#more public transport please

[axvoter]

Blatantly Partisan Party Review XVI (Victoria 2022): Transport Matters Party

Prior review: VIC 2018

What I said before: “Transport Matters is not a party of public transport advocates, but an anti-Uber party that exists to air the grievances of the taxi industry.”

What I think this year: Hire-car operator Rod Barton co-founded Transport Matters in 2017 and managed to harvest preferences so astonishingly well that he won a seat in Eastern Metropolitan at the 2018 election off a meagre 0.62% of the vote. This came from the anti-democratic Group Ticket Voting system, siphoning preferences from people who voted 1 above the line for a dizzying array of minor parties. Almost all of these voters would not have distributed their references in the manner assigned to them by each party's group ticket had they been free to preference above the line in the manner of their choosing. A preference spiral like this is literally impossible when people control their preferences.

Honestly, as a member of the Legislative Council, Barton has not been too bad and his party possesses a reasonable spectrum of policies on transport and beyond. It is not a single-issue party any more, with non-transport policies generally being centre-left stuff. Barton, for instance, has been active in parliament on homelessness and wants to see a range of recommendations introduced to expand housing and support services. Health policies are mostly broad motherhood statements about more funding; policies for government transparency are similarly brief; workers’ rights goes little beyond regulating better conditions for gig economy workers (which would be great!). Gender equality policies are limited and strangely all about men. First Nations policies are supportive of Victoria’s current treaty process.

But let’s talk about transport, because this is the party’s ostensible reason for existence—and it also happens to be one of my professional areas of expertise. Frankly, Transport Matters is all over the place here. Regulating Uber and other rideshare apps remains their first policy and top priority. The policy on tolls is hyper-specific, it focuses principally on taxi drivers, and it lacks a big-picture approach to congestion charging. Transport Matters supports the Suburban Rail Loop, a project I also support (both because it will provide the cross-suburban PT capacity Melbourne badly needs and because it will stimulate new activity centres and less sprawling, more sustainable suburban densification in a manner no bus upgrade could). Their other policies for heavy rail contain supportive sentiments but nothing of substance.

Transport Matters want to expand the free tram zone, and I could write an entire book here but all I’m going to say is that this specific proposal is poorly conceived and draws on evidence from Estonia of a completely different policy (Transport Matters tries to justify a modest extension of the free tram zone’s boundary for all passengers by referring to findings from Tallinn making public transport free but only for residents). Worst, Transport Matters supports the complete fever dream that is “trackless trams”, specifically from Caulfield to Rowville. It is ridiculous to dress up a bendy bus so that it looks like a tram and to operate it on an over-spec’d busway that costs nearly as much as an actual tram but can’t come close to providing the capacity or energy efficiency of trams. It is very hard to consider anyone a credible thinker on transport if they fall for trackless tram nonsense.

My recommendation: Give Transport Matters a middling to decent preference. Remember to vote below the line on the large ballot for the Legislative Council so that your preference goes where you want it to go; all ballots with 5 or more preferences marked below the line are valid votes.

Website: https://www.transportmatters.org.au/

[rarilee33]

Hard agree with this one

So ya boi went off today

[die-lerche]

i was talking to my mom last week and complained to her, excessively, how much freedom cars take out from our lives, when everyone tells you otherwise. and my mom was like, oh yeah, of course you'd say that, you've always had different views than everyone else. and like. thank you, mom, i'm happy that you think i'm special. but also. on tumblr i'm pretty average

[ratatatastic]

"take public transportation to the parade please dear god" "use rideshares" "please dont bring your car we dont have enough parking for this shit" "rainshowers in the morning with scattered thunderstorms arriving in the afternoon" and other such things on having a parade on the beachfront

[crowcryptid]

Certified florida moment.

[theartisticcrow]

This is a post about light pollution and my absolute hatred of modern architecture and outdoor lighting.

This is not going to be a short post, but I had to get this anger and frustration off of my chest. Writing is the best way I know how to do that.

I have seen a great many stars fall from the sky. Most recently when I was out in the field in front of my house, roughly a month ago, and I was wandering around, listening to Queen on my headphones, and as I looked over towards the road, I saw a star fall from the sky. I stood there for a moment, unmoving, staring up at the part of the sky where I saw that beautiful flash of light as one life ended and it felt as though mine had only recently begun, and I thought to myself how this one was different from others that I had seen. It lasted longer, about two full seconds. I continued walking, a little happy yet also a little sad. How tragic it is, what humans will do to obtain power. They oppress people, they choose the cheapest options to save money that they do not need, and rarely do they seem to think things through. They'll do anything to get the people into their grasp. They will even steal the sky from us.

How fascinated we used to be with the stars, but not anymore, because the night sky looked so much different three hundred, four hundred years ago. People used to be able to look out their windows at night and see the entire galaxy. What do we get? A few specks of light scattered throughout the sky if we're lucky? If it is not a boring, grey abyss? I should not have to drive four days into the middle of the wilderness to see the night sky as it truly is. No one should have to put up with this. I remember, when I was fourteen or thirteen, when they built a big house on the property next to where I lived, with blacked out windows, a basketball court and a swimming pool. The owners were rarely ever there, and when they were, they were terribly obnoxious with their parties and loud music, perhaps not realising how exactly sound manages to travel through that part of the island. And yet, for some reason, they felt the need to install a big floodlight which did not even shine onto their own property, but rather the field in front of my house. It shined directly into my parents window, and so often did I wish I could shoot it with an arrow. Now, my family did not own the property that we lived on. We rented a house there and in the day, the property functioned as a business. I recall the day that they installed a floodlight shining over the small parking lot. I hated it then and I still hate it now. The only reason I did not throw rocks at it until it broke was because I did not want to accidentally set fire to the building, or get evicted. Not to mention, my parents would know that it was I who knocked down the light.

