TCT Pedestrian & Public Transport Users Group in Hobart, Tasmania | Community organisation

TCT Pedestrian & Public Transport Users Group

Locality: Hobart, Tasmania

Phone: +61 427 872 670

Address: 191 Liverpool St 7000 Hobart, TAS, Australia

Website: http://www.tasconservation.org.au

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24.01.2022 The Mercury News 28/11/2020 Glenorchy Mayor pleads not to spend $25M on light rail study, but creating infrastructure THE $25 million set aside for a public transport link to Hobart’s northern suburbs must not be frittered away on yet more studies but should be spent constructing infrastructure for light rail, Glenorchy Mayor Kristie Johnston says....Continue reading

24.01.2022 The Mercury News 28/10/2020 Parties say government dragging its heels on light rail plan THE state government must stop dragging its heels on the northern suburbs light rail proposal, Labor and the Greens say.... Elwick MLC Josh Willie said the project was an opportunity for economic and social renewal, as well as enhancing educational opportunities. There are some 15 schools along this corridor and an active rail service would benefit many students not only in terms of their access to education but also in terms of access to workplaces and employment opportunities, he said. If we can have an active rail service through the northern suburbs corridor it would take a lot of traffic off the road, it would improve access to education, it’s another transport option for young people to use. The principal of Glenorchy’s Indie School Lauren Watson said transport was one of the barriers for kids trying to get to school and improvements would be welcome. Any additional support that allows young people to engage with education can only be a positive for the community, she said. For a lot of our young people they’re coming from the eastern shore, or the Huon Valley, so it’s an additional option to help them access education. Infrastructure and Transport Minister Michael Ferguson said the Government remained committed to activating the corridor and delivering an effective public transport solution within five to ten years. The Hobart and Glenorchy City Councils have provided feedback on the initial consultant’s report, with changes now being considered and incorporated into the final report, he said. We intend for this to publicly released as soon as possible following this process. Greens leader and local MP Cassy O’Connor said the project was still stuck at the station. Under the Hobart City Deal, the State Government is required to deliver a transport solution for the rail corridor within the next decade. After seven years of dragging their collective heels, the Liberals at a State and Federal level need to accelerate the project. [email protected]

24.01.2022 South Hobart tram c.1900 #tasmanianhistoryincolour #hobarttram #tasmanianhistorycolourised #edwardianlife #colourisedhistory

23.01.2022 The Mercury News 20/7/2020 A Tasmanian council has voted on how its City Deal funding will be spent CONCERNS have been raised over whether funds allocated to beautify Kingston will solve traffic congestion problems.... The Kingborough Council on Monday unanimously voted in favour of to use $7 million of its City Deal funding to redevelop central Kingston, focusing on public transport, outdoor dining and beautifying the Channel Highway into a main street. The $7m was earmarked for complimentary council initiatives and the council will now contribute the sum to its Kingston Place Strategy a move Mayor Dean Winter said would reduce the need to travel to Hobart, effectively easing traffic flow on the Southern Outlet. Key priority areas under the development include transforming Kingston’s Channel Hwy to a pedestrian and business-focused street, with pedestrian crossings, wider footpaths and on-street dining. Better pedestrian connections from Central Kingston and Kingston Park, and a focus on bringing nature into public spaces are also key council priorities. The project spending adds to a further $13m in City Deal funds afforded to the municipality for further congestion easing initiatives including park and ride facilities, expanded bus services and bus stop upgrades. We want to make Kingston a destination in itself. We want to build a place where people want to do business, shop, learn or go to the playground to reduce the need to travel into the city, Cr Winter said. With these decisions locked down, we can get down to delivering them in partnership with the Tasmanian Government. Cr Paula Wreidt told fellow councillors there were some missed opportunities within the Hobart City Deal and Kingston congestion package. I don’t think, at the end of the day, that beautifying our main street and tinkering around the edges is going to fulfil those [congestion busting] objectives of The Hobart City Deal, she said. It is disappointing from that perspective, but I’m also happy to see the funding. Better Public Transport for Kingborough Association’s Clare Corrigan said she was disappointed with the council’s handling of the funds. A very rare opportunity came along in the form of The Hobart City Deal to actually address the pressure on The Southern Outlet and It is unlikely this amount of funding towards solving the traffic issues will be seen anytime soon, she said. Community hopes were raised by the promise of the Greater Hobart Transport Vision which had viable solutions presented. To have that come crashing down and to accept that two very small park and rides facilities will instead be built is extremely disappointing. Cr Winter said the Council would invest an additional $2m into central Kingston and would soon commence its next stage of consultation with the business community. [email protected]

