2041," he said."

Potential light rail network map from October 2015

ACT Government Media Release 1 Sep 2016

Stage 2 announced for light rail

Woden to the City via the Parliamentary Triangle has been selected as the preferred route for the next stage of a Canberra’s city wide light rail network, connecting the north and south of our city, linking employment and cultural hubs and creating a public transport spine from Gungahlin to Woden.

This Cabinet decision follows extensive community consultation on the priority corridors for the next stage of light rail and preliminary investigations by the ACT Government.
Making Woden to the City via the Parliamentary Triangle the next stage of the light rail gives us a north-south spine for our public transport network, which rapid and local buses will feed into and from which we can extend into the next priority stages of the core light rail network: Belconnen, the Airport and further into the Parliamentary Triangle.

It will also continue the renewal of Woden, which is already being led by relocating more than 1000 ACT Government employees into the town centre.

Minister for Transport and City Services Meegan Fitzharris said connecting light rail all the way from Gungahlin to Woden would be a city-building project and would alleviate congestion across the north and south of Canberra.

“We have always said light rail would be a city-wide public transport project. Now that the first stage of light rail, from Gungahlin to the City, is under construction, we can consider where it will go next.

“We’ve consulted with the community, and with almost 210,000 Canberrans projected to live, work or study within one kilometre of the Woden corridor by 2041, it makes sense to extend light rail over the lake, through the Parliamentary Triangle and into the bustling Woden town centre.”

Planning Minister Mick Gentleman said:

“We need to start planning for the future growth of our city now. Identifying the next stage of the light rail route is vital if we want to continue to reduce congestion on our roads and give commuters a real choice to leave the car at home and take public transport.

“Extending light rail to Woden confirms the ACT Government’s vision and commitment to developing a city-wide light rail network starting with this north-south spine. It is all part of our plan to develop an integrated public transport network that is convenient, efficient, affordable and reliable – a genuine alternative to driving.”

Planning for the next stage of light rail will get underway in coming months.

Minister Shane Rattenbury said it was vital to keep momentum with the light rail network.

“Stage one, which links our fastest growing suburb to the CBD, is just the start. It is critical that we don’t stop now and the light rail network continues to grow as planned, serving more Canberrans. This next step is very important, and once we have the spine of the network running from Gungahlin in the north to Woden in the south in place, we will be in an excellent position to expand city-wide.”

The other priority corridors identified through community consultation were to Belconnen, the Airport and further into the Parliamentary Triangle. These will form the next stages of the city wide light rail network.

Statement ends.

The Australian Rail Association, the rail industry peak body released a statement in support f the Stage Two announcement.

ARA Welcomes ACT Light Rail Stage Two Announcement

The ARA congratulates the ACT Government on its announcement that City to Woden has been selected as the preferred route for Stage 2 of Canberra's Light Rail network.

With Stage 1 of the network connecting Canberra's fastest growing region - Gungahlin - with the city, it is an intuitive decision to further extend the light rail route into Canberra's southside across Commonwealth Bridge.

"Stage 2 from Civic to Woden will generate urban renewal, create jobs for Canberrans and realise a renewal of Woden town centre," said ARA CEO Danny Broad.

"Light Rail along the Woden corridor through the Parliamentary Triangle will ease congestion and is friendlier to the environment than continuing Canberra's reliance on motor vehicles.

"With more than 200,000 Canberrans projected to live or work within a kilometre of the Woden corridor by 2041, this Stage 2 decision is a vital link in Canberra'a broader Light Rail network that has future public transport needs at its heart.
"It is positive to see that an integrated approach to public transport is at the core of the ACT Government's planning for Canberra's future public transport needs.

"Buses, bicycle paths and parking will be smoothly integrated with Light Rail to ensure a safe, efficient and environmentally friendly transport network for our nation's capital.

"Canberra's Light Rail network must also eventually extend to Belconnen in the north and Tuggeranong in the south and I call on the ACT Government to move quickly in announcing future stages, to ensure a continuity of associated works programs and to maintain community support," said Danny Broad.