But it was so frustrating, because no one is there at night except for my family and our neighbours (until the landlord kicked them out so that she could use the space as her own personal office), so why should they need a floodlight at all? And why must it stretch so far across the property? I did not live out in the middle of nowhere, as much as it used to feel like it at times. There was plenty forest and farmland surrounding the area, but beyond that was just city and suburbs. It used to feel like the only place where you didn't have to see the ugly architecture of the city, but even it caught up eventually. The house that the obnoxious neighbours built was only one example. In the distant hills, there appeared more lights than there used to be, and when I stood at the top of the hill on the property and looked out over the land, I did not used to be able to see the cranes in the distance constructing five or seven story condos. I used to not have to worry about security cameras watching me. I used to be able to wander around in darkness. I used to be able to see the stars. There were many stars at one point, scattered throughout the night sky. It was not the entire galaxy, but it was still a nice sight. I used to see the stars, and now I get little more than the big dipper constellation. Some nights, I am not sure that I can see anything at all, especially when it is a night where there are more cars passing by than usual, and you cannot even see the road when they pass, because their headlights are so unnecessarily blinding.

The night itself used to have a different colour: orange and yellowish, not horrifically bright, but now it is plagued by sterile white lights. I might like to write a complaint to whichever council, board, or committee is in charge of architecture and construction and suchlike in this city, if only I knew how. But even then, I have little belief that it would make a difference, for I would be only one voice with no one to join me. We are capable of change, I am sure of it, but if only I knew exactly how. If only I knew exactly who were the right people to talk to, how to reach them, and what to say. If only more people knew how, then maybe we could recognise that we are not alone. People don't see the point in trying, for they do not feel like putting in that sort of effort because they do not believe it will make a difference if they as an individual do not participate. But tell me, how many individuals think that? How many of you people believe that your voice does not make a difference? Alone, it might not, but when placed among thousands of others who share that same belief, it makes a huge difference! Imagine what we could achieve if we all stood up together and called for action. Imagine if people realised just how much they are actually capable of, and imagine if they actually took the steps to do that thing.

It is not impossible that I could make a revolutionary change in my country, or my community at least, if I really put my mind to it. If I gathered people together, devised some kind of plan, or used all of my writing capabilities to speak against what I believe the government is doing wrong, it's not unrealistic to say that I could make an impact. Now imagine if an entire city's worth of people did that. Do you know how much is actually possible? Do you know how much could have already happened if we didn't wait until the fate of the world was on the line? If only I knew exactly how. If only I had the resources and information. If only I was more willing to take up more responsibility and actually start trying to do something. Ah, but what might parents say if I told them I needed to be driven to the post office to send a letter addressed to the city council? I'm sure they'd be supportive, but it might be an awkward conversation, especially if they tell me it probably won't do anything. And alas, I am a coward.

Look at this entire post. Look at what I have managed to write on such short notice because I felt like it. Imagine what I could do if I were given the right opportunity. This entire post, and all because I was pissed that I could barely see the northern lights those few months ago when it was the only chance I might ever get, only to be disappointed because of that FUCKING FLOODLIGHT THAT MY BITCH OF A LANDLORD DECIDED TO INSTALL FOR NO FUCKING REASON.

[obiwan-mybeloved]

Robust Public Transportation I Love You

[gardenstateofmind]

honestly though i do try to still listen to my mom as much as i can, like i always tell her if i'm going somewhere, and if she were to give me a hard no, i probably would not go

[unrestrainedbalderdash]

Why did Jeremy Corbyn lie about the train he could've just popped up North

[ferociouslycreativemystery]

*dramatic sigh* Will my husband (books I ordered) ever return from war?

[polybius-rollypolly]

I just want good public transportation so i don’t get overwhelmed and overstimulated while driving and have a break down after driving. I’m very sensitive and I get anxious about being in a car. I don’t like driving. Why can’t America just have good public transport. I don’t want to fucking drive.

[inqyblots]

Commute

Wake up early. Get dressed. Eat. Pack up and leave.

Map says work is 90 miles away. Map says this should take 80 minutes.

Drive 45 miles. Stop at light. Check map.

Map says destination is 45 miles away. Map says this should take 50 minutes.

Drive 20 miles. Stop in paused traffic. Nobody moves. Highway sign flashes a familiar street name, 8 miles, 25 minutes.

Check map.

Map says destination 21 miles. Maps says this should take 50 minutes.

Drive for 15 minutes. Stop at light. Check map.

Map says destination is 20 miles away. Map says this should take an hour.

[pulsar-1919]

My college town now has an actual reliable bus service other than the campus shuttle that services the college, life changing

[curiousorigins]

Have to point out that this also furthers the class divide and wage discrepancies. If one does not have reliable access to mass transit or can’t afford a car. There’s less flexibility in shifts that one can take, jobs you can’t take, promotions you can’t take and you absolutely cannot take the overnight shift that pays like $2+ an hour more, during the time that your kids would be asleep. It keeps the poor jobs options limited and keeps the in poverty. Also obviously it’s even worse or non existent in rural places.

out of interest I just looked up transit directions in Google maps from my parents house to my house and it told me to drive 20 minutes to a park to ride bus station, wait 6 hours, get on several different busses, then get off and order a Lyft

[heartpeen]

so many cars outside wtf why are we all going to the same place can’t you guys leave after i’ve arrived home tf is this

[foccaccia]

mpls is doing this thing where theyre trying to make the city safer and more walkable/bikeable and while i really appreciate that (especially as someone who didnt get their license til they turned 23), turning all the 2 lane roads into skinny ass 1 lane roads, with those awful ugly permanent white poles, is not the way to goooo youre just gonna increase car accidents. youre making driving hell and the neighborhoods ugly