Free public transport!

Mark

Free public transport!
Not only free transport but the ability to reduce global warming at individual and community levels!

Interested?

The Australian community has been receptive to any or all leadership
initiatives for some time. However, neither political nor business leaders have proffered any truly effective ideas.

Carbon sequestration is unproven technology and the earliest implementation seems to be over a decade away. The use of energy saving light bulbs has captured the public’s imagination but I cannot shake the image of a recent cartoon where Malcolm Turnbull was pictured changing light bulbs on a chandelier.

The application of nuclear energy is similarly over a decade away so what can government practically implement now?

Firstly, Australians seem to have an aversion to public transport and prefer to wear their own vehicle as a piece of jewellery. This proposal would require a percentage increase in the rate of GST to be applied against the cost of public transport and the development of future infrastructure.

Broadly, public transport would be free. This would also improve
efficiency in transport movements as passengers boarded and disembarked. Improvements to infrastructure could include bus conversion from diesel to gas, light rail throughout Brisbane or Hobart, modernising Sydney’s ailing system and increasing services as people shift to public transport.

Where people choose to continue with the usage of their own vehicle then they are penalised through the taxation system. Business users would continue to claim GST and Excise credits. There is little need for any new community level carbon tax or army of bureaucrats.

The second proposal is to shift suburban streetlights away from the power grid towards solar cells. Local councils and power utilities would be required to replace current lighting over a five-year accelerated period. This does not include the main arterial roads that would remain on the electricity grid. Another advantage of this technology would be the opportunity to export the product overseas.

Thirdly, governments need to increase the regulation of air conditioning units. For example, sales may only be permitted above a certain degree of latitude or to a person’s residence where older age limits apply.

The world’s communities require leadership at practical levels to reduce energy usage. It only requires political willpower. Sadly, the world’s business community is mostly deafening in its silence.