The Editor's Blog - April 2019

Commitment to progress SEQ city deal

All three levels of government have committed to a 20-year vision for the development of South-East Queensland.

They have signed a Statement of Intent as part of the “City Deal” for the region.

The governments say that the City Deal will be firmly focussed on collaborating with industry and the community to improve the region's competitiveness, enhance liveability and, most importantly, create jobs.
The SEQ City Deal will be the third in Queensland following the establishment of the Townsville City Deal and Hinkler Regional Deal.

City Deals are a key mechanism of the Commonwealth Government’s Smart Cities Plan (2016) and provide a new approach for all levels of government to work together to plan and deliver transformative outcomes for Australian cities.

The Statement of Intent has been signed before the Federal election and it is hoped that it will give a long-term focus to development rather than a short-term approach based on election cycles.

To be effective, the consultation and commitment will only work if the key measures are effective progress, not political capital grandstanding.

Free public transport who wins and are there losers?

Luxembourg made headlines late last year when they announced that from 1 March 2020, there will be no charge for using the trains, trams and buses in the country which is sandwiched between Germany, France and Belgium.

It is interesting that the Luxembourg Minister for Public Works, Francois Bausch, is quoted as saying that "It is primarily a social measure. The objective is to stop the deepening gap between rich and poor. For people on low wages, transport expenses matter. Therefore, it is easier to make it free for everyone."

But others still see it in other terms. ABC news in an article titled “Free public transport is an attractive idea. But would it solve our traffic woes?” said that the promise of free public transport is an enticing one: fewer cars, less congestion, less pollution; and quoted Dr Judith Dellheim from Berlin's Rosa Luxemburg Foundation "It could make the cities more human and more attractive," and “free public transport is a human right, not just a public good”.

While these are high ideals the reality is the experience in Estonia showed that public transport patronage went up a little but car usage did not go down.

Some years ago, there were subsidies on water that were supposed to help those with lower socio-economic opportunities but the people who benefited the most were those with large gardens and swimming pools.

In many Australian cities it is the richer inner-city areas that are best served by public transport.

Dealing with Uber and other new services

The respected ABC Four Corners program ran an expose recently on Uber’s efforts to break into the Australian market: https://iview.abc.net.au/show/four-corners.

They described the piece as “Uber is one of the most recognisable brands in the world. It’s embedded in our language and revolutionised transport. How did the edgy digital disruptor upend an entire business model, outwit regulators and crush competitors?”

We need to have a clear and effective process of dealing with the new technologies and this means understanding “competition” in a new light.

I will be presenting a paper to the Thredbo 16 Conference which is an International Conference Series on Competition and Ownership in Land Passenger Transport in August in Singapore.

In part my abstract says:

Adding to the breadth and complexity of community issues, however, we now see new technologies that are allowing businesses to use transport services as just one part of a broader relationship with customers.

So, as we have had to move our consideration of travel choice beyond the parameters of time, distance and cost to include personal and life style situations, so we will have to grasp the concept of ‘competition’ beyond just making a profit out of the specific mobility or freight carrying activity.

Competition now, more than ever, means not just providing a service that everyone can access at a similar price but targeting those who can afford to pay the most for a service.

Uber and others offer an enticing package of providing a transport system that represents no up-front costs to government but may have huge community costs ranging from increased congestion to a decline in social equity.

World’s first driverless pods for disabled people

Los Angeles drivers may face congestion charge following study

After a century as the city of the automobile, Los Angeles is taking a major step on the road towards congestion charging.

The LA Metro or Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authorityis to explore road pricing and is also thinking about levying fees on ride-share companies for their part in creating gridlock.

The moves are part of LAMetro’s ‘Re-imagining of Los Angeles: Mobility, Equity and Environment’ plan, which seeks policies to make transport sustainable in the famously-congested city.