Cost of public transport - UNREASONABLE!

I find public transport in Sydney ok;

I travel 70km / 80 minutes from the Central Coast to North Sydney every day by train. (140km / 160 minutes round trip) My weekly train ticket costs $56. ($0.08 / km).

By Defender it would cost me $105 per week in fuel ($0.15 / km + servicing). In the morning it only takes 60 minutes to drive in, but in the afternoon it can take 120 minutes in traffic. (180 minutes round trip)

What's public transport ? :confused:

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Originally Posted by isuzutoo-eh

If you are only going 3km, ride a bicycle, skateboard, pogo stick or just walk. Not like its far. You might even feel good at the end of your short journey.

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You want to come and talk to my 19yr old daughter ?

Wife works about 300/400m up the road ... she walks to/from.

Daughter works there part time ... she drives :angel:

I'm over trying to talk her round ... lesson in frustration :mad:

Sorry for the hijack.

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Originally Posted by Fluids

You want to come and talk to my 19yr old daughter ?

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Why, is she hot? :wasntme:

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Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

.....

Back to the subject of trams, trams ran from Sydney CBD all the way out to Parramatta along Parramatta Road, as far south as La Perouse and as far north as Manly and Palm Beach. Every suburb around the harbour had trams.

Trams ran along Victoria Road to Paramatta and along Liverpool Road AFAIK to Liverpool and along Pacific Highway AFAIK to Hornsby.......

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Do you have a reference for this? It certainly must have been before my time, and I think it is wrong. From my experience, and talking to my parents, there were never trams in Parramatta Rd west of City Rd (where they were still running when I was at University), and there were never any trams in Victoria Rd.

The only trams that ever operated in the Parramatta area (and I am certain of this because this is where I grew up) were a line along George St from Parramatta wharf to the park gates (closed in 1940, I think) and the line that ran up Church St and along Windsor Rd to Baulkham Hills, then Castle Hill, from the early 1900s until the 1920s when it was converted to heavy rail from Westmead extended to Rogan's hill and closed in the early thirties as traffic increased. Both these lines used the steam trams that were surplus after Sydney changed its trams to electric ones.

John

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Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

Before they stopped the Sydney trams in 1960, Sydney had the largest network anywhere in the World. Now they have a private light rail that uses parts of the Darling harbour goods line. The kids cant use their School Transport card so must pay the commercial fare.

They are also attempting to get a new light rail line out to the Uni of NSW. Where until the last few years the tram corridor from Paddinghurst to Coogee and also out to La perouse still existed, now it has been sold off in parts for residential housing and used for council car parks. :mad:

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Sydney Mayoress Clover Moore wants the monorail removed as it's objectionable. I think the monorail was always flawed in that it went nowhere useful. I think it should be expanded as it's up off the street.

One couldn't have light rail down George Street unless one took away either the bus lanes or the car lanes.

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Originally Posted by JDNSW

Do you have a reference for this? It certainly must have been before my time, and I think it is wrong. From my experience, and talking to my parents, there were never trams in Parramatta Rd west of City Rd (where they were still running when I was at University), and there were never any trams in Victoria Rd.

The only trams that ever operated in the Parramatta area (and I am certain of this because this is where I grew up) were a line along George St from Parramatta wharf to the park gates (closed in 1940, I think) and the line that ran up Church St and along Windsor Rd to Baulkham Hills, then Castle Hill, from the early 1900s until the 1920s when it was converted to heavy rail from Westmead extended to Rogan's hill and closed in the early thirties as traffic increased. Both these lines used the steam trams that were surplus after Sydney changed its trams to electric ones.

John

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I remember trams in Sydney when I was pre-teen but not in Parramatta (I went to school at Parramatta Public School in Macquarie St. I do remember a trailer bus that was towed by a prime mover. I think it was cream with red trim.

This might have been it but seem to recall a bonneted prime mover, not cab over. In fact, I could have sworn it was a White prime mover but I can't find any reference to a White being used in Parramatta.


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...011/09/729.jpg

While this discussion of public transport is all very interesting, perhaps it is worth pointing out that most people who live outside the major cities have little or no public transport at all. (If I drive six kilometres, I can then catch a bus 50km into town. Runs once a week each way. Is it a surprise that I drive into town? Fifty years ago there was a three times a day rail service.)

But still contribute to the subsidy of urban public transport. So maybe a thought about this might temper the complaints about the cost of it.

The basic problem, from an overall perspective, of fixed rail public transport (compared to cars, buses) is that it requires high initial expenditure at the start, in exchange for lower running costs. But the lower running costs tend to be eaten up by the cost of capital, particularly given the high interest rates that have prevailed in Australia for the last forty or fifty years. And governments facing election in three years have little reason for starting something that is going to take ten years to build - new buses can be working before the next election!

John

I forgot to mention, in Sydney, an all day, unlimited travel pass on State govt buses, ferries, and trains costs me $2.50.

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Originally Posted by p38arover

I remember trams in Sydney when I was pre-teen but not in Parramatta (I went to school at Parramatta Public School in Macquarie St. I do remember a trailer bus that was towed by a prime mover. I think it was cream with red trim.

This might have been it but seem to recall a bonneted prime mover, not cab over.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...011/09/729.jpg

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No, that is not it, I remember it as well, and it was definitely bonneted. You are right, it was red and cream, and was on the route to Ryde. I never travelled on it, but I think it was still running when I started at Parramatta High and caught the 181 bus from a bit further up the hill in Argyle St.

I do remember that one though, it was operated by the Hills District bus service, and I saw it in the depot occasionally as my bus went past it on the way to Parramatta North School. I don't recall ever seeing it on the road, though, and I think it may have only been used on specials.

John