Statement ends

The reaction to the announcement of a second stage of light rail from Civic to Woden has been overwhelmingly positive.

Transport Canberra Minister Meegan Fitzharris, WVCC's Martin Miler and ACT Light Rail Chair Damien Haas were interviewed on 666ABC radio on Friday Sep 2nd about the announcement.

Listen to the audio here.

For more frequent updates on Capital Metro and light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'.

Canberra light rail construction timeline for Capital Metro Stage One

2016-08-29T19:58:00.002+10:00

This brochure detailing the construction timeline for Canberra Metros build of Capital Metro light rail Stage One was distributed to prospective tenderers at last weeks Canberra Business Chamber Light Rail Forum. Construction began on July 12 2016.

For more frequent updates on Capital Metro and light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'.

ACT Government release new rapid bus routes and bus expansion for 2017

2016-08-29T14:13:00.001+10:00

The ACT Government today released details of new rapid bus routes and expansion to the ACTION Bus fleet, accompanied by funding details to support the expansion. These improvements to the bus network are aimed at increasing public transport patronage and have been planned to follow growth along public transport corridors. In time, several of these routes are likely to be replaced by light rail. The start of light rail service in late 2018 will free up over one million bus kilometres that can be allocated across the ACTION Bus network. It is the equivalent of buying a new fleet of buses and extra drivers.

The new routes include expansions of existing bus routes to enhance the 'rapid' aspect, and completely new routes. Importantly, funding is attached to the plans - $55 million for the services and $51 million for 80 new buses and a new depot to house them. This is a government announcement, not an election policy, with funding to be allocated in the pre-election budget update.

Buses and light rail will always coexist in an integrated transport plan, and we need to make sure we get maximum utility and value from our bus fleet. The big picture plan is that we need more people using public transport. Light rail, more buses, better frequency, better routes. It's a very compelling plan, and achievable.

The only way to convince Canberrans to use public transport over the private car, is to offer reliable, frequent and attractive public transport. Bus fleet renewal, expanding the reach and frequency of bus services, integrating bus services with light rail and planning for future expansion provide that alternative. This will also lead to reduced travel times and reduced road congestion.

Seven new lines are added to the current Blue and Red Rapid services, with new services supporting Woden, Weston Creek and Canberra Airport every six minutes during peak times and every 15 minutes at other times. The network expansion starts with Belconnen to Gungahlin and Woden to the City rapid services commencing in 2017.

The announcement of new rapid services in 2017 follows on from last weeks announcement of extensions of the Blue Rapid bus from Lanyon to Kippax, and the introduction of a new ACTION Timetable on 27 August. In 2017 a new Green Rapid from Woden to the City via Manuka and Barton, and the Black Rapid from Belconnen to Gungahlin will commence.

These new services will be phased in through to 2020.

Woden to City via Weston Creek (2018)
Belconnen to Watson via Dickson (2018)
Tuggeranong to City via Erindale (2019)
Lanyon to Airport via Barton (2020)
Belconnen to Airport via City (2020)

It may appear as if these are simply extensions to existing routes, that is not correct.

The Green Rapid is a new route from Woden to the City via Manuka and Barton
The Grey Rapid is a new line that goes from Belconnen to Watson via Dickson
The Purple Rapid is a new line that goes from Tuggeranong to Civic via Erindale, Woden and Barton
The Pink Rapid is a new line that goes from Lanyon to the airport via Tuggeranong, Woden, Barton and Russell
The Yellow Rapid is a new line that goes from Belconnen to the airport via Civic and Russell

Also important things to note about the new Rapid Network:

All rapid services will run at least every 15 minutes everyday with increased frequency during peak periods

The Blue Rapid now extends to Kippax and Lanyon

The Black Rapid from Belconnen to Gungahlin will have increased frequency

These routes have most likely been planned thoroughly using data available to the government (MyWay, traffic)

These routes have been depend on the fact that light rail will be implemented, which will free up more than 1.2 million kilometres of bus travel

Transport Minister Meegan Fitzharris said "When people know that there's always going to public transport where they need it ... that really drives patronage," "That's exactly what these rapid bus services already do and what future rapid bus services will do."

