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Most people who hate public transport are selfish and lazy

Anthony Sharwood

by Anthony Sharwood

18 Mar 06:00am

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Filed under: Buses, Cars, Public Transport, Society, Trains

161 comments

So I’m on the train recently, and excuse me for being a busybody, but the lady in front, who can’t be a day under 75, is a reading a breathless novel about Rebbekah melting into the muscular arms of Storm. And I think to myself, “gee, I love public transport sometimes”.

Still beats being stuck in a traffic jam. Photo: Toby Zerna.

The other day, I get off the train at Sydney’s Macquarie Park station. Right outside the station, two motorists are having a fist shaking match in gridlocked traffic and I think to myself, “gee I love public transport sometimes”.

November 2009. I’m in Melbourne for the golf, and I take the train to Huntingdale Station, followed by a free connecting bus to Kingston Heath Golf Club. The bus breezes through a special lane, while Tiger Woods is stuck in traffic, and I think to myself, “gee I love public transport sometimes”.

Those, right there, are three really good reasons to love public transport. One, the slice of life, even if our iPods and iPhones effectively cordon us off into a world of our own. Two, no traffic stress. And three, a quicker ride, notwithstanding those notoriously slow routes, like Sydney’s painful 370 bus, which takes about 11 years to go six suburbs.

And I haven’t even mentioned the fourth obvious reason to love public transport, which is the indisputable environmental benefit.

Last year, I rode a bike to work about three days a week. As I choked back fumes waiting to cross the super busy Princes Highway, I’d count the cars containing only one person. Just the cars in the left lane, mind you. In the minute or so between red lights, I often counted 30.

You can’t tell me that every single one of those drivers were sales reps, or had jobs that required them to have cars at their disposal all day.

Obviously, there are massive, serious deficiencies in public transport in most Australian cities, which make it a totally unviable option for many people.

In Sydney, where I live, the deficiencies are partially caused by tricky geography. That old harbour looks nice, but it sure is expensive to build infrastructure around.

But here, as in most cities, shocking planning is just as big a contributor to the problem. In Sydney, as in Melbourne and elsewhere in Australia, public transport is overwhelmingly radial, which means it’s really easy to get to the CBD, but bloody difficult to make small and medium length cross town trips.

The other problem with radial transport is the further you are from the city (Sydney’s northwest, Melbourne’s northeast, anyone?), the further you’ll likely be from your local train station. If you’re driving 15 minutes to the park ‘n’ ride, you might as well just drive all the way into town, traffic or no traffic.

So yes, to say it again, there are many people for whom public transport is an unfeasible option.

The real problem is the people who don’t take public transport because they’re too lazy. I know a few spoilt Gen Y brats in that camp, but this is not a generational thing. Plenty of people of all ages won’t travel anywhere without their car because they simply can’t be bothered.

Then there are the self-important. Once a week I pop into Sky News, via the spotless Macquarie Park train station which is literally on its doorstep. The regular Joes in the Sky building use the train. But not once have I seen any of the gloriously talented, fabulously important people called journalists stoop so low as to enter the station.

Yes, public transport is far from perfect, even when it’s on your doorstep. Once last year, I inadvertently plonked my bag down in a pool of vomit in a train carriage on Sydney’s airport line. Presumably, the vomiter had just heard about the exorbitant $15 ticket price from the city to the airport.

Timetables can also be sketchy, although in Sydney, Cityrail now claims that only one in 25 trains runs late, and in my experience that’s about right.

But because of the many real and perceived deficiencies, the battle to get people onto public transport will likely remain unwinnable, especially while petrol costs less than two bucks a litre.

Even the slickest new transport infrastructure imaginable will only lure so many car addicts – a fact which doesn’t bode well for Sydney’s oft mooted (especially in election season) Epping to Parramatta rail link.

What’s needed is broad scale attitude change. News Ltd’s lightweight but good fun MX magazine (a free commuter arvo paper in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane)  has helped set a tone that makes all commuters think “well, we might as well have a good time ‘cos we’re all in this together”. Allow me to do my bit to change attitudes by sharing two stories.

Story one. When I worked at The Canberra Times, I took a daily bus out to work in Fyshwick. I soon befriended Graham Downie on the bus. Graham is a blind journalist and massive Geelong Cats fan. He’d join you in the front seat on a Monday morning and say “did you SEE those Cats on the weekend? So-and-so sprayed it out of bounds from right in front!”

Getting to know Graham really was a privelege, and he was great for a religious argument too. Yet I’d never have gotten to know him if I’d driven to work like all the card-carrying environmentalists in the news room.

Story two. I was in Beijing, doing some pre-Olympic reporting a year out from the games. I wanted to interview a Chinese athlete, any Chinese athlete, but protocol and red tape made it tough.

Long story short. I was taking the subway out to Beijing Sports University to interview anyone vaguely sporting, but I never got there because right there, in my actual train carriage, were two guys from the national judo team. I mean, what were the odds?

Here’s a picture of me with the “judokas”, as judo practitioners are known.

We'd imagine they don't often get pinged for fare evasion

Here’s another pic of the big guy, Xiangjun Wei. He sent me this himself, possibly in a desperate plea for larger doors in his dormitory.

OK, who forgot to order the XXXL corridor?

Miracles can happen on public transport. That’s reason number five to love it.

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161 comments

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    • mrniceguy351 says:

      05:34am | 18/03/11

      “Obviously, there are massive, serious deficiencies in public transport in most Australian cities, which make it a totally unviable option for many people.”
      “But because of the many real and perceived deficiencies, the battle to get people onto public transport will likely remain unwinnable, especially while petrol costs less than two bucks a litre.”

      So in one sentence you admit public transport isnt an option for many people, yet in another you imply the price of petrol needs to be higher to encourage people to use it??

      Reply

    • Reality Check says:

      07:10am | 18/03/11

      Niceguy, petrol will get more expensive, no matter what. That’s capitalism, its just supply and demand. But despite all the “colourful slice-of-life incidents the author has rather desperately tries to attract us with here, commuters will go on using cars unless it is impossible for them to do otherwise. Sadly, that day will come…

    • Tony of Poorakistan says:

      08:43am | 18/03/11

      This says it all.  It is deficient and Governments don’t care enough about the traffic to do anything about it. 
       
      I’m in the position of having commuted in Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Darwin. You can forget Canberra and Darwin because they don’t even have the basics of mass transit (trains and/or trams). Cars are essential in either city.  And I really do pity people living in Flynn and working in Woden or living in Durack and working in Darwin CBD. 
       
      In Melbourne, the metropolitan train system is dangerously overcrowded (four or five people faint each day in summer) and full of the sort of people I wouldn’t normally get that close to given a choice. Muggings and even sexual asault are common on the Sydenham line and I gather the situation is similar on the Frankston, Dandenong and Broadmeadows lines. The stations are not the sort of place you want to be after dark. I purposely moved further OUT, so that I could catch a Vline train and avoid the hassles. From where I lived, I could travel from my station to Spencer St in 30 mins - a no brainer. Why would you spend 90 minutes on the Calder/Tullamarine Freeways? I could always get a seat, pull out my laptop and check my emails etc.  *That* is what public transport should be.  Unfortunately, the previous ALP Government in its wisdom, decided to put my sleepy little hamlet onto the metropolitan system, meaning travel time will now be an hour and all the aforementioned issues will exist.
       
      Adelaide has a half a dozen train lines which are under utilised. The frequency of trains is insufficient to make it a popular choice and the Government hasn’t replaced or upgraded a single carriage since they’ve been in (11 years). Rann’s idea of public transport is to clag up the roads with thousands of diesel-belching buses which must surely have the worst drivers and the worst braking systems in the country. It is a miserable, miserable way to start or finish your day. If I were ever to commute by bus in Adelaide, it would take 10 minutes to walk to the stop and 60 minutes to get to the CBD in peak hour or else I’d drive to an express stop on another route (15 minutes) and it would take 40 additional minutes by bus. I live 14 Kms from the CBD. 
       
      Frankly Brisbane is probably the best, although I can hear the howls of outrage from anyone out Ipswich way already. I have commuted from both Petrie and Pimpama and had no issues whatsoever. Pretty much always on time, clean and relatively quick. Again, though, it is currently suffering from a decade of Labor neglect, like Melbourne and Adelaide. 
       
      Sydney is a basket case. Being late three mornings a fortnight due to public transport is unacceptable. Maybe they need to take a leaf out of Melbourne’s book and simply re-write the timetables based on the previous *actual* arrival and departure times.

    • tony of poorakistan says:

      10:29am | 18/03/11

      Actually, I have to add something here. In Melbourne, their idea of progress is REMOVING seats so they can jam more sardines in. Sadly, they are not upgrading the aircon to cope with the increase.

    • Loopy says:

      11:04am | 18/03/11

      Tony, you obviously have not caught a train in Adelaide recently.  The government has recently shelled out shedloads of money for a whole raft of new train carriages. Same with the busses.

    • ZSRenn says:

      11:49am | 18/03/11

      What if we were to make public transport free during peak hour would that lessen the deficiencies. Better still as in the Netherlands pay people to use public transport.

      I wish we had a government that was willing to pay us for supporting the green cause.

      Not tax us into oblivion so that we have to be green because we can’t afford to use carbon.

    • Tony of Poorakistan says:

      12:21pm | 18/03/11

      Loopy - I catch the train a few times a week on the Gawler line. Those are the same carriages that were in operation when I was here 12 years ago. They may have painted them, but they are the same ones.

    • Scot says:

      02:43pm | 18/03/11

      In NSW we have third world transportation systems. 16 years of FAILED policy and failed delivery of physical infrastructure of ALL types in NSW. They have failed deliver of new rail and new train sites. What they have delivered is 10 years late and had to be built overseas and even then with 150 staff at the factory overseas they still could not deliver on time and to budget they are still deliver third world infrastructure onto a third world rail system.

