MakingPublicTransportWorkInMelbourne-PPT-PeopleforPublic.doc

Making public transport work in Melbourne People and Place, Sept, 2009 by David McCloskey, Bob Birrell, Rose Yip Public transport advocates argue that if higher density housing were promoted around transport hubs or along transport corridors, particularly those with tramlines, that this would achieve a significant increase in public transport use. This advocacy is mistaken in the case of Melbourne because only a small proportion of jobs is located close to fixed rail or tram routes. This helps explain the key empirical finding of this paper: only a tiny minority of employed persons who live within walking distance of a train station or a tram stop in Melbourne actually use the train or tram for journeys to work. ********** Advocacy for a more compact Melbourne has escalated since the Victorian Government announced a major extension of the citys Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) in 2009. This decision alarmed those concerned about the environmental and economic consequences of Melbournes low-density settlement pattern. The context was the state governments announcement in December 2008 that Melbournes population was likely to increase by 1.8 million over the 30 years between 2006 and 2036 rather than by the one million over 30 years which had been assumed when the original Melbourne 2030 planning scheme was legislated in 2002. If the new projection is correct, Melbournes population will grow from 3.744 million in 2006 to 5.525 million in 2036. (1) Following this announcement, the government issued a revision of its planning strategy for Melbourne titled Melbourne@5 million. This stated that an additional 600,000 households would have to be accommodated over the next twenty years, nearly half of which would be located in growth areas. (2) As a consequence the UGB would have to be extended to help accommodate these extra households. Those arguing against further expansion of the citys urban frontier, claim that Melbourne must become more compact (meaning higher density hous