Minister Fitzharris also said that the debate about Canberra being a car-centric city was over and more rapid bus routes were planned for Molonglo and Gungahlin as the population grew.

The new bus route plans differ markedly from the release earlier in 2016 of the Canberra Liberals bus plans, in that they are funded, are based on research and future population patterns, and integrate light rail services with future transport planning.

ACT Government media release
Canberra Times article 'ACT Govt announces seven new rapid bus routes in network overhaul' here
ABC News Online 'Labor reveal nine line Rapid Bus network for Canberra' here

WIN TV Canberra covered the announcement on the 29 August 6PM TV News

ABC TV Canberra covered the announcement on its 29 August 7PM TV News

For more frequent updates on Capital Metro and light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'.

Northbourne Avenue trees and light rail - facts not fiction

2016-08-29T11:26:00.003+10:00

A diseased tree being removed from Northbourne Avenue (Canberra Times)

Yes the trees are going
Yes they will be replaced (with more than there are now)
Yes they will be replaced with semi-mature trees 4 to 5 metres high
No tree that is removed before construction begins is because of light rail.
No Northbourne Avenue will not be defoliated permanently

There will be more trees when we have light rail, then when we didn't.

The trees on Northbourne Avenues median strip will be removed during the construction of light rail. Trees are being removed now because they are diseased or damaged. Construction has started on the light rail project, but it is not yet at the stage where trees will be removed on Northbourne Avenue. See this post on the light rail construction timeline.

Fact - There are only 202 healthy trees left along Northbourne Avenue after years of disease and storm damage to the current planting. Many of these would have to be replaced over time in any case.

Fact - When light rail construction concludes an extra 1000 trees will be planted to replace those removed.

Fact - semi-mature Eucalyptus Mannifera will be approximately 4-5 metres high when first planted during the construction phase of Capital Metro. The NCA endorse this species.

Fact - light rail tracks will occupy about seven metres of the total 27-metre wide median strip, leaving about 10 metres on either side for landscaping and trees

Northbourne Avenue with light rail, mature trees and sympathetic landscaping

In time the entrance to the Nations capital will become a grand tree lined boulevard, with trees and light rail. People may actually enjoy walking or cycling along it. It will be more than simply a funnel for cars and a long strip of sickly gum trees. It will be the entrance we have needed since Federation.

Many trees have fallen since the current planting matured, and they continue to fall or be removed on safety grounds. Sometimes this program is misinterpreted as being part of the light rail project, and those with an anti light rail agenda fulminate and distort reality in their political campaign. Even the Canberra Times (Independent always...) plays this game with misleading headlines.

Example - "First Northbourne tree removals costing $32,000" implies that the trees being removed are part of the first stage of light rail construction. In fact the removal was about public safety.

"the tree removals were not linked to the government's planned city to Gungahlin tram line, which will see 444 trees cut down on Northbourne from later in the year. They will be replaced with 671 new trees, expected to be grown at the Yarralumla Nursery. On the Federal Highway, 211 trees will be removed and 157 new trees planted."

Understandably it is hard to get the true facts on tree removal along Northbourne when even the local newspaper distort the truth to sell papers. That is why this website will alway provide a range of views to enable you to form your own.

Canberra Times article on tree removal
Canberra Times article on tree removal timeline
Canberra Times article on trees removed on safety grounds after excessive rains
ACT Light Rail article on tree falling across Northbourne Avenue
ACT Light Rail have covered this before
ACT Government media release on extra 1000 trees
ACT Government media release on new tree species for Northbourne Avenue

Northbourne Avenue has had several generations of tree plantings in its lifetime. It is a harsh environment for native trees, and their lifespan is significantly shorter in a congested urban area, than sitting peacefully in Namadgi. In 2015 the ACT Government advised that:

"The selection of a suitable replacement tree species for the Northbourne corridor is significant as it represents the fourth generation of trees to be planted within the median since around 1913.