    • acotrel says:

      03:19pm | 18/03/11

      ‘November 2009. I’m in Melbourne for the golf, and I take the train to Huntingdale Station, followed by a free connecting bus to Kingston Heath Golf Club. The bus breezes through a special lane, while Tiger Woods is stuck in traffic, and I think to myself, “gee I love public transport sometimes”. ‘

      How do you get information about ‘connecting’ buses in Melbourne?

    • Jade says:

      06:33am | 18/03/11

      You didn’t make a mention to Brisbane public transport.  It’s Extremely expensive, always late and if you don’t live inner suburbs good luck getting anywhere.  I have only lived in one house where public transport was easily assessable in Brisbane.  The rest of the places, good luck… what would take you half an hour in a car would take you an hour plus on the bus, and trains… well they are very selective in the area’s they service. 

      I wouldn’t exactly say people are selfish and lazy… the system is just pathetic and if it were improved more people would take it, because seriously who likes sitting in traffic everyday.

      Reply

    • Antimony says:

      07:18am | 18/03/11

      Well said Jade. I am so sick of these “public transport wankers” making stupid suggestions like raising the price of petrol so they can feel good about themselves. If I tried to get to work on Brisbane public transport it would take 3-4 buses and take twice as long to do the journey and that is only if I managed to find a route that worked. Write on something useful Anthony and leave this sort of self gratification for when you are home.

    • Anna says:

      07:33am | 18/03/11

      I’m in Brisbane, and guess what? One of the things I take into account when moving somewhere new is the availability of public transport! Crazy I know! Only once have I lived in a really bad area for public transport - when my vehicle went into the shop it took me two hours to get to work via public transport. That was when I wasn’t even technically living in Brisbane (I was in Ipswich Shire). When I lived outside of Brisbane another time, it was still faster to drive to Strathpine and catch the train than it was to struggle with traffic - and cheaper!

      But having been to Melbourne and Sydney, our public transport system is cheaper and not nearly as horrendous. Also, I find it quite easy to assess public transport here - I just get on a bus and judge all the way to my destination.
      I’ve met a lot of people too stupid to work out HOW to catch public transport. Who needs to figure out timetables when they put all that effort into learning the road rules?

    • skepdad says:

      09:20am | 18/03/11

      I spent six years taking the bus to the Brisbane CBD, until just recently I snapped and couldn’t take it any more.  Bought an old car that I’m not worried about getting scratched in carparks, and I feel human again.

      I’ve cut an hour off my daily commute and I no longer have to arrive at work sweaty and grimy and covered in other people’s poorly covered sneezes, or spend my afternoons in the company of people with dubious personal hygiene standards.

      Put petrol up as high as you like, environazis.  I’ll pay it.

    • Audra Blue says:

      11:11am | 18/03/11

      I don’t think Brisbane public transport is that bad overall .  I lived on the Northside with my mum for about 18 months.  She’s only 5 kms from the city and the buses going into the city were many and varied.  But coming home it was like the Northside didn’t exist.  Sometimes the bus just didn’t come at all, even in peak hour.  And sometimes one bus would be so full you couldn’t get on, but the late one behind it was completely empty.  Trouble was, I didn’t know if there was a bus behind the full one that was empty and going to where I wanted.

      When I moved to the Southside, things were much better.  An express bus every 15 minutes, no exception.  And that was just one route.  There must be at least a dozen route numbers I can catch to get home.  And, again, I’m 5 kms from the city.

      I always thought it was a weird way the bus timetables happened because the Northside has more posh suburbs with expensive homes than the Southside.  So I thought because money talks, the residents would have a better bus service.  Although the way house prices are here, it’s all one big expensive nightmare for property these days.

      I don’t like the trains at all.  Sure they are efficient but the number of unwashed bodies crowding onto the trains, especially in summer is enough to make your eyeballs melt out of their sockets.  And it’s not just people of certain cultural backgrounds that don’t know what soap or deodorant are.  It’s even the well dressed office types in suits that are failing everyone miserably.

      In Brisbane, at least in the summer months, it should be a jailable offence not to wear anti-perspirant on public transport.

    • I hate waiting says:

      11:12am | 18/03/11

      I’ve lived in both Brisbane and Sydney, and I regularly catch buses. Brisbane is far cheaper than Sydney, but I have to second the “always late” comment. I caught buses every day for > 5 years in Brisbane. A bus would come on time maybe once every couple of months. And when they are late, they’re often not just 5 minutes late, but 15 minutes plus (when they show up at all).

      In Sydney, buses are often late, but I have rarely experienced a wait of over 15 minutes, and they’re more commonly ~5 minutes late. I think the fact that they tend to keep the same drivers on the same routes may be beneficial in this case.

    • Matt says:

      11:14am | 18/03/11

      I agree Jade, I drive about an hour one way to work every day as there is no public transport where I work.. I could get a train 30mins into the city, catch another out to Ipswich and then walk an hour to my work - but I don’t feel like getting up at 3.30am to start work at 8… 

      Personally, I think people that petition for dearer petrol are self-righteous wankers who’d be sorry they mentioned it as soon as they have to drive somewhere themselves - public transport doesn’t take you everywhere.

    • Kika says:

      11:58am | 18/03/11

      Brisbane transport is so, so bad. People in Sydney and Melbourne who complain about their system, try ours! Yours is a breeze compared to ours.
      We don’t only have a ‘geographic’ problem (a river cuts in between everywhere in the city like a snake) but all our previous forefathers in government failed to realise that Brisbane will be a big city one day, and encouraged people to use roads (SE freeway and ripping up our tram tracks because they got in the way of cars) and the trains were originally used for industrial use, so there no where that practical (only if you live around industrial areas).

      It costs me $6.22 a day to travel 6kms into the city. Half the time the bus is late or doesn’t even show up. You complain to translink and they basically suggest to drive into the city. Well that’s all well and good, but I can’t drive into the city coz I don’t have a car and don’t want to pay ridiculous parking fees.

    • Reg says:

      09:48pm | 18/03/11

      Good one Anna. I moved from country Queensland to Sydney decades ago and still marvel at how good the transport system is and yet the locals whinge and whine over aspects of it that would leave a reasonable person wondering wtf they were carrying on about. (The NW Express to the city is a dream and yet they still whinge about lack of rail.)

      I honestly believe it is some sort of weak-kneed attempt to justify their bringing their cars to work so they can have a good whinge about how difficult it is to fight through the traffic and find a parking spot.

      It’s even the highlight of their day, the sport of getting to work so they can spend half their time on Punch.

    • Zeta says:

      06:51am | 18/03/11

      Who thinks ‘gee’ that much? No, seriously. Who’s thought processes really include the word ‘gee’ up to three times in a single public transport journey? If you’re going to think about an abbreviated term for ‘Jesus’, can’t your mind simply say ‘jesus’? It probably takes the same amount of time and brain power.

      The only time it’s acceptable to say that is if you’re on Mr. Wizard’s World, and Mr Wizard does some kind of cool experiment, and you’re permitted to say ‘Gee Willickers Mr Wizard!’ but that’s it, the rules on this are clear.

      Also, ‘gee’ is an Irish slang term for vagina. I learned that last night.

      Reply

    • Markus says:

      08:07am | 18/03/11

      So you found out that ‘gee’ is an Irish slang term for vagina, but still wonder who thinks ‘gee’ that much?
      Hell, my thought processes would include ‘gee’ up to three times in a single minute.

    • Dave-o says:

      08:10am | 18/03/11

      I don’t think gee, I just substitute for other words. Like fuck, shit and god damn.

    • rufus says:

      08:27am | 18/03/11

      Take a chill pill, Zeta. Gee. (whoops).

    • malohi says:

      10:41am | 18/03/11

      I am intrigued by this “Mr Wizard’s world”
      ... to google I go

    • Mahhrat says:

      07:02am | 18/03/11

      What gets me is why you don’t live in a smaller city.  I was spending $60 a week to get from Glenroy to Port Melbourne, plus 90 minutes of my time on a bus, a train, then a bus.

      Where I am now is 5km from work, takes about 7 mins to drive or 20 to ride on the bike track.

      I leave home at 7pm, I’m home by 4.30, I work across the street from my daughter’s school if she ever needs me, and travel stress is being stuck behind a lorry as it pootles up a hill.

      All that so you can earn more money?  Really?  The problem isn’t “public transport”, it’s “public” in general.

      Reply

    • Phil says:

      07:46am | 18/03/11

      So you are never going to change jobs? or move each time you change jobs so you can be 5km from work and live across from the school your kids go to?
      Obviously everyone cant do this, its just not possible.

    • rebecca says:

      08:00am | 18/03/11

      Wow, you leave work at 7pm and you’re home by 4.30? Amazing!

    • NicoleG says:

      09:44am | 18/03/11

      Does your daughters school hold night classes?

    • CC says:

      11:32am | 18/03/11

      Glenroy to Port Melbourne and return each day should have only cost you $30 per week.

    • Mahhrat says:

      01:28pm | 18/03/11

      @rebecca, boh I shouldn’t try to type so fast - 7am, obviously.

      @Phil - I’ve moved 3 hour’s drive, then interstate twice in the last three years for work, so I’ve got a fair idea what I’m on about.  I ended up back where I started, because for all its glitz and glamour, Melbourne is a pain in the ass to get around, Sydney just plain smells bad and in both places are waaaaayyy too many people being miserable while rolling in cash.

      I took a $10 a year pay cut, moved back home and now I enjoy those benefits.  If work/life balance and a stress-free life aren’t worth $200 a week, then you’ve got your priorities askew, IMHO.

      @CC, my tickets cost $84 a fortnight, from memory, so I’ll split the difference with you, but it cost more if I wanted to go into town on the weekends, too.

