Category: rant’n’rave

Each month I get the RACV magazine, Royalauto; and almost without fail, I am appalled by their dated, conservative, tunnel-vision approach to problems on our roads.

This month, the cover boasts a “Special Roads Report. Congestion: the solutions“, so I thought I’d see what the 1950’s think tank had come up with this time. Living in an inner suburb that is already suffering under the effects of Citylink and now in the firing line of the new ‘East-West’ proposals – I have a vested interest in a creative solution that works for all.

The article heads off in a predictable manner, mostly just stating the totally bleeding obvious, it’s getting worse (oh, duh!). Then it goes to a series of bullet point ‘solutions‘. For the sake of brevity, I won’t demolish these one by one, but sufffice to say that all, (yes, 100%) of the short term solutions offered are focussed on making driving easier. Getting more people on the road, to their destination etc. In other words, a Growth Model.

Now, any fool with a pocket calculator can see that growth models are unsustainable. If you don’t know what that means (say you’re from the RACV), it means that it might be a solution now, but it’s just delaying the crunch. As if to highlight their stupidity, the article points out that in the 90’s things were better. What’s happened in the interim? – Growth! So, they’ve provided an example of why their own arguments are wrong.

What’s missing from their solutions? Well, things with two wheels for a start, but so much more… I’ve got a few of my own to throw into the mix 🙂

• Aim for zero growth – no new roads. Road spending to be limited to maintenance and safety works. Safety works to be focussed on speed reduction, not fitting more cars onto the road.
• Ban single occupant vehicles from the CBD, except for designated routes to drop-off/pickup points
• Halve the cost of public transport during low use periods – eg: before 6:30am, 10am – 3pm, after 7pm
• Dramatically improve the lot of cyclists and small capacity (<500cc) motorcyclists through provision of on road facilities, adjustments to road use legislation, parking facilities, reduced fees and charges.

OK, so it’s just a few off-the-cuff ideas, but I’m serious about the ‘no growth’. I remember when I got my licence so many years ago, I was told that driving was a privilege, not a right. If our city is to avoid drowning in bitumen, oil and exhaust fumes, we have to realise that it’s a privilege we can no longer afford to indulge on a daily basis. Discretionary car travel is a thing of the past, if there is an alternative, we will soon be forced to use it – whether by economic or legislative forces. It’s as simple as that.

Don’t get me wrong – the RACV does a good job, I’ve been a member for over 25 years and have little cause for complaint, but the “A” in their name is really what they are about. It’s cars they care about, they do consider bicycles and motorcycles, but it’s patchy and somehow always dismissive. Take this month’s Royalauto magazine as an example.

The article asks: “Can two wheels be better than four?” and more or less concludes that fuel economy is the only advantage. Based on their flawed information, this is a reasonable conclusion, but they’ve chosen to ignore a number of important factors.

All through the article, it talks about ‘big bikes’ – the 900cc+ machines (A Ducati 916 is mentioned) with high price tags, expensive spares and fiddly maintenance. These bikes are the performance equivalents of Ferarris, but the article compares them with the ‘average family car’ (a Camry is mentioned). Sorry, did I miss something there? Hands up who thinks a Ducati 916 compares in any way with a Toyota Camry? What about comparing these bikes with their equivalents – top of the line sports cars – the sums might even out a little there.

That’s one myth exploded, but it’s only a minor one.

They talk about the time taken to ‘get your gear on’ as negating any advantage to the trip time. OK, it does contribute, but when I take my bike to work, I park outside the door, not a ten minute walk away. Oh, and I park for free. That’s right, it doesn’t cost me any money to park my motorbike. In time, I expect this will change for the really busy areas of the city, but by then car drivers will be paying a congestion tax… I look forward to it!

Here’s another one to really rile the poor old cage dwellers: Motorcycles pay no tolls. That’s right, at least for now, there is no satisfactory way to attach an eTag to a bike and the law does not require a font number plate, so it’s too hard to charge tolls. So, while an average trip on Citylink racks up a toll charge of at least $5 your average motorcyclist pays nuthin!

Finally, if we get real and start talking about a commuter bike like my dear little CB250, you would be amazed how the dollars vanish from the balance sheet. It cost me less than $2000 to buy in good nick (30,000k) second hand. It hasn’t been off the road once in 2 years. Because it’s a very basic bike, I service it myself for typically less than $50 parts + liquid. I put a new (top quality) battery in it the other day for just $50… and it takes just $12 to run it for over 300km! (yep, just over 3l./100km.)

So, let’s say I lived in Essendon, commuted to South Melbourne five days a week. If you just count the tolls, petrol and parking, I’m going to be something like $20 a day better off. Over a typical working year of 220 days I’ve saved $4,400!

Unfortunately, I don’t have the readership of the Royalauto, so I doubt the truth will leak out and convert many car drivers any time soon – especially in the depths of winter as we are! Maybe the ‘journalist‘, David Morley, will read this, realise his mistake and take appropriate steps to rectify it in the next issue… maybe!

Two items on tonight’s news got me annoyed for different reasons.

1. Politicians pay rises. No, I’m not against them getting a pay rise… lets face it, it’s a shit job!. No, the annoying thing was the smug way they say the raise was ‘fair‘ because it was awarded by an ‘independent judge’. That sounds alarmingly like the old Wage Tribunal process dismantled by this government in the process of setting up it’s current unfair system. In fact, isn’t it almost collective bargaining? I thought that had been outlawed? Truly, one law for them, another for all the rest of us.

2. Chris Hurley found not guilty of killing an Aboriginal man in custody. No, I’m not saying he’s guilty or any of that. Like anyone, he’s entitled to the benefit of the doubt, and there is room for doubt in the circumstances (it’s a squeeze, but it’s definitely there!). No, the really sad thing about this story is the perpetuation of mistrust and division, when 17 years ago a Royal Commission made recommendations that, if implemented, could possibly have avoided this terrible situation altogether. Another life lost and another ruined, arguably through government inaction.