“Many of the trees remaining in the median on Northbourne Avenue are in decline and will need to be replaced in the near future regardless of the light rail project,” Mr Corbell said.

“Between 2010 and 2014 the number of trees on the Northbourne Avenue and Federal Highway median of the light rail corridor reduced from 802 to just 484 through failing health, storm damage and removal of dead and dangerous trees. Furthermore, the 2014 assessment of the trees in the corridor found only 59% of the remaining trees were healthy."

In June 2015 the ACT Government informed the public that:

"The light rail corridor between Gungahlin and City will see an increase of nearly 1000 extra trees as part of Capital Metro stage one according to the recently released environmental impact statement for the project, Minister for Capital Metro Simon Corbell said today.

“Although the project requires the removal about 860 existing trees along Flemington Road, the Federal Highway and Northbourne Avenue there will be 1,800 new trees planted in their place,” Mr Corbell said.

“This includes the replacement of about 450 Eucalyptus elata along the Federal Highway and Northbourne Avenue with approximately 700 Eucalyptus mannifera.

“This will result in fantastic medium to long-term results for the aesthetic of the gateway to Canberra but the government is also exploring possibilities for the staging of replacement of the existing trees and the procurement of pre-grown replacements in order to minimize the short-term visual impact of these changes.

The Eucalyptus elata have been struggling over recent years and through natural attrition the number of these trees in this area have reduced from more than 800 in 2010 to about 480 in 2014. Many of these remaining trees are in decline and only 59% are rated as being in good health.

“Eucalyptus mannifera is a common tree in Canberra with 100,000 already planted in our urban forest, including as boulevard trees in areas like Captain Cook Crescent in Griffith. The new plantings will emphasise the ‘bush capital’ look and uphold the character of Northbourne Avenue as a grand boulevard,” Mr Corbell said.

“The Capital Metro project provides a key opportunity to redefine the gateway to the nation’s capital and improve the landscape character for the light rail corridor for all residents and visitors to enjoy. Development of light rail stage one provides an opportunity to refresh the Northbourne Avenue, Federal Highway and Flemington Road corridors, adorning the alignment with new native and exotic trees

“An opportunity also exists to improve the landscape character of Flemington Road, which at the moment doesn’t feature many trees in the median. The draft EIS identifies an opportunity to greatly improve the visual appeal and amenity of the corridor through tree planting in the verges and median.”

A number of native and exotic trees are proposed to be planted along Flemington Road and the Federal Highway. A key focus for the Flemington section of the light rail corridor will be to compliment the surrounding native temperate grassland and lowland woodland character."

Even the ACT Conservation Council appreciate the need for tree replacement.

Of course, politicians will ignore facts and create their own reality where any tree that falls along Northbourne, or is removed for safety reasons is somehow related to the light rail project. despite the facts presented here that shows that many of these trees will have to be replaced regardless of whether light rail was coming down Northbourne Avenue or not. These people are lying to win votes. They don't really care for trees, they just don't want light rail and will use anything they think people will fall for, even cheap deceptive publicity stunts.

Canberra Liberal candidate Elizabeth Lee deliberately misleading people in an attempt to win votes

Canberra Liberal candidate Candice Burch misleading the public to win votes

This is Northbourne Avenue. We deserve better.

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Canberra business to benefit from light rail construction work opportunities

2016-08-26T13:34:00.001+10:00

Media release from Minister for Transport Canberra and City Services, Meegan Fitzharris:

Local business to benefit from light rail work opportunities

Released 25/08/2016

Local Canberra businesses are set to benefit from the construction of light rail with new work packages worth up to $75 million announced yesterday by the Canberra Metro consortium.
The Canberra Business Chamber hosted a forum for local industry to learn more about the opportunities available during construction of the first stage of light rail from Gungahlin to the city.