    • Ben C says:

      01:57pm | 18/03/11

      @ Mahhrat

      Typing too fast again? $10 a year pay cut isn’t that big a deal…

    • Cloud Strife says:

      07:13am | 18/03/11

      People who hate PT aren’t lazy. We’re frustrated commuters. At least in Melbourne, we pay exorbinant prices for a service that can’t even run on time, doesn’t run after midnight, and never has enough services (when they bother to turn up).

      And if you live in what is termed a lower socio-economic line (such as the Epping line, or Dandy), you’re lucky if they pay any attention to your line at all.

      Reply

    • AdamC says:

      08:21am | 18/03/11

      @Cloud Strife, to be fair, the Paris Metro - an excellent service - stops running at midnight. Sensible Melburnians are off the public transport by about 9.30pm anyway. After dark, trains and trams become magnets for thugs, thieves and sexual predators. It’s the one bit of advice I give people who are new to Melbourne. It’s safer on the street after dark than on public transport.

      Otherwise, I couldn’t agree more. I hate public transport, but I can’t bear the idea of paying hundreds of dollars a month to lease a car spot. And I’m on the Craigieburn line, which means we get som pretty oddball characters (OK, I mean derros) on the train, especially in off-peak times.

    • John L says:

      08:35am | 18/03/11

      Exactly Cloud Strife. it always seems “Public transport advocates” always rave on about how good it is. Of course its good. Its generally right outside their inner city door and takes them straight to their CBD job in 15 mins. Us outer suburban types (dwelling in the darklands mostly through circumstance than choice) have poor public transport options and make cross town journeys that PT does not cater for. Rather than a tax on petrol, why not pay for improved PT through an inner city car ownership tax.

    • HappyCynic says:

      08:50am | 18/03/11

      Haha as a recent immigrant to Melbourne from Sydney I can tell you that Melbourne public transport is 25% cheaper (under $30 for a weekly zone 1 vs. $41 in Sydney for a MyMulti 1) and about 1000 times less crowded and 100 times more efficient than Sydney’s.

      You have no idea how awesome it is to have such a comparitively great system.  Just try to get on a train at Town Hall at 8 in the morning to cross over to North Sydney.

    • Happy Dude says:

      08:59am | 18/03/11

      @ Adam C “After dark, trains and trams become magnets for thugs, thieves and sexual predators.” You’re a victim of a sensationalist media. I catch the tram home after ten pm often and have never had any trouble.

    • Nate says:

      08:59am | 18/03/11

      AdamC, I’ve never had any late-night issues on the Cragieburn line, not that they don’t exist. Mind you my only train incident was actually on a Saturday arvo Frankston train.

      PT is just not an option for me in Melbourne. 90 minutes to take two trains, or 30 minutes on the motorbike? I know which one I’d pick.

    • AdamC says:

      09:52am | 18/03/11

      @Happy Dude, I don’t pay attention to the sensationalist media, I just believe my own eyes, and trust in the experiences of my friends. Maybe it depends on the particular service you use at night but, remember that old saying, it will never happen to you until it does.

      @Nate, the Craigieburn line isn’t so much dangerous (one hears stories, of course) as it is ... different. And not just at night. When I catch the train into town for my semi-regular Saturday liquid lunch, there’s always quite an assortment. 

      And I live only three train stops out, so really can’t complain about public transport, time-wise. It’s more the issues of overcrowding and unreliability that annoy me.

    • Shane says:

      10:39am | 18/03/11

      @Adam C - ” I don’t pay attention to the sensationalist media, I just believe my own eyes, and trust in the experiences of my friends’

      Code for: I watch ACA/Today Tonight faithfully and only listen to talk back. Get a clue.

    • AdamC says:

      11:00am | 18/03/11

      @Shane, I don’t like feeding trolls, but for the record I haven’t watched Today Tonight or ACA in years and, when I did, only rarely. Incidentally, I seem to recall those shows being more interested in the property market and savings on groceries than the safety of public transport in Melbourne.

      And, given that I commute on public transport, I don’t really get much of a chance to listen to talkback radio. Are there any shows in particular I should be following, given you seem to be an expert on trash news media as well as public transport safety?

    • pete says:

      07:13am | 18/03/11

      you people should stop complaining about public transport costs in England I caught a train from Essex to London during peak hour(big mistake)  35 pounds thats $80.00 plus some depending on the exchange rate.  cheaper in off peak I found out later, the distance travelled, about 55km.  Iagree with all the points from both sides of the argument I live in a small city with only 1 form of public transport.  I live 20km from the cbd it costs me(not the australian taxpayer as Richard Carlton so blatantly lied on 60 min) $25.20 per week on average using an express bus it takes me 60 minutes to travel 20 km using two buses each way, by car, it takes 20 minutes. The reason I dont take a car, apart from the ACT government selling off most of the parking areas in the CBD is that you pay on average $18 per day for parking in the CBD
      The ACT government thins the answer is to make the parking more expensive and yes the public transport is radial, apart from which you wait on average 1 hour for a bus in the suburbs during the day so it’s a pretty abysmal system. but I still catch it, do the sums.

      Reply

    • D says:

      09:32am | 18/03/11

      Im so confused by your reply. Which country and city are you complaining about ? At least yr maths is better than you writing skills.

    • mmm says:

      12:00pm | 18/03/11

      $10 all-day rooftop parking at the Canberra Centre any good to you, Pete?

      The ACT Government in its wisdom racked up the price of both parking (well, the one or two they still own) and the bus fare at the same time. And given my trip to work takes 20 minutes in the car, including the walk from the Centre, while taking the bus takes over 60 and buses are regularly late/early/not there, run so intermittently and are no faster as there’s few bus lanes… no contest.

    • Beck of Kenso says:

      07:17am | 18/03/11

      I just want to say that it’s really nice to hear the good points about public transport, rather than the whingeing that usually goes on.

      Nice work Anthony!

      Reply

    • Phil says:

      07:19am | 18/03/11

      I had the luck (yeah right) to catch the train in to the city for work last year for a few weeks, it just reaffirmed to me why I don’t and refuse to work in the CBD or anywhere that is public transport only.
      I was also shocked at the lack of trains which have aircon in 40 degree weather in peak hour with a packed train should be enough to discourage anyone.
      I drive pretty much everywhere, I drive to work as it would be two trains or a train and a bus +20mins walk each way which would take me more than double the time it takes me to drive!
      I also enjoy my time alone in the car as its the only time I can get time to myself these days so why would I want to sacrifice that to stand in a train packed with people with BO issues and no awareness of personal space?

      Similar to paying for business class fares so you arent packed in on a plane with similar people you’d find on a train.
      I think its worth the extra $$ for the space and comfort, just like why I drive to work.

      Reply

    • Super D says:

      07:25am | 18/03/11

      My wife and I made a decision that we wanted to be within walking distance of the CBD.  Every morning I get to walk past packed buses and think to myself “Gee I’m glad I don’t have to put up with that crap”

      Reply

    • Tim the Toolman says:

      09:01am | 18/03/11

      “Every morning I get to walk past packed buses and think to myself “Gee I’m glad I don’t have to put up with that crap””

      Hehe, exactly the same situation!  We walk to work every day and have never been fitter or happier.  That said, I’ve now changed jobs, so, it’s an extra k and a half, which means I’ll jog in now instead of walking.

    • Super D says:

      01:18pm | 18/03/11

      The only downside is that it means you live in the inner city and hence are surrounded by greens voters.

    • Reg says:

      08:02am | 19/03/11

      SuperD ”  The only downside is that it means you live in the inner city and hence are surrounded by greens voters.”

      Are you sure? Green voters don’t like the people traps that crowded CBDs represent. They’d rather live on the outer rim of the city then be packed into the hub with all its uptight latte drinking faux-liberals. wink

      Check out what high density living has brought to some Japanese.

      Don’t jog Tim, just walk, it’s easier on the knees and you’ll appreciate this in later life.  My knees begin to ache just to watch some cute young things pounding the concrete, like I used to do.

    • Alex says:

      07:25am | 18/03/11

      I agree with so much of this - and I used to take public transport all the time. However, it used to take me 45 minutes to commute to work and when I drove, it took 20.

      Now I have a baby and my day is timetabled to the minute. I have to take her to daycare and do a full-time job and try to find some quality time in the mornings and evenings. If we were to take public transport, it would take over an hour each way, but in the car it’s less than half that. The cost difference is negligable. So there’s no contest.

      The problem is that Australian cities have been designed with the car in mind and new public transport proposals are thrown out with each successive State Government, wasting millions of taxpayers dollars.

      What public transport there is, seems to be over-crowded and late, which doesn’t help the issue.

      I’d really like to see the State and National governments getting behind public transport and providing something that will be genuinely useful for the majority of people.

      Reply

    • See what I did there? says:

      07:31am | 18/03/11

      “Most people who hate public transport are selfish and lazy”
      >>>>>>>>>>>>
      “Most people who use generalizations are shallow and lazy”

      Reply

    • vince says:

      08:34am | 18/03/11

      lol’d, quite true.

    • rufus says:

      11:19am | 18/03/11

      You were sucked in by a headline designed to provoke, that’s what you did there.

    • CC says:

      11:39am | 18/03/11

      @ rufus - and you were sucked into a smackdown on the provoked.

      And i was sucked into….<repeat to fade>

    • Patrick kELLY says:

      07:45am | 18/03/11

      Make the best of it while you can. When ‘Khaki’ Bob and the likes of Cloverleaf Moore get finished with the roads they’ll get going on the real agenda and start shutting down the bus routes as well. They’ll have us all healthily commuting by foot or cycle in a jiffy (measured of course on a geological time scale.)
      That is if indeed anyone has the energy to walk or pedal when keeping body and soul together with a meagre ration of seaweed each day.

