Future Cost

As if climate change, urban congestion and pollution weren't good enough reasons to go car free, Alan Kohler (ABC News) gives us this information.


The red line is how much oil is discovered each year. The blue line is how much is consumed - including future predictions. It doesn't take Alan Kohler to realise where the price is going to go (and keep going).

Roma Street Interchange

I recently went to a party on the northside. Transinfo worked out the quickest way was to catch a train to Roma Street, then a bus to the final destination. This was my first time using the new Roma St Busway.


One of the great advantages of this Busway is that all the buses going in the same direction (in this case north) leave from the one platform. So there's no need to memorise timetables and pick-up points. If there's several routes going past my destination, I can just take the first one that shows up.

And as you can see they are fairly frequent even in non-peak times.

Brain Training

One of few challenges of being car-free is brain training. Not your own brain, but those of people who automatically think travel equals car. Allow me to illustrate using two invitations i've recently received.

1. A simple txt message - limit 160 characters - managed to cover the event details, the two closest train stations, and the exact street address (handy if i want to search transinfo for alternate transport like buses)

2. A somewhat longer email message, detailing the night (at a restaurant) but giving only the suburb name and a landmark - which is fine if you're a driver, who can cruise around a suburb searching for landmarks. The clincher was the sign-off line "hope you can make it". It almost reads like a deliberate challenge.

Now, i'm not having a go at anyone (although i'm very impressed with person 1). It's just interesting how car-oriented (or car-dependent) we have let ourselves become. Sometimes the human brain (despite it's amazing abilities) can be a difficult thing to adjust.

George's Buses

I was in the city yesterday, so decided to check out the new King George Square Busway. It's well organised, and the staff were very helpful. But the coolest thing is how modern the place looks (for a bus stop).


These are the electronic bus info screens. Stop 1A is dedicated to the 444 "BUZ" express route, but other stops list the various buses, destinations and departure times.

Cycle Cafe

Spotted this bike outside a local cafe. Talk about convenience - just 3 metres from the cafe table. I was also impressed with the carry-bags.

Car Stats

Recently i've been reading Cities as Sustainable Ecosystems by Peter Newman and Isabella Jennings.


In it they quote some interesting stats relating to cities being less car dependent:

• Car dependent cities spend 15-20% of their wealth on getting around. For transit oriented cities it is 5-8%.
  
• Cities with strong rail systems were 43% more wealthy than weak rail cities
  
• Cars can take 2,500 people per hour down one lane of traffic. Trains can do 50,000 (20 times as much).
  
• Roads and parking can cover over a third of a city
  
• At household level people in car dependent cities use over 20% of their income on transport. Some more than 40%.
  
• In the US, those who live near a railway station own fewer cars (0.7 fewer per household) thus freeing up 20% of their income.

Food for thought, huh?

Cycle City

Who says you can't find a good park in the city?


And it's so convenient!

Footy Training

Last time i wrote, i mentioned going to the Gold Coast. Well that has now happened, and it was great. I caught the train down there, and was pleasantly surprised.


Apart from the very spacious train that runs on the Gold Coast line, the station was right next to the stadium. So about 10 minutes after the full-time siren, we were already on the train home.

Sunday Afternoon Walk

This afternoon, i was walking to Toowong, and in passing one of those Asian al-fresco restaurants, i saw my friend Murray. I had a bit of time up my sleeve, so i was able to stop in and catch up with him.

Murray invited me to go to the footy for the opening game of the season, when the Gold Coast Titans take on his favourite team, the North Queensland Cowboys.

Fortunately, the Gold Coast are a forward-looking team who has chosen to build their stadium within easy walking distance of the train station.

The People in my Neighbourhood

One of the advantages of walking and cycling places is seeing people you know. Today was a good example of this.

I headed to the shops and came across Lord Mayor candidate (and former Queensland cricket star) Greg Rowell out meeting the people as part of his campaign. Added to that, he was being assisted by Cameron - who used to live in my building. He and Sally moved out when Sally got a job on the Northside.

I go to the library to return a book, and i bump into Tim. Then I'm heading home and i meet my neighbour Rod. Even though we're neighbours, i hadn't seen him recently. Turns out he has a new job. We decided we should have a bbq soon.

PS. Yes, i did quiz Greg on his policies about climate change (and gave him some of my own thoughts aswell) but i still think the Greens have the edge on him.