The construction timetable for the light rail project was also released (attached).

“One of the many benefits of light rail is that it can have a transformative effect, generating economic opportunities and jobs,” Minister for Transport and City Services Meegan Fitzharris said.

“More than 75 work packages have now been announced by the light rail consortium, including professional services, plant, material, road, and building works. These packages are designed to give local businesses in Canberra and the surrounding region the opportunity to provide a wide range of services during the construction of the project.

“This is a real opportunity for local business to provide expertise across a diverse range of categories during the construction of the light rail project.

“Canberra Metro has committed to sourcing 90 percent of construction jobs locally and at least 75 percent during operation. Further opportunities for supply and services may also be available during the operations phase.

“This is a huge job-creating construction project for our city, directly and indirectly supporting around 3,500 jobs. Light rail will create great job opportunities for people right across Canberra.

“Like the ACT Government, Canberra Metro understands the importance of capitalising on local knowledge and expertise to deliver a project that meets the needs of our community. The consortium will continue to work with local suppliers, small and medium business operators and subcontractors as well to further maximise local participation and employment through training and apprenticeship programs.

“Canberra Metro will be taking on 60 apprentices and trainee roles during light rail construction, while also providing 10 graduate placements as well as 40 University of NSW Canberra work experience placements during construction. This is further proof of the benefits light rail will have on the local community, reaching beyond obvious transport benefits.”

Minister Fitzharris said the first of the construction work packages is expected to be released for tender in August 2016. More packages of work are expected to be announced as the project progresses.

For up-to-date information on the Canberra Metro work packages visit www.canberrabusiness.com.

Further information on the Transport Canberra Light Rail project is available at www.transport.act.gov.au

- Statement ends -

Section: Meegan Fitzharris, MLA | Media Releases

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Australian Rail Association continues to support light rail in Canberra

2016-08-18T09:57:00.001+10:00

The Australian Rail Association continue to support Canberras Capital Metro Stage One light rail as the backbone of an integrated public transport system in a media release on 17 August 2016.

"With the first sod recently turned on Stage 1 of Canberra’s Light Rail, the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) takes the opportunity to remind all Canberrans that an integrated approach to transport is the most sensible way to guarantee an efficient, affordable and environmentally sustainable transport network for Australia’s capital city.

“Canberra currently has one of the lowest rates of public transport usage in Australia, however with some smart planning, Canberra could have a world-class transport system that cleverly integrates light rail with buses, bike paths and carparks,” said ARA Chief Executive Officer, Danny Broad.

“This kind of modern solution to urban transport challenges is already being embraced by cities around the world.

“The transport solutions for a city of 300,000 people are vastly different to those needed for Canberra’s projected 2035 population of 550,000. Buses alone are not the solution, soon enough they would simply result in congested roads.

“Australia is experiencing a light rail revolution, with projects in seven States and Territories at varying stages of planning, construction or expansion.

“Light rail offers Canberra a compelling public transport value proposition, which consists of a medium capacity, road-based public transport solution that is delivered at an affordable price point, realising a range of economic, social and environmental benefits.

“The Capital Metro Business Case has forecast the project will generate around $1 billion in benefits for the Canberra community over its first 30 years of operation.

“To better contextualise this figure, over the past ten years, the ACT Government has invested more than $1 billion on road infrastructure. Over the next four years, a total of $2.5 billion has been budgeted by the ACT Government for infrastructure development with Capital Metro’s $698 million project representing less than one third of the Territory’s total infrastructure investment.

“It is clear governments can no longer build their way out of road congestion by increasing road capacity even where suitable corridors exist.

“The induced demand for transport means new road capacity is quickly used and roads rapidly become congested. This is why cities around the globe are investing in alternative forms of mass transport.

“Light Rail represents a way to break this downward cycle of spending on more and bigger roads. Reallocating existing road space to light rail will carry more people per lane, per hour than private cars or the existing bus system can do.