22.01.2022 Published today, 28/11/2020 Letters to the Editor The Mercury Salamanca Place... Dear Editor, We are writing to support the Mayor of Glenorchy’s Kristie Johnston’s view (Mercury 25/11/2020), that rail was always the best option for Hobart’s rail corridor. We would have to challenge the reports assumption that you would have to change the gauge of the rail line in order to support light rails use of the corridor. This greatly inflated the Light Rail cost, amongst the presented options. There are suitable tram vehicles than can run on the existing gauge. Sticking to the existing gauge, means that heritage trains can still run on the line. Changing gauges would means an end to access to the line for the Glenorchy Transport Museum, removing access would render all their trains to being just static exhibits. Wasting all restoration work that’s gone into them as working engines and carriages and ending any hope of rail tours utilising the line. How would a policy of changing gauges, sit with the Tasmanian Governments stated position of restoring access to the line to the Glenorchy Transport Museum? All the presented options in the consultants report, would mean that access to the existing corridor would end for the Museum. The $25 million that is set aside as part of City Deal, could easily restore the rail line to a working state, certainly good enough for heritage rail. As is the case, with working infrastructure, is always easier to upgrade, than assets that have simply been left to rot. Yours sincerely Christian Bell Pedestrian & Public Transport Users Group.

21.01.2022 #throwbackthursday to when TRAMS used to roam the streets of Hobart! (pictured in what is now the Elizabeth St Bus Mall).

20.01.2022 Talking Point from today’s Mercury, new CEO of Metro appointed. 2/12/2020.

19.01.2022 The Mercury 24/11/2020 News Report says light rail could transform city, at a cost THE Hobart light rail line which could have been built for $100 million a decade ago could now cost as much as $685 million, a consultant’s report says....Continue reading

17.01.2022 Excellent Letters to The Mercury Newspaper today. Keep up the good work by e-mailing: [email protected]

17.01.2022 Today's Mercury

14.01.2022 Love this explainer. Via @greenpeace_be Instagram

10.01.2022 Got the lead letter in the Mercury on public transport issues on Saturday.

09.01.2022 Mercury Editorial 13/7/2020 News Editorial: Government must get on with busting the congestion... THE arterial roads around Tasmania have been noticeably quieter over the past week during peak times with school holidays in full swing. During the peak COVID-19 lockdown period some of those thoroughfares were even more deserted with the majority of people working and schooling from home. But peak-hour commuters will no doubt still have long-lasting and vivid memories of staring at the car in front of them while crawling through bumper-to-bumper morning and afternoon traffic. Hobart is the state’s capital city but our public transport network has us rivalling territory capital Darwin in terms of our limited road-based options. Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne commuters all have at least three options between buses, trains, trams or ferries. According to the 2016 census, Hobart had almost 75,000 more residents than Darwin, yet both cities only offer buses. This is despite promises of an inner-city rail system from the northern suburbs, of which the bare infrastructure bones exist, city bypasses, and a river separating the east and west shores just begging for a public ferry system. The Department of State Growth has awarded almost $2 million to consultants on a range of projects related to fixing Hobart’s traffic. As part of that, in October last year, the State Government awarded consultants GHD a $762,000 contract to conduct a feasibility study to look at ways to divert traffic around central Hobart. The $2 million question now is what solutions have been identified and which projects can be fast-tracked. It seems a missed opportunity that during COVID-19 more major upgrades were not in the pipeline and ready to be undertaken with less traffic around to be disrupted. There seem to be roadworks and upgrades in pockets of dozens of suburbs, but few seem like they will make meaningful differences to travel times. The Government says its feasibility study examining the potential costs, benefits and impacts of a Hobart Western Bypass has been completed and a brief on the outcomes is now being prepared for consideration prior to any public release of what the study found. The bypass, which has been discussed for many years much like the rail corridor, could separate through-traffic from city-bound and local traffic via a road connecting the Southern Outlet with the Brooker and Tasman highways. Under the State Government’s $1.8 billion infrastructure spending blitz over the next two years, the estimated $55 million roads and irrigation component does include significant upgrades but key congestion busters seemed notably absent. Whether it is prioritising rail or new and faster means of getting in, out and through our capital, the government should reveal the results of the consultant reviews as soon as possible. Let’s not wait for traffic to become another post-coronavirus choke point.

08.01.2022 In the current climate why would you order new ferries? Some pretty new ferries would be available at a bargain price or vessels abandoned in the ship builders ...yard (as shipping companies go bust) could be purchased at a fraction of the price. The Mercury 16 July News When will Tasmania get its promised new Bass Strait ships? THE Tasmanian Government says commercial negotiations between it and a Finnish shipbuilder about building two new Bass Strait ferries were continuing despite the state’s fragile post-COVID-19 economy but no firm timelines can be given. Minister for State Growth Michael Ferguson said memorandum of understanding talks with Rauma Marine Constructions first announced five months ago following the scrapping of a contract with another shipbuilder were ongoing. But he hinted government coffers could dictate when a concrete deal was struck saying the Government would only do what was in Tasmania’s best interests and that the economy was in a very fragile state right now. Labor on Wednesday called for a firm timeline to be set, saying an MOU was just a piece of paper. It is not a contract and definitely not a timeline. Tourism businesses are considering their future right now. If they know the new ferries are on their way they can make decisions based on that and the upturn new vessels would likely bring, Labor MP Shane Broad said. The Spirit of Tasmania vessels are vital to Tasmania’s economy, helping businesses reach interstate and international markets and bringing products into Tasmania, as well as serving as a popular passenger service for tourists. The construction of the new vessels is a critical project for Tasmania, particularly as the state recovers from the COVID-19 crisis. In February, Tasmanians learned the promised two new Spirits of Tasmania would not be carrying passengers and freight across Bass Strait by next year as first stated because TT-Line needed to find another shipbuilder. After months of speculation financial troubles plaguing German shipbuilder Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaf would impact on the delivery of the two new ferries, TT-Line confirmed the $354 million per vessel contract had fallen over. TT-Line CEO Michael Grainger said construction had not started and no money had changed hands in the deal. [email protected]

