ALL ABOARD: WHY EVERYONE MAY SOON BE USING PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Experts say Games prove locals will embrace public transport if it’s good enough
PUBLIC transport has been a revelation at the Commonwealth Games, with more than two million trips taken on buses and rail during the two-week event.
Many are calling the light rail system the most significant legacy to be left after the Games, but will Gold Coasters continue to buy into public transport when the dust settles and the athletes go home?
The expert consensus is that, yes, the community will get on board public transport, although there is a caveat: it needs to be quick, reliable and meet the needs of our commuters.
Figures show the stark increase in usage throughout the Games with 100,000 trips made by light rail every day. Prior to the Games, there was a measly 27,500 trips a day.
There has also been about 200,000 passenger trips per day on local bus services.
RACQ spokesman Paul Turner said there appeared to be a cultural shift taking place.
“The light rail has been an unqualified success and really now what we’re talking about is how quickly can we roll it out for the rest of the Gold Coast,” Mr Turner said.
“The Gold Coast has the capability over the next few years to exponentially provide a public transport system.”
He said for residents to buy into public transport, they need to have a reliable and constant service.
“Often people are blamed for not using public transport, but we find people will use public transport if it meets their needs, and unfortunately over the decades we’ve provided public transport that suits the needs of the authority … not necessarily the commuter,” he said.
“A lot of conversations around public transport these days is about what we call ‘the last mile’ … people won’t catch the train or the bus if they face a kilometre and a half walk to get from the bus or train stop to their home, it’s the reason a lot of people drive.
“Whenever we do research into why people drive, congestion and public transport, it really comes back to convenience … if you get the convenience factor right and meet the needs of the commuter, the whole city will turn to public transport.”
Associate Professor of Urban Planning at Bond University Daniel O’Hare said the public transport uptake during the Games caused significant easing of traffic congestion, but said people won’t use it if it does not work for them.
“We’ve seen what happens when more people use public transport, there is a whole lot less traffic congestion on our roads,” he said.
“Anywhere where people have to change modes (of public transport) you lose people, because it is not as clear to them where they are meant to go and they know they lose time when they get off one and have to wait for another.
“As long as that’s the case you’re not going to be competitive, you’ve got to make it work well.”
He said major destinations need to be linked and the tram system extended inland in the next five years.
“I’m a big advocate for getting the loop going sooner rather than later, I tend to call it the ‘knowledge loop’ … I really think it is a priority to loop back inland, south of Broadbeach, via Bond and back to Robina,” he said.
“You’d then have two of the three universities on that link, as well as the two biggest hospitals … you would have an enormous concentration of people who work or go to university off that line, as well as the major centres of the city.
“I am aware that this isn’t the next stage, but I do think it needs to be moved up in priority.
“I would expect some time in the next six to 12 months an announcement made on the next stage, which is likely to continue down the Coast to Burleigh, but then the next stage should be east to west … that should be getting underway within five years.”
Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey said he expects the community will continue to use public transport after the Games.
“One of the greatest legacies of the Games for the Gold Coast will be the light rail stage 2 from Helensvale to the Gold Coast University Hospital seamlessly connecting light rail and heavy rail for the first time,” Mr Bailey said.
“Throughout the Games people have embraced public transport in huge numbers as their preferred way to get around the Gold Coast. There is no doubt that this popularity will equate to greater confidence and an increase in public transport usage into the future.”
GOLDOC Chairman Peter Beattie said he believed the public transport system established for the Games would be its biggest legacy.
“I think one of the big transformative things out of this Games is people using light rail and using public transport,” Mr Beattie said.
“It’s a mentality, I think the culture will change, if you said to me, what’s the biggest legacy out of the Games, I think the biggest legacy is the improved public transport system.
“I think people who have used it will use it again.”
PEOPLE WON’T CATCH THE TRAIN OR THE BUS IF THEY FACE A KILOMETRE AND A HALF WALK TO GET FROM THE BUS OR TRAIN STOP TO THEIR HOME PAUL TURNER