Implementation plans > Integrated Transport > What are our transport needs? > Page 2

How are our needs changing?
Melbourne’s early transport system provided a sound base for sustainable and equitable services. Radial train and tram systems, and some cross-town tram lines, matched early housing and employment patterns.

However, from the 1950s, this transport and land-use relationship was weakened as suburbs filled in the areas between the rail lines. Today, in terms of their mix, range of services and levels of accessibility, our public transport systems do not effectively support many people’s travel requirements, including the basic mobility needs of those in disadvantaged groups.

Changing housing patterns, with development in growth areas on the fringe of the city, now mean greater public transport reach is needed.

Changing demographics, with an ageing population, means a more accessible public transport system is needed.

The dispersal of jobs and facilities away from public transport routes means a more comprehensive network is required. Transport provision must go hand-in-hand with land-use development to offer a better mix of public transport options right across the city. Land-use policies need to ensure that jobs and facilities are located in areas which are accessible by an expanded network.

What are the main issues that affect transport?
Coordination with land-use planning
Land-use planning and transport planning have lacked coordination. The successful interaction of these elements is vital to the success of Melbourne 2030. Unless public and private transport needs are properly accommodated, the potential of any development cannot be fully realised. The mix and location of activities influences the use and efficiency of road and transport networks, with impacts for the economy, the environment and access to services.

The city’s rapid growth, the spread of the urban area and our growing reliance on private cars have together contributed to significant transport-related issues for Melbourne; these include:

• access problems for people without cars, especially in outer urban areas
• limited access to work, school and other activities
• an inequitable distribution of public transport services
• increasingly congested operating environments for trams and buses, resulting in slow and unreliable services
• general traffic congestion, with adverse effects on personal and freight movement, and growing costs for business and households
• excessive air and noise pollution.

Access to opportunities
Melbourne runs the risk of becoming a city with unequal access to the benefits of urban living. Some enjoy a highly liveable city typified by inner areas that are usually rich in transport infrastructure and services, while others experience a more problematic city typified by some outer areas that have limited transport infrastructure and services. Figure 3 illustrates the availability of Melbourne’s public transport services on Sundays as compared to weekdays, and the resultant disadvantage in terms of transport choices in many areas outside the inner city.

Limited public transport services have the most impact on communities that are experiencing a range of other disadvantages, such as higher unemployment and reliance on social services. Lack of transport services can exacerbate isolation and limit access to opportunities. People with access to a car can access a much wider range of employment opportunities than those who rely on public transport - but for households on low incomes, maintaining a car is a big cost. The Victorian Council of Social Services notes that ‘on the whole, our communities are designed for healthy, English-speaking, car-driving, home-owning, employed people with money in their pocket.’

Figure 3. Public transport coverage –
weekdays versus Sunday - click for more detail

Figure 4. Percentage of jobs accessible within 40 minutes travel
(by car and by public transport) - click for more detail

Congestion
Melbourne’s projected population growth of up to one million people by 2030 will mean at least another three million trips in and around the city each day. Congestion affects us all by raising business and freight costs, holding up public transport and private vehicles, and increasing air and noise pollution. If current trends continue, the annual cost of road congestion in Melbourne will increase more than threefold (from $2.7 billion in 1995 to $8 billion by 2015). By 2020, road congestion could cost close to $10 billion a year.

Greenhouse gas emissions
The transport sector accounts for just over 17 per cent of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions. There is an upward trend in transport-related emissions in Victoria, with some 60 per cent of transport emissions coming from cars. This problem is most acute in the Melbourne area. To allow Melbourne’s dependence on car use to grow would make it difficult to achieve our goals to reduce emissions. Already in Melbourne, each resident consumes almost twice as much energy annually as a resident of many European cities.

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