06.01.2022 https://apple.news/Ab15MlUi0RTSMpGsqXI8QhQ

05.01.2022 Heartily agree with the Mercury’s editorial that we have indecisive government with regard to transport decisions required for the state. The government vacillates from great piles of over used consultant reports in one hand and complete thought bubbles with regard to the other hand. Producing no concrete decisions. The Mercury 22/7/2020...Continue reading

02.01.2022 Letter published today in the Mercury. 28/8/2020 Letter to the Editor The Mercury Salamanca ... Dear Editor, In response to Amanda Ducker’s opinion piece (22/8/2020), monohulls still represent the best option on the Bass Strait crossing. Though perhaps there might be some scope for supplementing with other vessels. Operating from the shortest route from a small coastal town wasn’t ideal when you look at the operations of the former Devil Cat service. At least half the runs that the former Devil Cat service would likely drop you off in Port Welshpool at 3 am in the morning or 11.30pm in George Town, (there is more than simply speed to consider when crossing across Bass Strait). Not ideal for a car load of kids for there is simply nothing open at that time in the evening in small country towns. They also used to cancel a lot of Devil Cat services, because of rough conditions (over passenger comfort) not that it was unsafe to cross. Port Welshpool was convenient if you wanted to head to the NSW border but it’s a long drive to Melbourne. Walk-on passengers are currently best served by the current Station Pier arrangements at Port Melbourne, being able to catch the tram works well and and allows the passenger to spend a full day in Melbourne. It’s a better run from Station Pier on public transport than the airport into the Melbourne CBD. The move to Geelong does not suit passengers not travelling with a car, it’s is disappointing that TT has made no provision for such passengers in any publicity generated in relation to the move. Also there is no subsidy for the passenger only for the car, when the Bass Strait Highway was first proposed it was supposed to apply to both the passenger and the car. Instead it only applies to the car and still more subsidies are being proposed for the car and none for the passenger. This is totally inequitable. Yours sincerely Christian Bell Pedestrian & Public Transport Users Group

02.01.2022 The Mercury News 14/8/ 2020 Bums back on bus seats: Journeys up by 55 per cent since restrictions lifted... METRO buses have seen bums back on seats since COVID-19 restrictions eased and public confidence has begun to return. In the two weeks immediately after the State of Emergency was called in March, bus patronage dropped to as low as 20 per cent of last year’s pre pandemic levels. The number of Tasmanians on public transport has now increased to 30,000 journeys per day about 75 per cent of 2019 levels when compared to the same time last year. Minister for infrastructure and transport Michael Ferguson said the initial decline was as expected with people staying home as directed. As restrictions were lifted and students returned to school, passengers have returned to Metro services in Hobart, Launceston and Burnie, he said. Metro has done an outstanding job continuing to operate during the pandemic, while implementing a number of important health and hygiene measures to keep people safe. An enhanced sanitisation regime was introduced, access to the front row of seats was restricted to protect the driver, and free Greencards were introduced during the Government fare amnesty to enable passengers to move to a contactless payment alternative to cash. Mr Ferguson said the Tasmanian community did a remarkable job during the pandemic, but needed to remain vigilant. See the Government’s Travel Safe Together advice at www.transport.tas.gov.au/publictransport/travelsafe_together [email protected] https://apple.news/AlP7tSJUyTDurepPDL-7QUQ

01.01.2022 News The Mercury 7 November Tenders for ‘fast and convenient’ Derwent River ferry service go live THE state government will today release tenders for a long-promised Derwent River ferry service.... It comes after an expressions of interest process demonstrated strong interest in providing the service. Infrastructure and Transport Minister Michael Ferguson said the tender specified a fast and convenient service between the Eastern Shore and the city, with a one-way crossing expected to take 20-25 minutes. It would operate between Bellerive and Hobart during weekday peak travel periods and will have the capacity to carry bicycles and would be free to those who had a Metro greencard or travelling with a bicycle. Mr Ferguson said the service was expected to be established in the first half of next year and would run for one year with the opportunity to extend the contract for a second year. The RACT welcomed the news, saying it had been calling for the ferry service to be fast-tracked. Adding an extra option for commuters will help tackle Hobart’s congestion issues,’’ RACT’s chief member experience officer Stacey Pennicott said. As well as this, the construction of ferry infrastructure will create desperately needed jobs and investment, and businesses at either end of the route will be boosted by having access to greater foot traffic, giving a ‘full steam ahead’ boost to the state’s economy. Tenderers have until January 18 next year to make their submissions. [email protected]