Thread: The carbon tax is wonderful

The public transport "system" is problematic, as some of you have pointed out. Part of the problem in this country is that we have enjoyed cheap personal transport forever and now that fuel prices are rising people are just begining to feel the pain and inconvenience. The reaction has ben totally predictable.

No one wants to penalise those who live in non urban areas, and that needs to be dealt with. The fact remains though, that the VAST majority of Australians live in ever spreading urban areas that should have good public trnasport. And yet, da after day we see endless lines of cars with single occupants traversing our cities. Crazy!!

I have been through Europe and a fair portion of South America and the States.

Public Transport in Europe is excellent, as Woodbe says. It is also very good in places like Rio de Janeiro, Sao Palo, Curitiba, Santiago, Valparaiso and Buenos Aires. New York is a breeze on public transport as is San Francisco and, from my limited experience, Los Angeles.

I wonder how effective it would be to provide FREE public transport in some circumstances and we would them be able to judge the savings in infrastructure costs, maintenance, and pollution.

Another of our problems is that public transport always seems to be an afterthought in the planning of cities and their spread.What is wrong with planning the transport routes first and then building around them? There is a brilliant example of this in Curitiba , Brasil.

MAybe I need to become the Minister for Transport.

I got moved into the cbd this year. I've been living weekdays at my partners place at chapel hill, 9.5 kms from the cbd, and taking the bus.

This morning it took me 90 minutes to get to work.

It costs $3.70ish each way, I get coughed on, knocked about, incenced at the queue jumpers seat hoggers and other rude behaviour, and of course it's unreliable and uncomfortable.

In the 80's a calculation was done on sydney's trains and they found the railways would lose the same amount if they ran them for free. I suspect with the translink debarcle the same would apply to brisbane transport. The only good thing to come of it is the higher fairs ahve stopped so many people taking the bus I now get on the first one that comes (instead of it being full and driving by) and usually get a seat.

I am desperately trying to find another job to get out of the cbd. It's awful and terribly depressing.

Before you offer the usual smug, ill considered greenie solutions like walking or cycling my knees are stuffed. I can barely walk any distance so bikes and footpaths are out of the question, and with the imbecils on Brisbane's roads I'm not motorcycling either.

Perhapse we could convince the greenies to mass suicide for the good of the enviroment. That'd solve my problem.

It's possible the PT system could be fixed but it'd be nice if we went back to the pre war society where most people lived a few miles from work and both were more evenly distributed, ie decentralise (and sack all the desk pilots in the public service).

Extra cranky today. Apart from my miserable commute I've got barrett's syndrome apparently. Pathology results monday. Sigh.

Originally Posted by damian

Before you offer the usual smug, ill considered greenie solutions like walking or cycling my knees are stuffed. I can barely walk any distance so bikes and footpaths are out of the question, and with the imbecils on Brisbane's roads I'm not motorcycling either.

I thought you didn't want to discuss PT?

All, or most of your PT problems would be cured by replacing the current system with one designed to actually cater for the load. The unpleasantness you describe is surely a symptom of an inadequate system.

Hope your health improves!

woodbe.

Originally Posted by woodbe

I thought you didn't want to discuss PT?

No. No no no, no ....no no no..no.

I am all for public transport, the issue is with penalising people who don't use it and specifically people who have good reason not to use it.

The rural situation has already been mentioned. I have wrecked knees and walking to and from bus stops totals 2 kms a day. Sometimes I spend the whole weekend sitting down trying to recover from ym enforced walks. There are other people with other resons not to travel on it.

I've always been a big fan of the carrot rather than the stick. Unfortunately our politicians are so busy channelling our taxes into the pockets of their mates there isn't enough to put to good use providing social services we need, and PT is one of those.

All, or most of your PT problems would be cured by replacing the current system with one designed to actually cater for the load. The unpleasantness you describe is surely a symptom of an inadequate system.