      Reply

    • Edward James says:

      07:50am | 18/03/11

      I ride a motor bike when I need to get into Sydney City center as i enjoy the free parking the Mayor has put in -place. I don’t feel comfortable being exposed to predatory behavior on trains and train stations or the generally restrictive nature of public transport. The freedom to depart and arrive where and when it suits me may well become priceless but for the time being I can afford that freedom.  Edward James

      Reply

    • Shenanigans says:

      07:53am | 18/03/11

      gotta say, public transport here is a joke. no trains, only buses. they take anywhere upwards of 50mins to go somewhere where it would take 20mins to get by car, and its one of the smallest capital cities….fancy that.
      you want people to use public transport, make it feasible first. until then i’ll happily use my car.

      My car has better manners then most people on public transport anyway…..

      Reply

    • rufus says:

      08:31am | 18/03/11

      As long as you don’t complain about road congestion and expect billions to be spent on futile attempts to reduce it by building more roads.

    • Shenanigans says:

      10:27am | 18/03/11

      Road congestion doesn’t bother me, I installed a sound system in my car, so I’m more then happy to sit and listen to my music for as long as it takes.

    • Tubesteak says:

      07:59am | 18/03/11

      I hate public transport so much that I walk to work. I’m even more environmentally friendly than you, so nyer!

      I hate it because I used to take it. Catching a train from the CBD to Strathfield shouldn’t be that hard but when the train decides to stop at Central for no reason and you are left there on a hot February weekday afternoon for 20 minutes doesn’t make you happy.

      I took a train from the CBD to Parramatta last night and it wasn’t airconditioned. It seems few trains on the western line have ac. It wasn’t so bad last night but in summer they can reach about 50 degrees. I think the ac in the Transport Minister’s office should always be set at 50 degrees until all trains have ac at all times.

      Taking a bus on Monday night from the CBD to Sydney Uni took a long time because they constantly stop and get stuck in traffic. Not an overwhelmingly positive experience.

      I used to take the train often and they were always overcrowded. Standing room only and crushed against many other people.

      We need more trains, more buises, more train lines and more bus routes.

      Reply

    • Selfish and Lazy says:

      08:07am | 18/03/11

      Personally I hate public transport, dirty, hot, stupid train seating designs (Brisbane Trains), slow timetables.
      I live 6 stops (by train) from Brisbane. Its still quicker to drive over the story bridge and park and arrive in the office earlier than what I would with a train. Just more expensive though.
      And casual trips to city are still cheaper and faster by car as I always get a street park up at spring hill for a few bucks on a credit card accepting meter.

      Reply

    • adie says:

      08:07am | 18/03/11

      I would use PT to get to work if i could, but no tram, trian, or bus stops anwhere near my work.  I’d end up having to walk for an hour, and thats after spending halfa on a bus.  The 20min drive i have is definately the better option.

      Reply

    • Elphaba says:

      08:11am | 18/03/11

      I don’t mind the train.  It’s only 20 mins from my house to the city, so it’s a bearable journey.  iPods and books keep you fairly well contained.  And sometimes it’s downright entertaining.  Like the woman who, loudly on her mobile phone, called her boyfriend a deadbeat fpr spending the last of the money in the kitty jar on beer and wrecking her car.  She told him that she was throwing his stuff out of the house as soon as she got home.  Hilarious!

      Or the guys who busked on the train.  Coming into every carriage with a guitar and a set of bongo drums, they played some tunes and passed the hat around.  Some nimrod looked angry and complained, but he was wearing beige trousers - says it all, really.

      The only time I’m not a fan is when the train conks out on the line in 35 degree heat and it’s not airconditioned.  But this year, I decided no journey was worth putting up with a sweat box, so I just wait an extra few minutes for the airconditioned one.

      There definitely needs to be some work done.  And if I lived further out, I’d probably enjoy less and whinge more.  But overall, it’s not the worse way to get to work.  There’s always the bus…

      Reply

    • Bitten says:

      03:51pm | 18/03/11

      Beige trousers? Of all the public transport crimes…

      Brisbane certainly has expanded rapidly and the public infrastructure has definitely not kept pace. But I imagine that’s true of just about every capital city in Australia, no?

    • iansand says:

      08:14am | 18/03/11

      New York City - Subway ride, end to end, $2-25
      San Francisco - Muni transit ticket $1-50 (everything except the BART and cablecars), good for 3 hours no matter how many different routes you ride.

      Sydney - Redfern to City (not very far, for non-Sydneysiders - I walk it in 35 mins if I feel so inclined) return $6-40.

      Reply

    • dozy says:

      09:36am | 18/03/11

      Your comparison is incomplete. Sydney CBD-Hornsby:  around $5 for a 30km trip. You can go Sydney-Newcastle by train for under $10. Multi-modal off-peak day passes are available at generous prices.

      Don’t be surprised to see Sydney’s public transport systems sold soon, and kiss these fares goodbye if they are.

    • Pete #205 says:

      11:05am | 18/03/11

      Just don’t try get off at 3rd and Market.  Those hordes trying to get to Chinatown won’t let you exit.  Although, I did see a great technique once…elbows up and to the sides with a “Fat man comin’ through!”.

    • rufus says:

      11:27am | 18/03/11

      Have a good look at Sydney train prices - quite reasonable. You can travel Central-Hornsby for <$5, Central-Newcastle for <$8. I guess other medium and long distance journeys on cityrail are similar in price.
      http://www.railmaps.com.au/routedetails.php?RouteSelect=50

      It’s comparatively expensive to travel CBD-Refern. Why wouldn’t you walk it/cycle, if cost was a factor?

      Enjoy these mostly cheap fares while they last because the NSW government-owned public transport systems will likely be sold and that will be the end of cheap fares.

    • iansand says:

      05:31pm | 18/03/11

      New York subway - equivalent, or greater distance for half the price.  $2-25 is the single ride price.  It does not incorporate discounts for multiple purchases.  And the Muni is an absolute bargain.

    • All Aboard says:

      12:20pm | 19/03/11

      Adelaide is great for bus/train fares, you could go from one side of the city to the other for $1.70 during off peak, $3.00 during peak. Not bad at all. The only downfall is they don’t do weekly/monthly or quarterly tickets. Just multi trips (10 rides per ticket).

      But having said that, now that I’ve said the fares are good, I can just see them raising the prices at the next budget!!

    • Rev says:

      08:22am | 18/03/11

      Ant - were you a bit deficient in your sledging of Gen-Y this month?
      Surely you could have worked in an angle where they are responsible for all the grafitti and trash left in carriages?

      Reply

    • Cat says:

      08:26am | 18/03/11

      I do not drive. I have never had a licence or owned a car. I rarely travel in one driven by other people.  This is not altogether by choice as I have a physical disability resulting in visual perceptual problems which would make it unwise to drive. 
      I manage public transport with difficulty. It is not covenient. There are now fewer services than there were and they are less likely to run to time. Staff have been cut to save money but prices have still risen. Fewer people use public transport.
      Australians are welded to their cars. The South Australian economy depends on people using cars.
      Until this changes and people are placed in a position where the only way to get somewhere is to use public transport then nothing will be done about public transport. Mass transit costs governments. They do not want to know about it.

      Reply

    • David Johnson says:

      08:28am | 18/03/11

      Yet another preaching article from yet another “Melbourne only goes out 4km from the CBD” toff. Ask anyone who lives outside this EXCLUSION ZONE, and they’ll tell you that in almost ALL cases, it’s SUBSTANTIALLY quicker for them to get to work by car rather than public transport.

      Unless you either (a) live right next to a train station, or (b) work right next to a train station, you’ll often require two (or more) forms of public transport to get there.

      From where I live (middle-outer eastern suburbs), I would have to catch 1 (possibly 2) buses just to get to the nearest train station, then catch 2 trains to get to the nearest station to my office. And that doesn’t include the 5-10 minute walk either side to get (a) from home to the bus stop, and (b) from the train station to the office.

      And God forbid, if I decide to say, drive to the train station, I’d need to get there before about 7:00am just to get a carpark.

      Despite ALL this, when I drive to / from work, my trip can be as quick as 25 minutes, and at MOST, maybe 45 minutes. This would compare to anywhere between 1 hour and 1 hour 45 minutes to use the aforementioned public transport routes.

      Seriously, get out of your bubble!!!

      Reply

    • Andrew G says:

      09:36am | 18/03/11

      Whilst I understand what you’re saying David, the choice is yours as to where you live. Until very recently it was cheaper to buy or rent in the inner west of Melbourne then in the middle outer eastern suburbs but many in the eastern suburbs for many years looked down on the western suburbs and would not consider moving there. I took a punt, moved from the east to the inner west and now it takes me 10 mins on the train to get into the city, although I ride my bicycle most days. Some don’t have the choice to move closer to public transport or the city (maybe you’re one of them) but many, many do. Although I will admit the inner west is now quite expensive so not an option for many. There are still plenty of suburbs in the west that are much closer to public transport and the city for similar prices to the middle to outer east. e.g. Sunshine.

    • LC says:

      05:45pm | 18/03/11

      @ Andrew G,

      Who’s says that’s even an option for him? I’m renting in the northern outskirts of Melbourne, and I f***ing hate the place, but until I’m earning/have sufficient $$$ to get somewhere to house myself in a friendlier and closer-to-work neighborhood, it’s here I’ll have to stay (and the fact have a reasonable landlord provides some constellation).

      If you’re rolling in cash and can move to wherever the hell you like in a moment’s notice, good for you.

      Just don’t forget that most people CANNOT.

    • AFR says:

      08:28am | 18/03/11

      Gee, Anthony, where can I get of those rose coloured glasses you must have been wearing when you wrote this?

      Reply

    • Ian Stevens says:

      08:29am | 18/03/11

      Enjoyed commuting for 30 years from the Central Coast, trouble is when I started it took 1 hour 15 to get to and from - today 1 hour 30. Isn’t progress wonderful thing?