“The debate over light rail versus bus is over. Canberrans need a light rail system integrated with a bus network. A long-term integrated transport approach is required for our growing city,” said Danny Broad."

For more frequent updates on Capital Metro and light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'.

Canberra Liberals attend the Magic Pudding School of Economics

2016-08-10T18:52:00.001+10:00

Magic pudding school of economics

The election campaign is in full swing and the Canberra Liberals are making many promises about redirecting light rail funding and spending it somewhere else. This is pretty impressive considering that spending on light rail will be only 65 million dollars a year, for twenty years.

On 10 August 2016 the Canberra Liberals announced they would spend $395 million on a hospital instead of light rail. Clearly they have been to the Magic Pudding School of Economics.

Health, education and disability services consume 65% of the ACT Budget. Light rail will take 1%

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2016-2017 Appropriation Bill committee report excerpts on Light Rail and Action buses

2016-08-02T18:42:00.002+10:00

The following are Light rail and ACTION Bus related excerpts from the report of the ACT Assembly Select Committee on Estimates 2016-17, looking at the APPROPRIATION BILL 2016-2017. The full report can be downloaded from here where all associated material including submissions, questions on notice and transcripts can be found.

The recommendations of the committee are also included below.

On page 219

"LIGHT RAIL MASTER PLAN

8.17 The Committee inquired about the Light Rail Master Plan including the information contained in the plan and when the information would be available. The Committee was advised that:

[T]he planning part for the Light Rail Master Plan does not involve costs for construction. That is a separate item within the business case that Capital Metro or Transport Canberra will be doing. The Master Plan is proceeding well.

8.18 Further to this the Minister noted:

The studies that we are doing for the Light Rail Master Plan will include the feasibility in a technical sense and the issues that we might have in that sense, as we have heard— crossing the lake or going into ridges along a route to the airport, for example. The further work that will be done will be done by CMA [Capital Metro Agency] or Transport Canberra in the future.

8.19 The Committee was advised that decisions about routes for the light rail network are government decisions and that these discussions will be ongoing. The Minister noted that there has been strong representation from the community with ‘many hundreds of people taking the opportunity to express their views.’

8.20 On the matter of whether Kings and Commonwealth Avenue bridges are suitable to carry the weight of the tram, the Committee was advised that investigations are ongoing. The

Directorate is ‘working closely with the NCA [National Capital Authority] on corridor alignments and on matters related to infrastructure that they control.’

COMMITTEE COMMENT

8.21 The Committee understands that studies and investigations must be carried out to properly understand the feasibility and cost of routes set out in the Light Rail Master Plan. Given the prominence of the issue and the considerable interest in the community, the Committee encourages the Government to provide a greater level of clarity about the likely timeframe for further stages of the Light Rail.

Recommendation 102

8.22 The Committee recommends that the Minister for Planning and Land Development inform the ACT Legislative Assembly before the last sitting day in August 2016 of the estimated timeline for progressing the Light Rail Master Plan.

On page 287

TRANSPORT CANBERRA

11.15 Output 1.1 includes oversight of the construction of light rail, the Government subsidy paid to ACTION buses, and the strategic oversight of the public transport network, public transport asset management and the Active Travel Office.

MATTERS CONSIDERED

11.17 The Committee considered the following matters on 27 June 2016 with the Minister for Capital Metro:

commencement of track laying for light rail and construction of stops;
order of light rail vehicles;
CMA component of TCCS Output 1.1;
staffing in CMA and TCCS;
penalties for non-performance in operations of light rail;
contract management skills in TCCS;
light rail contracts;
components of service payments and calculation of capital contribution;
availability payments;
communication with stakeholders;
local business involvement in construction;
integrated ticketing;
potential cost of cancelling light rail contract in October 2016;
costing of extension of light rail to Russell, over Kings Avenue Bridge and over Commonwealth Avenue Bridge;
comparative impact of light rail upon ACT Budget; and
enhancements from light rail, including lighting, Alinga Street terminus and activating
space between Sydney and Melbourne Buildings.

