Victorian Transport Plan
The Victorian Transport Plan is a now defunct transport planning framework for the state of Victoria, Australia announced on 9 December 2008 by then Premier of Victoria, John Brumby. The plan was submitted to the Government of Australia for funding approval. It was prepared in response to and largely centred on solutions to urban transport problems in Victoria's capital Melbourne, particularly alleviating growing traffic congestion and passenger congestion on public transport (trains) as a result of a 100% increase in public transport patronage during the 2000s (decade). The plan followed several previous transportation strategies including Linking  Victoria, and Meeting our Transport Challenges as well as major studies including the Eddington Transport Report. The plan was shelved in January 2011 by the incoming Baillieu government, with the projects contained in it to be reviewed by the soon-to-be-established Victorian Public Transport Development Authority. $6 million of taxpayer funds were spent promoting the plan during the two years it was in place, including television, radio, newspaper, online and outdoor billboard promotions. These advertisements were described by one newspaper columnist as "Stalinist-style propaganda". Overview. The Victorian Transport Plan had six main goals which it aimed  to achieve through extensive expansion of the public transport network and road system, and improvements made to existing roads and rail services, as well as dealing with changes in the way people travel around Melbourne and Victoria. These 6 main goals were: The delivery of these goals was to occur via the implementation of projects across Victoria, in particular, Melbourne, by setting short, medium and long term time frames for project delivery. Many of these projects were not fully costed and most were subject to further negotiations with the Federal government about funding, and the capacity of future state budgets  to provide additional funds into the future. Projects. The Victorian Transport Plan involved more than $38 billion in projects. Major initiatives included: Transport Integration Act 2010. The Victorian Transport Plan is alluded to in the "Transport Integration Act", Victoria's prime transport statute. The Act requires the Department of Transport – at the time of the Plan, in its 2008 iteration – to "...prepare and periodically revise..." the plan. This is the first legislation in Victoria to mandate the preparation of a transport plan for the state. The "Transport Integration Act" requires that the plan be revised having regard to the  vision statement, transport system objectives and decision making principles set out in the Act. The Act also requires that the plan include medium to long term strategic directions, priorities and actions and demonstrate an integrated approach to transport and land use planning.