      Reply

    • Steve Richardson says:

      08:34am | 18/03/11

      I car pool to work, four of us (family members) we are probably one of the 0.5% of cars with more than one person in them.  Unfortunately, it is cheaper to park in the city at $21.00 per day than the four of us ride the train at $27.00 a day, simple economics really.

      Reply

    • Meg says:

      08:39am | 18/03/11

      You think public transport has problems in the city - you want to try public transport in rural areas.  In many places it does not exist.  Where it does there is not much choice of time of journey and it is extremely difficult to go anywhere apart from to the capital city.  The demand is there but the people who run the system do not promote it in rural areas and, in areas with few services, run the timetable to suit the system not the passengers.

      Reply

    • John Vance says:

      08:47am | 18/03/11

      Who is lazy? When working 8 hours a day, or longer, public transport is like all other public services, its sucks due to inconvenient times, location, and inconsiderate staff and people aboard. You get diseases, filthy toilets, queues and very stinky people. all seemingly going further than you, then theres the cost which can be as expensive as fuel costs…
      When youre tired, you dont want any of these so I avoid them these days.
      Then there’s travelling by car..A complete ripoff.. Ive moved to the country, and found a smaller town and am as happy as Larry… Smiles as he gives all city dwellers the BIRD! 1 KM from any service, can walk to work and no traffic jams… I am doing my best not to tell you about it, but I hafto today. Some good people there may read this!  We dont want all those public service idiots coming here….and “improving” our country town. I’m smirking!

      Reply

    • vealmince says:

      08:49am | 18/03/11

      Most people who TAKE public transport are selfish and lazy too, that’s the downside. The seat hoggers. The messy eaters. The drunken vomiters. The overloud-music listeners. The vestibule/doorway loiterers (JUST GET OUT OF THE FECKING WAY). The loud talkers. The personal-life-on-mobile-phone conductors. There’s just no way to avoid people.

      Reply

    • hellena says:

      11:47am | 18/03/11

      and where i live, i think people put their, er “special” relatives on to the busses, to get rid of them for the day. not to mention the foul mouthed school children, mothers with screaming babies, people heading off to the methadone clinic, and the certifiably insane - ps no-one normal on the sunshine coast takes the bus, unless they have lost their license from drink driving

    • Kirsty says:

      11:55am | 18/03/11

      Haha, so true.  My sister recently on one of the Sydney wesern line trains had to wait as the train was delayed due to someone ‘defecating’ in one of the carriages.

    • LC says:

      05:47pm | 18/03/11

      Losing your license from drink driving is normal? o.O

    • Shane From Melbourne says:

      08:49am | 18/03/11

      More people should hate public transport. I urge everyone to use their cars and boycott public transport. Especially ferals on Friday and Saturday nights.

      Reply

    • Graham The Great says:

      08:53am | 18/03/11

      My wife and I are going to do our bit for the traffic and public transport bit in New South Wales - we are moving to country Queensland!

      Reply

    • jezie says:

      08:56am | 18/03/11

      sorry but sometimes its really not an option, i work nights and to get home if i didnt drive it would take over hr 45min at around 2am (i might ad i live only 15min drive from my work) and do you really think its safe for a young girl to have to catch a train a bus and a train them walk for 20 min ontop of the time i’ve bben on the train/bus/train…... i would love to not drive as the petrol is crazy exspensive and the parking is a nightmare but what other choice do i have, there is no safe option for someone like me

      Reply

    • Steve says:

      09:10am | 18/03/11

      People who don’t use public transport don’t necessarily hate it -  they might just hate the anti-socials with poor personal hygiene, the drunks and the drug afffected, plus the bogans they have to avoid eye contact with while on it.

      Not to mention having to stand for 40 mins on the way to work unless you join the train at the very first station.

      Yes, lots to love there.

      Reply

    • Wayne Kerr says:

      12:06pm | 18/03/11

      and that my friend pretty much hits the proverbial nail smack bang on the head.

      I got lucky and don’t have to commute anymore and I definitely don’t miss the people that make travelling a misery.

    • vic says:

      09:13am | 18/03/11

      Are you kidding? Overcrowded, stinking of BO, never on time, aircon never works, trains replaced by buses for weeks on end on major lines.
      Don’t know what planet you’re from, but here on Earth public transport SUCKS!
      You can take your misplaced arrogance and self righteousness and jam it!

      Reply

    • It's a Conspiracy says:

      09:15am | 18/03/11

      If you live close to the city, transport is great but house prices are high.  If you live further away, transport is worse but house prices are lower.

      If you build better transport, houses further out will become more expensive (because they are now more attractive to commuters) and those closer to the city will diminish in value (because the need to be close will not be so acute).

      Sydney will never invest in genuine improvement to public transport because the power brokers all live close to the city in expensive digs and wouldn’t want to see their house values go down.

      Reply

    • Ex Sky News says:

      09:26am | 18/03/11

      Hi Anthony, the “gloriously talented, fabulously important people called journalists” at Sky News, start as early as 0400 and the late shift finishes at 2430.  Trains don’t run that early or late.

      By the way, they’re not that gloriously talented or fabulous for that matter.

      Reply

    • Clare says:

      09:30am | 18/03/11

      Just try the train from Lithgow (or Katoomba) some time. Then you’ll know why people don’t use public transport. Filthy, painfully slow, often running late, full of screaming teenagers, dangerous after peak hour.

      Reply

    • Bilby says:

      09:31am | 18/03/11

      Let’s be frank here. Public transport is for plebs that don’t have a car spot at work.

      Reply

    • Drew( Darlinghurst) says:

      09:34am | 18/03/11

      I live in the glorious inner city suburb of Darlinghurst .....walking to the CBD every morning through Hyde Park is beautiful.

      Cheers

      Reply

    • Amber says:

      09:41am | 18/03/11

      How is anyone expected to catch a train to work in Sydney, when the 2km perimeter around every station has 2-hour parking limits??? In Melbourne and Perth where the trains have fabric seats,  large, free parking areas are provided. No brainer, I would have thought.
      Also, I have travelled in metros all over the world, and have never seen one as disgusting as Sydney’s. The worst was a train ride I took from the airport to the city - it looked third world. Do we REALLY want international travellers to have THIS as their first impression????????? When I saw that disgrace, I hoped they didn’t catch them for our reputation’s sake.

      Reply

    • bella starkey says:

      11:27am | 18/03/11

      That’s kinda bullshit. Most suburban stations have commuter carparks. Also, most of the trains that run on the airport line are shiny new ones.

    • Alison says:

      01:40pm | 18/03/11

      Bella Starkey, that’s kinda bullshit! Amber is spot on.

    • Ben C says:

      02:38pm | 18/03/11

      @ bella starkey

      Do you live on the Airport line? If not, then you’re only seeing a portion of the trains that go to the Airport.

    • DG says:

      09:41am | 18/03/11

      I live 50k from work and travel an hour and a bit on the train.

      I wont go so far as to say that I love it, but since my employer has allowed me to shift my start and finish times by 30 minutes I catch a far less crowded train, get a seat both ways every single day and either snooze, read or listen to podcasts. The most frustrating part of my trip is the 10 minute drive home from the station.

      Hell is other people - with a good book, headphones or a bit of shut-eye you can block out the other people until you get home. Regrettably, one still has to deal with other people on the way home from the station - morons changing lanes without indicating, speeding, running red lights…

      If only they would bring a bus to my door…

      Reply

    • Geoff - Brisbane says:

      09:43am | 18/03/11

      Here we go. Dispite being the cause of the problem, lack of planning in their own days and now are the folks running public transport. The greedy boomers, who have no ounce of accountability, take it out on Gen Y.

      Reply

    • Geoff - Brisbane says:

      09:43am | 18/03/11

      Here we go. Dispite being the cause of the problem, lack of planning in their own days and now are the folks running public transport. The greedy boomers, who have no ounce of accountability, take it out on Gen Y.

      Reply

    • Leigh says:

      09:46am | 18/03/11

      The non-pub lic transport users are probably those self-righteous jerks who jabber about climate change and support Juliar’s carbon tax.

      Reply

    • LC says:

      10:11am | 18/03/11

      “Obviously, there are massive, serious deficiencies in public transport in most Australian cities, which make it a totally unviable option for many people.”

      And you take the unorthodox step of mentioning the most serious pitfall your argument has. Public transportation is unreliable, crowded and (especially trains) dangerous after ~9pm, in addition to it being an unviable option for a to a lot of inner-city people (and unavailable to country folk).

      Which is why I’ll take my bike or (if I’m carrying bulky items, if it’s a hot/rainy day, or if I have other places to go during the day, before, during or after work that’s further than walking distance) I’ll take my car. This makes me a greedy selfish prick in your book doesn’t it?

      Reply

    • HappyCynic says:

      01:02pm | 18/03/11

      What is this danger people keep prattling on about?  I’ve caught trains in Sydney and Melbourne late at night and felt perfectly safe everytime.

      Also I call bullsh*t on your unreliable claim… 95% of the time you can rely on a train or a tram or a bus or a ferry to arrive within 5 minutes of its scheduled time.  As long as you have enough leeway to deal with minor delays (I make sure to arrive at work at least 15 minutes early to compensate for any public transport delays) you’ll never be late to work.

      Can’t argue with the overcrowding thing though.

    • LC says:

      04:45pm | 18/03/11

      That depends on the line you take. Try carrying things like a laptop on, say, the Frankston or Cragieburn lines after dark.

