Have the additional buses been purchased yet?

I wrote a letter of complaint regarding the plan to introduce variable tolling on the Harbour Bridge to the Minister for Roads in Feb 2009 (at the time I was riding to work each day on a motorbike) and today (7th October 2009) received a letter of reply from RTA CEO Michael Bushby dated 29th September. Not a bad turn around time!

Mr Bushby states that ‘since time of tolling was introduced on 27 January, the number of cars crossing the Bridge has risen in the 5.30am to 6.30am off-peak period compared to the same time last year.’
He is, according to the figures available on PDF downloads from the RTA website correct, although this figure is less than 200 cars per day during this hour, which is anyhow, on average the quietest time on the Bridge after the lull between midnight and 5.30am). It is also fair to say that the number of cars has reduced during the peak $4 toll periods compared to the same time last year.

However, the volume of traffic at all times over the bridge (with the exception of 5.30am – 6.30am) has decreased across the board with the two peak periods actually showing the smallest % declines of any time.
One might assume that may, at least in part, be due to the loss of thousands of jobs in the city between Jan – July 2009, or everyone jumping on to public transport (unlikely as one would expect a greater impact on peak commuter travel) as figures show the use of Gladesville & Ryde bridges have increased marginally but not significantly.

The key point here is that based on the figures the RTA has on their website, even with an across the board decline in Bridge usage their revenue was increased by 3.7%. This is compared with a 7.3% reduction in revenue the RTA would have incurred if the bridge toll had stayed at $3 and we assume the same across the board decrease in usage. So the RTA have engineered some +10% difference in their revenue from less traffic – imagine what the difference would have been / will be as Sydney jobs begin to return.

I also run some statistics (basic T-tests) and cannot show any statistically significant difference in the volume of Bridge traffic in the before /after variable toll period.

In short, it would appear that this experiment has failed, commuters are still paying more for no reason, and the only winner is the State Govts bottom line!!!

I am so fed up the bureaucratic rubbish, bumbling behaviour and blatant rip off tactics of the NSW State Government!

I leave for work at 0615 from carlingford, to kings cross… i take a mate

i arrive at work bum in seat 0650. no tolls, victoria road the whole way,
(Free no tolls) for aprox 28 khms average speed 52 kphr

Take the M2 from pennant hills road, through lancove tunnel, across the harbour bridge, leaving the same time
averaged bum in seat 0645 for a average speed of approx 75 kphr, length of travel is around 35 km.
Cost of tolls = around 11 dollars give or take a few cents.

Take the public Transport

I have to walk 1.5kms to carlingford trainstation, catch it to clyde, transfer trains, get off at redfern, transfer again, catch the inner city line…. walk another 1 km
cost of ticket 1 way is $5

time arrive bum in seat 0735….
if i was to catch bus etc my ticket increases in price but arival time is more like 0727.

Noting i drive a 5ltr ford v8 on gas, my victoria road trip i can do a full ten days return for almost 25 worth of lpg…

So either way for me, its always been a farse paying tolls…, why is it on ther other side of the country, they have bigger wider, more efficient roadways, that are toll free, to register my car in wa is $490 for the year, which includes my third party.

Tell me honestly, how do you now feel about you’re local government now and its decision make process.

Public transport in this city is sub-par and until that is fixed people will simply pay the inflated toll price.

Public transport needs to be made cheaper, more efficient and with greater capacity.

There is also a certain demographic who simply will not use public trains because they are hot, crowded, noisy and uncomfortable. These are the people who pay for a parking space in the city. Their comfort is their main concern, not the cost of getting there.

Perhaps the idea of a Business Class carriage should be trialled. Fit out a carriage with larger more comfortable seats, have tables suitable for laptops, and even maybe a Wi-Fi hotspot. You would probably need a full-time guard to check people’s tickets, but you could price it such that that would pay for itself.

Similar charges will also need to be applied on other major Sydney arterials.

The answer is NO

Public transport in Sydney is below third world standards.
A person needs a very good reason to use it.

Oh, it’s also overpriced.

If the NSW govt seriously thought an increase would reduce congestion, they would have lined up more buses and more trains starting today. It would have been the FIRST thing. This is a clear indication of what this is – ripping off those people who have no choice but to pay up.

Funny how it’s only a FEW WEEKS after the etags were made compulsory too.