KEY ISSUES

INTEGRATION OF CAPITAL METRO AGENCY INTO TCCS

11.18 The Committee inquired as to why the Minister who would be responsible for light rail for the coming the year was not the Minister answering questions on the subject at the public hearing. The Minister for Territory and Municipal Services noted:

That is a good question, and one that was discussed. I am happy to take some of those questions, of course, but Mr Corbell is currently the Minister for Capital Metro. These changes do not come into effect until 1 July; therefore he will be appearing this afternoon as the current Minister for Capital Metro.

COMMITTEE COMMENT

11.19 The Committee notes that at the time of hearings the Minister for Capital Metro was still responsible for that portfolio for a few more days. Given that the hearings are focussed on the Budget estimates for the coming year, the Committee believes that it would have been more appropriate for the Minister who would be administering the relevant Budget to answer questions about it.

11.20 The Committee notes that the cost of ACTION to the ratepayer is clear in the Budget Papers. The integration of CMA and TAMS makes the cost of light rail less easy to discern and the Committee believes that it could be made clearer.

Recommendation 132

11.21 The Committee recommends that the Minister who is responsible for the allocation in the Budget be the Minister to appear before the Estimates Committee to answer questions on that allocation.

Recommendation 133

11.22 The Committee recommends that light rail receives its own budget output within the Transport Canberra Output.

AVAILABILITY PAYMENTS

11.23 The Committee inquired about the availability payments and their components of operational and maintenance, finance and capital. The Committee asked about the interest payments for each year and was informed by the Minister that interest rate information is considered ‘sensitive to the consortium because it could reveal the nature of their commercial arrangements with their financiers and others’.

COMMITTEE COMMENT

11.24 The Committee notes the Minister’s comments about commercial confidentiality but believes that it is important that the ACT Legislative Assembly is aware of the components of payments it is being asked to appropriate money for.

Recommendation 134

11.25 The Committee recommends that the ACT Government completes a detailed business case and staging analysis before committing to further stages of light rail.

11.26 The Committee did not hear evidence on the removal of trees from Northbourne Avenue but is aware that it remains an issue of community concern.

Recommendation 135

11.27 The Committee recommends that the ACT Government provide advice to the ACT Legislative Assembly on the removal of trees on Northbourne Avenue by the last sitting day in August 2016.

page 293

ROADS AND INFRASTRUCTURE

11.28 Output 2.1 provides management of the Territory’s road and associated assets, stormwater infrastructure, community paths, bridges, traffic signals, streetlights and car parks. This output also includes the provision of asset information services, capital works and development approvals relating to the acceptance of new infrastructure assets.

MATTERS CONSIDERED

impact of light rail on roads investment

Page 300

ACTION

11.59 ACTION delivers bus services throughout the city to ensure transport is accessible to all Canberrans. ACTION services are delivered in line with the ACT Government’s vision to provide a convenient, efficient, affordable, reliable and integrated public transport system for the community. Public transport services provided by ACTION include scheduled route bus services, school bus services, community and special needs transport and management of the ACT rural school bus contract.

MATTERS CONSIDERED

11.60 The Committee considered the following matters:

patronage targets;
cost of operation by kilometre;
subsidy per passenger boarding;
trial of electric buses;
fleet strategy;
rebranding of, and advertising on, ACTION busses;
city loop bus route;
services to Weston Creek and Coombs;
implementation of new timetable; and
new ticketing system.

11.61 The Minister took a question on notice regarding the budgeted subsidy per ACTION bus passenger boarding in 2016-17. The Committee received an answer providing that each trip is subsided $6.07.

COMMITTEE COMMENT

11.62 While it received no evidence on the matter, the Committee believes that it would be worthwhile trialling services directly linking the town centres in the north and south of Canberra.

Recommendation 143

11.63 The Committee recommends that the ACT Government consider trialling a rapid bus service between Gungahlin and Tuggeranong via Belconnen Town Centre."

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