    • Kelstar says:

      05:29pm | 18/03/11

      HappyCynic - it seems everyone is talking about the eastern seaboard. Here in little old country town perth it can be quite danerous to ride at night.
      A bloke was murdered at my local train station at 8pm at night. Another bloke was stabbed there at about 11pm at night. Gangs of young men of a certain race hang around the station (and several other stations on my line) from about 9pm onwards - yelling, spitting, calling passengers names, hassling them for cigarettes or money, and generally being intimidating. Drunken men abuse single females, drunken indigenous women are just plain scary.
      I recently had some friends from a country town visit to go to a concert. They wanted to catch the train home after and I wouldn’t let them. I finally relented under the following conditions; Do not make eye contact, Do not talk to anyone, If you have to respond verbally, do so quickly and with a smile then break contact by HAVING to talk to eachother, Move to another carriage if in doubt.
      I did a risk assessment and decided it was ok as; it was a weeknight (ie. not too many on the training therefore limiting contact with others); they would be on the train about 10:30pm (again not too late so hopefully no weirdo’s about); should be a lot of other concert-goers there as free train transport was included in the ticket (safer travelling with like-minded people).
      I won’t catch it after 7pm.

    • fairsfair says:

      10:13am | 18/03/11

      You look totally different wearing a hat (assuming you are the guy in the middle that is)!

      When I lived in Bne (right next door to Eagle Junction) it was fantastic… for my flatmate. I worked on the complete other side of the city and without a car I would have had to train it to the city, walk to the bus terminal, get on a bus to Garden City and ten walk about fifteen minutes along a busy road to my office. It would have turned a 30m drive into a good couple hours.  I have to say it was far easier to face the ICB, Riverside Expressway and M1 at peak hour from with in the confines of my car.

      But I totally agree with Jade’s comment above - PT is only a real advantage if you are lucky enough to live and work within acceptable distance to your requred stops. As for Cairns PTran - well don’t get me started on Sunbus (what seems like a fleet of five) - sooooo many bad experiences they don’t even rate a mention. You can not survive here if you rely on public transport to get around.

      Reply

    • A.K.A. says:

      10:13am | 18/03/11

      Try catching a train in Sydney on the weekend.  There is always track works with trains replaced by busses.  It’s a disaster.

      I live 7kms from the city and I have resorted to driving.  It costs me an extra $60/w to drive my car (MyZone is about $30/w and parking is $90/w - early brid rate in my building).  And I am already paying for my car.

      I save a minimum of 30 mins each way, yes it takes at least 45 mins on a bus to go 7kms, and that is when the buses actually show up.  I have waited up to 35 mins for a bus to arrive, simply not acceptable.

      So this means I save up to 5 hrs a week.  $60 for 5 hours of my time is a no brainer!

      Why don’t I ride a bike?  Cos I have to ride (25mins), lock it up, have a shower -some big hills - and get changed (15 mins).  What happens when it rains and I have my lap top?  What happens if I need to go see a client or go visit a friend? What happens if I couldn’t be assed riding home (I can’t leave my bike over night).

      Sydney is a mess. 

      If we had high frequency services that ACTUALLY ran on time and were reasonably priced I would use them.  But for me, I can’t see that in the near future.  Not with either of our governments.

      Reply

    • pedals says:

      10:14am | 18/03/11

      People just need to live by the choices that they make. Some snide comments getting posted about those who live inner city. I live 4.5km from Melb CBD and I cycle everywhere, rarely using PT. My house is small - my commute time is small too, it was a trade off that I chose. If you choose the big house miles from PT then you need the 3 car garage too. That’s a choice you’ve made. You can’t complain afterwards that there’s no PT in your neighbourhood.
      The crunch is coming, be it fuel price, congestion tax, parking costs or just ever more crazy commute times that ‘drive’ people insane and cause them to waste larger portions of their lives. Choices people, and as rufus suggested, don’t expect the government to come along retrospectively and fix it all for you.

      Reply

    • Ben C says:

      02:31pm | 18/03/11

      @ pedals

      How big is your house, and are you raising a family in it?

    • LC says:

      02:22pm | 15/08/11

      So pedals, what happens if one is suck in the outer suburbs far from public transport out of circumstance rather than choice? Can we moan and bitch about the lack of reliable and (after dark) safe public transport?

    • Kate says:

      10:20am | 18/03/11

      I had one of those tools on the tram today who listens to their music at maximum volume. The entire tram could hear every word of the songs.
      Finally, a woman said to him “Do you mind turning that down? It’s very annoying”.

      Deadset legend. I wanted to high-five her. If you are reading this, Person on the Number 5 Tram, you are awesome for doing what I want to do every time I encounter one of these wankers but have never been brave enough to do.

      As for late night public transport, when I can be guaranteed a safe and hassle free trip home on the Frankston line, I’ll get the train. Until then I’d rather not. Last time I got the train home at night, some dude with blood all over his face sat across from me, talked to me the entire way and grabbed my legs when I tried to leave. It was scary as.

      Reply

    • Tony of Poorakistan says:

      01:23pm | 18/03/11

      That’s odd. The zombie apocalypse isn’t due until next week.

    • Rob says:

      10:39am | 18/03/11

      I’m sick to death of inner city trendies branding people, “car addicts” if they dare to drive a car to their workplace when, in some cases, they don’t even HAVE public transport to the city. Inner city types, who have to endure two or three stations or 30 minutes on a bus have no idea what riding public transport from the outer suburbs is like—again, if it exists—which is why they end up writing these sorts of articles and branding people “car addicts” when, frankly, they have no idea.

      Reply

    • LC says:

      06:03pm | 18/03/11

      I personally wonder how many of these public transport preachers A. Have a car themselves, B. What fuel efficiency it gets and C. How often they use public transport instead of their car, during what hours and on what lines/routes.

    • PW says:

      10:42am | 18/03/11

      This blog proves one thing….people are hopelessly addicted to their cars. Two bucks a litre won’t change a thing. The day will surely come when you cannot buy petrol at any price.

      Reply

    • Bilby says:

      12:00pm | 18/03/11

      It’s true. I’m hopelessly addicted to electricity and running water too.

    • annoyed says:

      10:47am | 18/03/11

      I live in Brisbane. Our train system unfortunately doesn’t extend to a lot of suburbs, and where I work isn’t in the CBD. To start work at 8.30am I would have to leave my house at 7:15 to walk to the bus stop. I’d then have to get on a bus, get another bus and arrive at work at (according to the bus timetables) 8:22.

      When driving to work, I leave the house at around 8 and arrive at 8.25. This costs me about 20$ of petrol per week (granted, my car does have great petrol consumption).

      Now, if I worked in the CBD I could drive 10 minutes to the train station and catch a train that would take about 20-25 minutes. Would I do this instead of driving? Yes, but only because parking in the city is just not an option. However, I would still be spending a RIDICULOUS amount of money on transport, probably around 25$ on the trains p/week (and then add the petrol for the 10 minute journey 2x a day to and from the train station).

      Reply

    • Gregg says:

      10:48am | 18/03/11

      Gee Ant, it’s not just sometimes that I love not having to go into a city.

      Reply

    • hellena says:

      11:50am | 18/03/11

      I don’t hate PT, I just hate other people.

      Reply

    • heather says:

      12:00pm | 18/03/11

      Sure, if you live in a capital city, and you can afford to live near the CBD, then PT/cycling is fantastic. However, if you live in what the State Govt seems to think is a tiny hamlet (340,000 people), then you have to suffer a total lack of services. And said tiny hamlet has a dreadful economy due to a luddite mayor, so if you want a decent job, you have to work in Brisbane. I once tried to take solely PT from my home to Brisbane. I had to cycle to the nearest bus stop, catch a bus to the train station, catch a train to the city, walk a kilometer to a bus station, and catch another bus. It took me nearly FOUR HOURS. ONE WAY. I can drive to the city in an hour and a quarter. Now, I don’t live in a rural area, I live on the Sunshine Coast, in the major residential/business area. And to get from my house to Nambour, a nearby town, by car takes me 15 minutes, and by Sunbus (the worst bus service in the universe, with the worst rudest traffic rules breaking drivers) takes an hour…and is never less than 10minutes late. Oh and did I mention the 15 minute walk to and from the bus stop? No wonder no-one on the Sunshine Coast takes the bus, except for weird stinky ferals and criminals and foul mouthed school children. At least you get a seat to yourself, I suppose.

      Reply

    • Diogenes says:

      01:13pm | 18/03/11

      Does flying count as public transport ?

      I live at Tweed Heads and have worked out it is quicker for me to get to work in Sydney than in Brisbane - and if you time the fares & book far enough in advance only costs twice as much. And whats more I am allowed to eat and drink on the plane.

      I understand there are a few lawyers & consultant types that do this.

    • Ridiculous says:

      12:20pm | 18/03/11

      Sorry, you talk about wasting resources and creating pollution by solo-car commuting, but you’re perfectly fine about the massive carbon footprint of mX? Piles of paper is printed, distributed to major railway stations in three cities, tossed away, ending up in landfill and recycling, but don’t delude yourself that even half the papers tossed away are recycled

      Reply

    • Diogenes says:

      01:17pm | 18/03/11

      And I hate how the MX distributors plant themselves in the middle of the busiest walkways at Brisbane Central thrusting them at you. They create chokepoints that may make the difference between getting a seat on the Bombay Express (5:14 , 5:24 & 5:39 Gold Coast trains) or having to stand for an hour

      I deliberately do not take the paper in protest

    • Ben C says:

      12:49pm | 18/03/11

      I’m fortunate enough to live on the same train line as the suburb I work in. However, I bypass the trains at all costs. Why?

      1. Because ShittyRail takes longer to get from my starting location to my finishing location (Padstow to Campbelltown, 36 minutes plus walking time 10-15 minutes - almost one hour in total) than it takes me to drive directly to the office (30 minutes door to door). I also have the luxury of being able to drive alternative routes if I’m stuck in traffic. Try doing that on a train when it’s held up due to signal failure or whatever reason they use these days.

      2. On the one day of the month where I attend meetings after work which finish at 9pm, trains only operate every half hour from Macarthur.

      3. Occasionally I will be called upon to head to shops before they close. These shops are in locations not serviced by trains.

      4. When I go back to studying, I don’t want to destroy my back by having to carry all my work and study material everywhere I go.

