Busit Challenge
Over 2 days this week I was fortunate enough to take part in the Busit challenge, the challenge being that for 48 hours the only form of transport I travelled on was public transport.
The 2 days proved to be, exciting, exhilarating, funny, frustrating but most of all very informative.
The highlights were meeting and chatting to some amazing people and becoming a part of a public transport community, the view from the bus over the Tasman Bridge and, importantly at this stage in my career, the time to reflect and think as we travelled through the diverse suburbs of Hobart and surrounds.
A funny moment was standing at the bus stop in Clarendon Vale after a State Govt announcement chatting to locals watching government officials, media and others drive by, then slow down, look in wonderment at why I was standing at a bus stop….
The lowlights were the downtime waiting for buses at the outer reaches of Hobart and Metros coverage, although I did have some wonderful chats to people whilst waiting for the next bus. The other lowlight was the frustration of having to coordinate the double pick up of my daughters, my eldest being in vacation care and my youngest in long day care, at either ends of the city. But again the silver lining was that my girls were so excited about the bus trip and there squeals of excitement when they pushed the button to call for the next stop will stay with me forever.
Appropriate preparation for the challenge was crucial in ensuring I could satisfy the demands of the campaign, checking timetables, routes and ticket prices. Travelling to Rokeby, Clarendon Vale and having to criss cross the city to make meetings was tough, but absolutely doable, especially the more familiar I became with timetables and routes.
The one thing I learnt about public transport in Hobart is that if you live on a significant arterial route close to the city or key shopping district such as Eastlands and you travel predominantly between 8am and 6pm you are ok. But the further you live from the city and the later you travel the harder it is to get around.
I have a number of ideas and suggestions but my preference is to look at the consultative structure that is needed to ensure all stakeholders, the travelling public (importantly those that travel now but those that do not but might travel on public transport if provided with a better service) and drivers/employees of Metro are but two that need to be established to facilitate a constructive debate focusing on positive improvements to services. Once we have a dynamic, solution based framework for ongoing consultation then we can talk.
There is one thing that I am certain about though and that is public transport is a public service that should be provided equally and of a high standard to all of our community, it should not be something that we seek to make money on or see as something that can be cut back on the basis of marginal economics. Being able to travel efficiently and safely across all of our community is a fundamental human right. It is also an environmental priority, in a carbon restrained future the provision of public transport, moving significant amounts of people, will become more of a priority.
A great few days, I will be taking public transport far more often from now on.
The 2 days proved to be, exciting, exhilarating, funny, frustrating but most of all very informative.
The highlights were meeting and chatting to some amazing people and becoming a part of a public transport community, the view from the bus over the Tasman Bridge and, importantly at this stage in my career, the time to reflect and think as we travelled through the diverse suburbs of Hobart and surrounds.
A funny moment was standing at the bus stop in Clarendon Vale after a State Govt announcement chatting to locals watching government officials, media and others drive by, then slow down, look in wonderment at why I was standing at a bus stop….
The lowlights were the downtime waiting for buses at the outer reaches of Hobart and Metros coverage, although I did have some wonderful chats to people whilst waiting for the next bus. The other lowlight was the frustration of having to coordinate the double pick up of my daughters, my eldest being in vacation care and my youngest in long day care, at either ends of the city. But again the silver lining was that my girls were so excited about the bus trip and there squeals of excitement when they pushed the button to call for the next stop will stay with me forever.
Appropriate preparation for the challenge was crucial in ensuring I could satisfy the demands of the campaign, checking timetables, routes and ticket prices. Travelling to Rokeby, Clarendon Vale and having to criss cross the city to make meetings was tough, but absolutely doable, especially the more familiar I became with timetables and routes.
The one thing I learnt about public transport in Hobart is that if you live on a significant arterial route close to the city or key shopping district such as Eastlands and you travel predominantly between 8am and 6pm you are ok. But the further you live from the city and the later you travel the harder it is to get around.
I have a number of ideas and suggestions but my preference is to look at the consultative structure that is needed to ensure all stakeholders, the travelling public (importantly those that travel now but those that do not but might travel on public transport if provided with a better service) and drivers/employees of Metro are but two that need to be established to facilitate a constructive debate focusing on positive improvements to services. Once we have a dynamic, solution based framework for ongoing consultation then we can talk.
There is one thing that I am certain about though and that is public transport is a public service that should be provided equally and of a high standard to all of our community, it should not be something that we seek to make money on or see as something that can be cut back on the basis of marginal economics. Being able to travel efficiently and safely across all of our community is a fundamental human right. It is also an environmental priority, in a carbon restrained future the provision of public transport, moving significant amounts of people, will become more of a priority.
A great few days, I will be taking public transport far more often from now on.
posted by David at
3:11 AM
1 Comments:
A great scheme. It deserves more press.
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