When fringe benefits tax encourages the use of the company car for commuting and discourages public transport concessions from employers, and when fares are subject to GST, it is not surprising that company cars constitute 40 per cent of city traffic at peak time. A proper transport policy would assess the economic, social and environmental value of every dollar spent on roads against the potential benefits of a dollar spent on some other transport mode, including bikeways and pedestrian access. It is a mystery to me how so many people in Melbourne are apparently content to vote for politicians who are the creatures of VicRoads and its destructive impulses and, despite this, whose ideal holiday is a tour of European cities such as Venice, Florence, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Vienna, or even Munich and Zurich, where a big part of the attraction is the minimal concessions these cities have made to the motor car. It seems to be impossible to get public money for public transport in Australia. But until the country comes to its senses, it may be possible to put pedestrians and cyclists back on the agenda.
Cycling is a growing leisure activity.
It should be more popular for commuting, too. Cyclists have been driven off the roads by the sheer volume of motor traffic, excessive speed and lack of consideration by motorists. This can be reversed with more planning and very little expenditure. By getting more people back on their bikes, everybody wins. The average motorist saves about 6per cent on fuel bills, the savings go straight to the bottom line of the balance of payments, and everybody is healthier, cities are cleaner and more sociable.