      5. If I’m feeling exhausted from work, I can at least have a snooze in the car (either when I jump in or if I pull over to the side of the road) without having to worry about missing my stop and dealing with transit officers issuing me with a fine for not waking up.

      The only time I would take public transport is if I’m having a lazy day with no need to be anywhere at any particular time… Which is rarely ever.

      Reply

    • CityWorker says:

      01:03pm | 18/03/11

      Public transport is for poor people, inner city hipsers who live two stops from work, eco tossers, drug-addict criminals and the criminally insane.

      If you’re none of those things, you own a car and use it whenever possible. You’re also glad you don’t have to put up with any of the above riff-raff, unless of course you read The Punch.

      Reply

    • jec says:

      01:07pm | 18/03/11

      While travelling in the USA back in the 1980s I noticed busy roads & highways had designated “car-pool” lanes.  There were signs up for a phone number to call if you were interested in finding a person or people to carpool with.  Carpooling should be encouraged and there should be benefits to doing so (use of lanes, reduced tolls etc).  People could connect with others in their same locality via a website or in city buildings a register could be started - who knows, someone from a workplace nearby to yours could live around the corner from you.  Take turns with the driving to share petrol costs.  This is something that the state governments and road authorities should be seriously looking into to help make the roads less congested.

      Reply

    • Justin says:

      02:03pm | 18/03/11

      Ant, I largely agree, particularly trains when you live fairly close in. Buses are hit & miss (more miss), but he new SMS service in Sydney is pretty accurate, it’s just that the timetables aren’t. Bus drivers go a bit rogue when they want to get back to the depot early, so you’ll often miss buses that go early & the following one will be late resulting in a long wait.

      There are staggering anomalies that you just want to shove in the minister’s face & shout, ‘WTF!?” For example, Wolli Creek - a station not far from you - is an interchange between lines, yet not every Cronulla/Waterfall train stops there. The previous 5 trains with the same stopping pattern for every other station stops there, then the next one won’t (but will stop at all the other same stops), then the following trains stop there. They even skip it when buses replace trains. IT’S A FRIGGING INTERCHANGE YOU KNOBS!

      Reply

    • NQ says:

      02:34pm | 18/03/11

      I always get a chuckle from city-dwellers whining about how awful their public transport is. 

      Come and spend some time in a regional city.  Buses treble travel time, and cost more than it does to drive.

      Yay, Sunbus.

      Reply

    • Miles says:

      02:35pm | 18/03/11

      I think it’s funny how people say ‘there’s no public transport where I live’.  Considering that one could simply DRIVE to the nearest train station / bus station, park for free and then take public transport through the most congested part of city traffic, it’s a no brainer really.  But no, that’s below them.  Always remember: You’re not stuck in traffic, you ARE traffic.

      Reply

    • LC says:

      06:40pm | 18/03/11

      You have to get to the station by no later than 7:00am to get a parking spot at most metropolitan stations. I’m not even going to start on the level of break-ins at station carparks.

    • Gladys says:

      02:52pm | 18/03/11

      No one ever lost an election by promising to get the trains running on time. Look at Musselini.

      I love it too.

      Reply

    • Homer Simpson says:

      02:58pm | 18/03/11

      Public transport is for jerks and lesbians.

      Reply

    • Chris says:

      03:22pm | 18/03/11

      I’m glad someone loves public transport. The more the better. Particularly if they get off the road and leave more room for me.

      Cars are better though. More comfortable, better air conditioning, go straight to your destination and home again, don’t have noisy, smelly, greasy strangers in the next seat, have a seat for everyone, are clean as you want them to be.

      Reply

    • Alan says:

      04:16pm | 18/03/11

      Gee I love public transport - NOT! In Perth my journey to work should take 50 minutes according to Transperth’s schedules - when it takes less than 90 minutes it’s a massive cause for celebration. Roll on Saturday when I pick up my new car and no longer have to stand in an uncomfortabel, unsafe, unhygenic bus/train all the way to work. Bye bye Transperth it was not nice knowing you!

      Reply

    • stephen says:

      04:57pm | 18/03/11

      Toby Zerna must look like Arny Shwarzenneger ; 2 weeks ago there was a punch-up on the brissy northern line when a back-packer started taking photos, and a bloke,(and I mean BLOKE) stood up went up to him and pounded him for photographing people on parole with their permission.
      (We all wanted to save him, but instead vowed never to take our cameras on board again.)
      Whew !

      Reply

    • Al Chunk says:

      05:13pm | 18/03/11

      Sydney’s transport problems could be solved very quickly by getting rid of all NSW State financed employee vehicles.

      Reply

    • I like cars says:

      06:19pm | 18/03/11

      Public Transport is OK and I use it from time to time but it is not a panacea and cannot solve Sydney’s transport woes. Australian cities do not have the density to make public transport the main solution. Freeways on the other hand do work. The traffic in very large American cities (LA etc) is actually much better than Sydney’s because they got on with the job of building adequate road infrastructure. That public transport can solve all our problems is a lie put out by those who have failed and continue to fail to build an adequate road network and those closet totalitarians who want to control people’s behaviour and naturally resent the individual freedom that cars represent. Cars are the greatest socioeconomic enabler in history and humanities greatest triumph.

      Reply

    • facepalm says:

      12:55am | 21/03/11

      Cars are also one of society’s shining examples of waste on a monumental scale. Think about it for a moment. A very clear majority of cars will spend an overwhelming majority of their lives parked, sitting idle and wasting space. Only a small number of road vehicles will spend close to most of their lifespans on the road, doing the job of moving people and goods about (taxis, buses, trucks). The combination of exploding populations and dwindling oil reserves are spelling the end of the car as we know it, and close to bugger-all is being done to plan for it.

    • LC says:

      10:27pm | 07/05/11

      Now I wouldn’t say that Facepalm. Car companies worldwide are doing a lot of work to find alternative(s) to oil-based fuels. They already have fully electric cars available, and a lot of work is being done on utilizing hydrogen as a fuel source too since the turn of the century, and most experts agree that hydrogen will be the primary fuel source for future motoring (whether it be hydrogen fuel cells or an internal combustion engine burning hydrogen based fuel). LPG and vegetable oil (for diesels) provide some interim solutions as well.

      The bigger question is how they will convert currently petrol powered cars to run a new fuel source full time. At the moment LPG cars must be run on unleaded for at least 5 minutes before switching to LPG to reduce wear and tear, and it’s a similar deal for vegetable oil diesels. If the auto aftermarket industry can answer that, they are poised to make billions.

      PS . While it’d be foolish to say oil will never run out, I seriously would not put my money on it happening anytime soon. wink

    • matt says:

      09:13pm | 18/03/11

      Public transport kicks arse here in Berlin, compared to my hometown of Adelaide. Though admittedly it has 4x the population with half the area. Trains go everywhere every 5 minutes! I already get annoyed when having to wait 10 minutes… spoilt!

      Reply

    • stephen says:

      10:34am | 19/03/11

      Hey bro’, say ‘hello’ to Katerina Enneking from Munster for me, heh ?
      (Hope she’s thawed out now, too.)

    • D says:

      09:32pm | 18/03/11

      Let’s start building real public transport options and we’ll start using them.  Every city in Australia needs to start to build some forward thinking metro/tube style public transport now. It’ll take 10-20 years of investment to reach the majority of commuters and maybe, by then, we can start to talk about selfish, car hungry one person commuters.  Until there is a viable option, i’ll be driving. (And before you all shoot me down - there IS NO VIABLE PT option where i live (an outer suburb of Brisbane, which is, incidentally, the only place i could afford to buy a home to raise my family).

      And i’d just like to take a moment to ask a question which bothers me each time i read news message boards - how do you expect the average person, just trying to get along in life, to buy a house (which you tell me is affordable as long as i’m willing to buy in an outer suburb - which i did), work an 8+ hour day (as i have to do to support myself and my family in light of the rising cost of living) and if i’m working 8+ hours a day, and travelling to and from work for another 3+ hours - where on earth am i supposed to find the time to raise healthy children and give them the attention that they deserve.

      To me, it seems no wonder that we’ve got huge social and crime issues, not to mention overweight children and adults due to poor lifestyle.  But just how is the average person supposed to juggle all of this?  I am at the end of my tether - if something doesnt change, you’ll soon find me on the end of the Centrelink queue as i’d rather my children had a stay at home parent to nuture them rather than one who leaves just after they get up in the morning and gets home just in time to put them to bed.

      I"m sure there are going to be a million people shooting me down - i mean, there must be something i’m doing wrong - but i am confident in the knowledge that i’m doing the best that i can, if that is wrong, so be it.

      Reply
    • Anthony Sharwood

      Anthony Sharwood says:

      07:34am | 19/03/11

      D, you’re doing nothing wrong at all. Personally, I live 10km from the centre of Sydney in a rental property. I could buy out west, and miss the mornings and evenings with my kids, but have decided to sacrifice home ownership for easy access (about 20 mins on the train, and we live 200m from the station) to work. I agree, it is super hard to have both a decent home of your own and a decent amount of time with the family these days, no matter how hard you work

    • Peter Thornton says:

      03:37am | 19/03/11

      I really don’t have an opinion on public transport. Well, I suppose I could weigh-in with one based on the fact that I have used it and will, hopefully, continue to.
      I do have an opinion on those who grizzle about public transport though. Whether it’s the constantly late running services, the yobs with their feet on the seats or whatever, if I ever happen to mention the words ‘public transport’ in any dialogue I’m usually accosted with any or all of these unsolicited, jaundiced viewpoints.
      I’m just glad there’s at least something in the way of mass transportation. I have no idea how to encourage more users, reduce waste and inefficiency and control user behaviour, but once again, I’m just glad we have a system of public transport that’s available.

