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Category: Federal funding

  • Three cheers for $3 billion on Melbourne rail – but be flexible and take advice

    Uncertainty still shrouds Melbourne’s transport future, says user group The Public Transport User Association has backed a $3 billion commitment in the Federal budget to the Melbourne Metro rail project. But with another $6 billion needed from the State Government and the private sector, concerns abound still about the likelihood of the project proceeding, including…

  • Cars, public transport must have equal treatment under carbon price

    The Public Transport Users Association has called on the Gillard Labor Government to ensure public transport users are not penalised relative to motorists under a future carbon price. Prime Minister Julia Gillard stated on Sunday that motorists’ fuel purchases would be excluded from a carbon price in perpetuity. However, the government has not made any…

  • Regional Rail Link: Many better ways to spend $5bn

    JASON Dowling’s defence of the Regional Rail Link (Comment, 22/2) essentially asserts that a project costing about $5 billion must be a good thing. What began as a line on a map in the Eddington report has evolved secretly and fitfully. We still have no idea how train services will be organised, but we do…

  • Billion dollar rail blowout a blessing in disguise

    The billion dollar blowout in the construction costs of the Regional Rail Link, reported in the Australian Financial Review today (3 February 2011), could provide the opportunity to revise the project and fix its worst problems, the Public Transport Users Association has said. Secretary Tony Morton said that well-chosen experts for the proposed new Public…

  • It’s a new era of Federal funding, but are these the right projects?

    The Federal Government are to be congratulated for finally putting money into urban public transport, which will cut congestion by getting cars off the road, cut emissions, and give people more sustainable transport choices. But brickbats are due to the Brumby State Government for advancing flawed projects, says the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA). Despite…

  • Brumby to blame for poor Federal transport priorities

    Public transport infrastructure announced for Melbourne in this year’s “nation building” Federal Budget may not deliver any real benefit to passengers – and the Brumby State Government is entirely to blame, says the PTUA. “All indications are that when it comes to Victorian public transport, Wayne Swan will be ploughing all the available money into…

  • BIC: $10 billion to help fix public transport crisis, say experts

    The PTUA participated in a media event on Tuesday morning with the Bus Industry Confederation to highlight the need for Federal funding for urban public transport. The BIC media release is below. July 8, 2008 — $10 BILLION TO HELP FIX PUBLIC TRANSPORT CRISIS SAY EXPERTS A group of public transport experts today called for…

  • Rudd’s call for public transport relief welcomed

    The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has welcomed Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s call for national investment in public transport to provide relief from high petrol prices. Mr Rudd was reported as saying “hasn’t the time come for some decent, decent public transport systems, invested in by the national government across our major cities so people…

  • Oil use sending Australia broke

    The growing cost of oil imports is a major factor in Australia’s trade deficit and household financial stress, a coalition of transport groups warned today. “Australia’s annual oil import bill has blown out from under $5 billion per year a decade ago to over $23 billion in 2007,” said Public Transport Users Association President Daniel…

  • Time running out to fix transport, Federal government warned

    Australia’s transport system is totally unprepared for the looming challenges of climate change, rising oil prices and urban congestion, a national coalition of transport groups warned today. In making the warning, the groups urged the federal government to fund the long-overdue expansion of urban and regional rail networks. “The transport sector is one of the…

  • National commitment to rail network urgently needed

    A national coalition of transport groups has urged the federal government to fund a major rail network upgrade to enable the introduction of high speed passenger services and ensure the viability of regional rail freight services. In a submission ahead of this year’s federal budget [1], the sustainable transport coalition, which includes Victoria’s Public Transport…