Hope your health improves!

woodbe.

I agree, but someone has to pay for it, and my reading of the public service is that there is tremendous waste, nepotism and corruption at all levels of government. I worked for the NSW state government when I was young and have come back to the qld state public service more recently. I was utterly shocked (cynical though I am) at just what a basket case the place is. you could probably sack 3/4 of the people and not miss them.

Anyway...

Originally Posted by damian

I agree, but someone has to pay for it, and my reading of the public service is that there is tremendous waste, nepotism and corruption at all levels of government. I worked for the NSW state government when I was young and have come back to the qld state public service more recently. I was utterly shocked (cynical though I am) at just what a basket case the place is. you could probably sack 3/4 of the people and not miss them.

Anyway...

This reminds me of a story, years ago, when the 'workers' in a state government head office decided on an extended strike. Only a skeleton staff was left to deal with the public. After 24 hours they went back, not because they had won their claims, but because they realised the public had not noticed any difference in the service.

''This reminds me of a story, years ago, when the 'workers' in a state government head office decided on an extended strike. Only a skeleton staff was left to deal with the public. After 24 hours they went back, not because they had won their claims, but because they realised the public had not noticed any difference in the service.''

More of these Ken67,please this cracked me up.

Attention, attention Ken67, you are threatening to de-rail this thread.

........but I laughed too.

Regards
Paul

Potentially funny but it's been around for decades and I'm pretty sure it's an urban myth.

Originally Posted by damian

Potentially funny but it's been around for decades and I'm pretty sure it's an urban myth.

Like the one where the construction worker was taken to court for cruelty to animals when he kicked a tortoise to death. His excuse was that it was following him around!!
Cheers,
Jim

Originally Posted by damian

Potentially funny but it's been around for decades and I'm pretty sure it's an urban myth.

slightly off topic ...but Pt Maquarie (on the mid nth coast) has sacked its council and has been under administration ..(for various reasons) for a couple of years now..... many locals would like to vote in the administrators at the next election...

During the past six months, I emailed six politicians on both sides and asked the same questions,

"Does Australia contribute 1.5% to the world level of air pollution? Are we aiming to half that? Does that mean in five years we, Australia, only contributes .75%? Does that warrant the trauma created by a carbon tax?"

All the answers were politically orientated, and completely ignored the questions. We are in deep shyte.

I still believe, as has already been mentioned, we should formulate a proposition and sell it to the world. But then again, that would be like the "level playing field", that was sold to us not to long back.
Jim

Can we arrange them to take over the Federal Government as well?
They need more than administration, they need locking up.
Greg

Just remember your neighbours hired them.

If people were properly educated, taught to think for themselves and to take even a casual interest before an election we would have a far better class of representative.

Each day the courier mail prints a column of opinions on the topic of the day by people in the street. It is one of the most horrifying things I've ever read. Both the level of ignorance and the vague and emotive motivations for their positions are just dreadful.

I really don't care if people disagree with me. I'm happy to respect and defend any well considered opinion. It's the ignorance that kills me.

Originally Posted by damian

I got moved into the cbd this year. I've been living weekdays at my partners place at chapel hill, 9.5 kms from the cbd, and taking the bus.

There's your problem. You're not "in" the cbd if you are 9.5 k's out of it. Unless you are on a trainline serviced every 15minutes, you are too far away.

Originally Posted by damian

...It's possible the PT system could be fixed but it'd be nice if we went back to the pre war society where most people lived a few miles from work

...and you've solved your own problem

I "live" in toowoomba, but anytime I work in the city, I look for accomodation within walking distance. It doesn't really matter what it costs, as the time saved out of my day is well worth it.

I'd get weird comments from people that couldn't understand how I could drive back to toowoomba at weekends - it is so far away (2 hours on a slow day). Yet they'd happily sit on a bus for an hour - hour and a half EACH way, EVERY day of the week...which is crazier?