Page 2641 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 15 August 2017
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digitalisation. Four, the transport sector must reduce the time it takes to bring solutions to reality, to the passenger. Five, it is clear the public transport sector cannot do it on its own. New partnerships will be the way of the future.
Those themes reflected what we learned at the summit. At its conclusion we joined a larger delegation from Australia and New Zealand to visit a number of US and Canadian cities to visit major transport projects. The study tour commenced on 18 May and provided the opportunity to see firsthand current developments, technologies, infrastructure, planning and governance frameworks relating to the public transportation sector in North America. Our first day was spent in Montreal, where we were provided with a tour of cutting-edge technology for buses in the city, including their electric buses and infrastructure. Having the opportunity to see this technology was invaluable in understanding and considering electric buses and upgrades to bus system infrastructure in the ACT.
Unfortunately, on 19 May 2017 storms and poor weather conditions in Washington resulted in the study tour’s flight to Washington being cancelled, which in turn resulted in the cancellation of planned meetings in Washington. We did make it to Washington the following day and used this as an opportunity to investigate their extensive and successful public bike share scheme. I can attest that bike share allows people to make short, fast and cheap trips across cities. The Washington scheme is well integrated with their public transport network. It can also be accessed with a credit card and provides an easy way to navigate the city. Bike share schemes have proven a very effective element of many multimodal, integrated transport systems worldwide and are gaining increasing attention in their ability to provide what is often called first-and-last-mile solutions to ease traffic congestion and improve levels of physical activity.
Upon my return I asked TCCS to consider options on how a similar scheme could work here in Canberra. TCCS have since investigated the opportunities, potential timing and resources required for bike share to be successful in the ACT. I was pleased to announce earlier today that the ACT government is seeking community feedback on the introduction of bike share in Canberra. The ACT will look at other bike share schemes nationally and internationally, and we are watching with interest the recent launch of private venture schemes in other cities across Australia as well as the continual evolution and technological advancements of bike share models.
The proposal will help to promote bike riding as a viable and valued transport option, integrate it with our public transport network to further extend its reach and help to promote Canberra as Australia’s cycling capital, further building our brand and image. The scheme will also complement the work being undertaken under the parliamentary agreement around the development of a cycle tourism strategy for the ACT. Following this community feedback, the government will issue a request for proposal to work with partner organisations to establish a successful scheme for the ACT.
We then travelled on to Los Angeles to meet with Foothill Transit and the chair of the American Public Transport Association in Los Angeles. Following that, we met with LA Metro and participated in a number of policy sessions covering upgrades to long-range transport, ticketing modernisation, asset management and stakeholder
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