Wednesday, 30 October 2024

Active transport

Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (18:32): (1234) My adjournment is to the Minister for Public and Active Transport, and the action I seek is to increase funding for active transport to the equivalent of 10 per cent of road-related expenditure in Victoria. Active transport, which includes walking, cycling and the use of mobility devices such as e-bikes and e-scooters, offers a clean, healthy alternative to driving that reduces traffic congestion, especially when used for short trips or in conjunction with public transport. This week the Australia Institute released a report which called for a major rethink of Australia’s transport policy to boost active transport. The report, titled Proactive Investment: Policies to Increase Rates of Active Transportation, looked globally for policies that encouraged active transport, bringing all the knock-on benefits, including less congestion, reduced pollution, lower greenhouse gas emissions and improved physical and mental health.

Surveys of cycling rates show the percentage of people who use a bike either weekly, monthly or annually has dropped since 2011, outside a big increase during the pandemic when there were fewer cars on the road so people felt safer to get on two wheels. Frankly, we know that our roads are full now. What are they going to look like in decades to come? We need to look carefully at solutions in other places that have successfully dealt with the congestion and pollution problems that come with millions of people. Other countries offer more than EV subsidies. Some offer cash payouts for people who cycle to work, some offer rebates for people who ditch their cars for public transport. They build comprehensive cycle networks and they drop speed limits in local neighbourhoods.

The report outlines polling the institute conducted on these issues broken down by state. It is no surprise to me that 70 per cent of Victorians support building more walking and cycling paths in their areas, 62 per cent of us support schemes that would allow for petrol cars to be traded in for EVs, e-bikes or public transport tickets, 60 per cent support introducing a government e-bike subsidy scheme and most of us want transport and road legislation that includes requirements for infrastructure that supports more walking and cycling. Alison McCormack, the CEO of Bicycle Network, says policies are moving in the right direction ‘but it is just going at a frustratingly slow pace compared to what we see on the international stage’. It is time to crack on and invest in what is required for active transport.