Australia’s states are split over free public transport as the war in the Middle East drives fuel costs higher, with Victoria and Tasmania waiving fares while NSW, Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia have ruled out following suit.
Australia’s states are split over free public transport as the war in the Middle East drives fuel costs higher, with Victoria and Tasmania waiving fares while NSW, Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia have ruled out following suit.
Both The Greens and The Liberals had 50c fares as one of their policies in the SA election. It’s easy to make those types of promises when you know you’re not forming government, but I wonder if it points to an appetite in the community for more affordable public transport. I dismissed it prior to these emergency measures coming in elsewhere, but now I wonder if that news will stir up similar demands here. Then again, Labor just won in a landslide so it’s not like they’re under any immediate pressure to make big changes.
Free public transport just drives down quality, because voters generally don’t approve of that much spending on other people’s public transport (private transport though, that’s a different matter).
I’m in Melbourne. It’s like $5 for a 2 hour fare. If you’re going 100km in that 2hr it’s a great deal. But if you’re going 1 or 2km it’s cheaper to drive.