      End of rant…

      Reply

    • Waynevan says:

      05:24am | 19/03/11

      Your comment:For a couple years I spent mornings going nowhere on the Gladesville bridge where the left lane was a bus lane only used once every 10 minutes so while thousands sit in the other 2 lanes, 1 lane is only used by a few people in the buses. Solution: open that lane up to traffic and traffic should flow 33% better.
      All that we have tried to get people on to public transport or car pooling hasn’t worked so it’s time we faced that people have to drive and design road networks more efficiently.

      Reply

    • Lazy People says:

      12:11pm | 19/03/11

      Your right, people who drive everywhere are lazy. I live 5 minutes walk from a very good reliable train station here. It takes me to the city and other places fast!!
      But yet in the 5 years I have lived here, I think I have seen 3 people in my street use the station, once each. They just use their car all the time. Then, there is a shop near this station (a convenience store), it is 5 minutes walk from my house. I have NEVER seen anyone walk there, but I have seen plenty get in their car and drive there and back. No they are not doing their fortnightly shopping, they are simply getting a packet of smokes or some milk. I mean what the f…??  Are you serious?  No wonder obesity rates in this country are rising with people becoming lazy and car obsessed. They can’t even walk to the local shop or train station.

      Now, you’ll get all these people writing in saying how far it is for them to walk to public transport and come up with all sorts of excuses why they cant do it, but the bottom line is, they cant be bothered. It’s all too far for them, even if the stop or station was at their front door, even that’s too hard, it’s easier to open the door to the garage and hop straight into the car. God help you if you might have to get some exercise or get some fresh air.

      But then again, do you know what?  I’m kind of glad they don’t catch my train, because they might end up sitting next to me and I’d be squashed up against the window listening to them wheeze and cough as they try and catch their breath because the 5 minute cigarette puffing walk to the train station really wore them out.

      Reply

    • Michael says:

      01:03pm | 19/03/11

      The best reason for not using public transport is that you don’t have to put up with the likes of the author of this piece.

      Reply

    • Jim Peters says:

      03:00pm | 19/03/11

      Anthony, you say you live 10km from the centre of Sydney. Well, public transport might be an option for those who live 10km from the centre of Sydney and have trains every five minutes. Head away just another 20 km and its a whole new game.

      I live in the western suburbs of Sydney. I work in another western suburbs town. My car was in the shop for a while recently and I was forced to rely on public transport. Well the train was no good unless I wanted a trip into central and back out again, so it was left to buses. Two buses and a good walk actually just to get a few suburbs over. And I had to leave at 4:30 AM to get to work at 7am! A two and a half hour trip to get where a car would take 25 mins to get to.

      So what am I, lazy or selfish for choosing to drive?

      Oh, and the last time I caught a train my friend and I were beaten half to death for our phones and wallets at Campbelltown station by a gang of middle easterners. You’ll excuse me if Im not singing the praises of public transport.

      Reply

    • Joe says:

      07:54pm | 19/03/11

      I have no doubt that there is a decent proportion of drivers who snub public transport because they can’t be bothered, but the simple truth is that there are a plethora of reasons and this column represents a gross simplification of those reasons.

      The number one reason has to be the reliability aspect.  Most people can ill afford to be late and since public transport offers widely varying degrees of reliability, people might choose the sane choice of driving just in case.

      Secondly, public transport is not much cheaper than other alternatives, plus you can also get sick by breathing in the flu from other sick people who for whatever reason have to commute when they should be in bed.

      There isn’t enough up side to buses, trains, trams and ferries.  In China, the subway in Beijing costs 2 Yuan (about 0.30c Australian) to go anywhere in the city.  That’s a major upside to not driving on the city streets.

      Compare public transport to almost any other “western” country and you’ll see how woeful and inadequate public transport is in Australia.  Excuses such as “the geography makes it hard” or “we don’t have a large enough population”, quite frankly, is bullshit. 

      Capital investments in essential infrastructure has been laughably funded, and the continuation of graft and corruption on capital projects is a farce.  The fact that it takes four and a half hours to catch a train from Sydney to Canberra is embarrassing.  You can do the same trip in most other countries (outside the third world) for half that.

      So, frankly, if you are going to write this stuff, try less trolling.  Written on behalf of the non-lazy commuters.

      Reply

    • Les says:

      10:56pm | 19/03/11

      I am a big advocate for public transport, but penalising motorists by raising the price of petrol is not the solution. Fact is there a lot of people outside of metropolitan areas that have no choice but use car travel, and penalising them is not fair. Rewarding people for using public transport is a better approach. Give people an incentive to use public transport. Consider what people want from public transport; frequent, affordable, clean, safe, on time, good routes, etc. Sell the benefit of people transport. Take a holistic approach, analyse the rail network, what causes delays, are the routes serving the publics needs, are there suitable amenities etc.

      Reply

    • Idon'twantmynameinthepapers says:

      12:39am | 20/03/11

      Public Transport? How many of you have stood in a fully loaded train carriage broken down in between stations on a stinking hot muggy day? The stench of human bodies defies description. I don’t mind a little sweat, but if an unwashed body, possibly reeking of garlic is in the vicinity and hasn’t seen a shower for three or four days,  YOU HAVEN’T LIVED.  Oh yes, and no air conditioning.
      For the past 25 years I have lived in Adelaide, where because of the geographic layout buses and trains don’t go where you want them to, I have driven my car - thank God! I never want to see the inside of a bus or train again. I am clean, my car is clean and I don’t give a rat’s arse about the cost of petrol.

      Reply

    • Sandra says:

      10:26am | 20/03/11

      Kind of reminds me of wanker cyclists who think they are better than everyone else. Sure, ride 15km along Wynnum Road in Brisbane on a steamy summer morning, risking death because there is no room for bikes, only to arrive at work smelling like I’ve spent six months unbathed in India ....

      Reply

    • stephen says:

      12:13pm | 20/03/11

      Who works on a Sunday, and there’s plenty of room on Wynnum road for bikes.
      (You must still be pissed from Saturday, wandering all over the road like an Indian trying to get a bath.)

    • Argh says:

      06:25pm | 20/03/11

      Public transport can indeed be a great social asset if it is implemented correctly. My two most recent experiences with Transperth has convinced me that we’ve got a long way to go. The first of these two experiences ended in me being mugged - while Transperth’s security presence is improving, the gaps in said security are jaw-dropping - it’s really no surprise that so many Transperth trains and train stations are filled with thugs who harass and intimidate people simply trying to go about their day-to-day lives. The second experience had me taking a preposterously convoluted route just to get home which, ironically, is within walking distance of a train station….which was the location of the previously mentioned mugging.

      Is it any surprise that so many are avoiding public transport in Australia? It is not out of sloth, greed or vanity, but out of fear. Fear of being late for important engagements. Fear for personal safety. Fear of not having enough loose change in one’s wallet for a ticket. Fear of being unable to use public transport because of industrial action - I’m kinda surprised that we managed to get through a summer without Transperth drivers going on strike on a 40+ degree day (we did, however, have to put up with them performing scheduled track maintenance on a FRIDAY NIGHT. Nice one, fellas).

      Reply

    • Angel says:

      08:44pm | 20/03/11

      Hmmm I think I’ll take the safety of my own car where I can take my son to school on the way to work without setting aside two hours to catch two buses to work sitting next to smelly and loud people.

      Selfish, maybe? I don’t know. Lazy, that I am not! Next time you go past people in their cars why don’t you think to yourself maybe they work long hours, maybe they’ve dropped kids off on the way, perhaps, like me, they are woken 5+ times per night and can think of better things to do than get up at 5 am to catch several buses to get to work.

      Reply

    • Simon says:

      08:35am | 21/03/11

      Given most cars have just one occupant, many commuters would be better off using a motorcycle or scooter… less fuel used than a Prius and fewer emissions… also reduce congestion…but parking stations in the city slug you $15-20 per day and all the free parking is pretty well gone by 7:15 am. Add $4 in bridge toll and even on a motorcycle, your daily commute costs close to $30 if you factor in wear and tear.  What will O’Farrell’s mob do to encourage motorcycle and scooter use?

      Reply

    • petery says:

      10:42am | 21/03/11

      Unlike a lot of people on this site, I have only really experienced public transport in one city, Sydney, with th e exception of a trip to Melbourne several years ago, when I had no problems with a train service in a 24 hour period.

      I live across the road from a station in lower mountains, which gives me a one hour fast trip to Sydney Central. I choose not to use it,mainly for what I think is convenience, but the downside is I can sometimes sit for an hour and half in traffic waiting to enter the city when I get off the western freeway. It also costs me more and more in petrol,so I keep wondering why I do it so regularly.

      the trouble with public transport is not just government,but people. They want champagne service on government transport for the cost of a discount six pack. No one likes paying taxes to improve things, they still expect quality for nothing,but it is OK if someone else pays for it, as long as it is not them. As someone else pointed out, wait till petrol and oil runs out, and see what we have to whinge about then.

      Reply

    • James says:

      10:43am | 23/03/11

      Very good piece, we need orbital lines as well as our current radial network, that is for sure.

      Reply

    • Ysaussie says:

      05:11pm | 01/08/11

      Please allow me a perspective from a Busdrivers point of view. Having just finished 4 years at Brisbane Transport. I NEVER ran late, NEVER took a day off sick and NEVER made an accident. What is the recognition that I got? Yep u guessed it ~ not even a handshake! So people be glad u even have PT ~ BT Management do NOT appreciate good employees. No wonder Bus Operators seem grumpy to everyone ~ they are overworked and underpaid by any reasonable “developed country” standard…

      Reply
 
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antsharwood 25 May 12 10:00PM

Every single #eurovision band is roxette #sbseurovision

Anthony Sharwood

antsharwood 25 May 12 09:58PM

The weird thing about #eurovision is you've got this massive collection of dorks in a room and no one is wearing Spock ears #sbseurovision

Anthony Sharwood

antsharwood 25 May 12 09:52PM

Europe has the large hadron collider which is light years ahead of its time and #eurovision, where the eighties never die

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