Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from ACM, which has journalists in every state and territory. Sign up here to get it by email, or here to forward it to a friend. Today's is written by ACM editorial trainee Millie Costigan.
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In a cost of living crisis, the last thing we should be paying for is commuting to work.
We need free, reliable and accessible public transport.
Whether you hop on a tram, ferry, bus or train - commuting is part of most people's daily routine. In Australia the average person spends $112 on commuting each week, according to research by Finder.
And god forbid you get a fine for not touching on. You'll be down $277 if you're in Victoria, like me, even though you can't top up your myki on board a train or tram.
In 2020, Luxembourg became the first country in the world to make public transport completely free. Since the introduction of the policy 10,000 more people are using it each day during the working week.
Public transport should be considered a public good, like water and garbage service, that should be paid for out of general tax revenues.
Incentivising people to use public transport is just one part of the problem of reducing carbon emissions from transport, which were responsible for 18 per cent of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions in 2020.
The Victorian Liberal party made a state election promise to make all-day public transport fares $2 in Victoria, reflecting a popular sentiment that fares are too high. The Greens announced their election promise that under 21s could use public transport for free using a 'climate ticket'.
Climate tickets have been introduced in a number of areas across Europe and have resulted in reduced emissions, decreased car usage, fewer traffic jams and lowered cost-of-living at a time of high inflation.
The Greens' climate ticket could save a young person $1794 a year and an adult $699 a year.
But price isn't the only concern. We also don't have enough public transport, and some experts say that a situation in which transport was free would benefit affluent, well-connected suburbs more than those who need relief the most.
We need more investment in suburban, regional and remote transport options, as our society's obsession with cars becomes more and more unsustainable.
The promise of free public transport is tantalising: less congestion, reduced emissions, help people save money. However, people won't embrace a system that is poorly run or inaccessible, even if it's free.
I have my license, but don't own a car. If public transport was free, I'd never consider buying one.
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