The Transport System Performance - Term Paper Example

Transportation Planning in Australia Name Institution Affiliation Transportation Planning in Australia Introduction The transportation system has helped Australia to shape their quality of life as well as economic life. Despite influencing the mobility of goods and services transportation enables individual to assess the land. The transport system performance draws public interest as there are concerned with environment resources consumption, land use, economic development, air quality, urban growth security and safety. Martens, Golub and Robinson (2012), by summarizing the work of many others noticed that transport planning should recognize the critical connection between the transportation planning and society goals. It should be done in a way that it influences the achievement of the societal objectives and goals (Wen, etal, 2012). In Australia, planning process involves more than transit capital projects and listing of highways. According to the research conducted by Duthie, Cervenka and Waller (2015), government needs to develop strategies for managing, operating, financing and maintaining the transportation system to influence advancement in the areas short-term and long-term goals. Transportation decision makers, the government, transport services provides and planning board members should have an overview of the transportation system. In Australia, transport planning gives key concepts in metropolitan and statewide transportation planning as well as additional information for reference. Inferring from Peidro and Vasant (2011), transportation plan regularly updates to reflect the changes in legislation which affect metropolitan and statewide planning requirements. Overview of Australia transport planning Transportation planning plays a crucial role in community or religion and state’s future vision. It includes possible strategies, the collaborative participation of most relevant transport-related organization and agencies, evaluating diverse viewpoints and timely, meaningful and open public involvement. According to Martens, Golub and Robinson (2012), transportation planning in Australia is process implementing policies which should involve all system users, for instance community groups, business community, the travelling public, environmental organization, general public and freight operators by participating in a proactive public process conducted by the relevant bodies (Nijkamp & Blaas, 2012). The process includes several steps. It is significant to monitor the existing conditions. Monitoring enables the planner to understand the current situation as well as identifying the problem that need addressing. Future employment growth and population should be forecasted, including the identifying the growth corridors and assessing the projected use of the land. A detailed planning study provides guidance in identification of expected and current transportation problems. However, these problems require analyzing and their need should be addressed by formulating transport improvement strategies. It is wise to develop short-range and long-range plans and programs focusing on alternative operational and capital improvement strategies for moving goods and people. Estimating the effects of recommended future strategies cannot be ignored. For instance, impacts of future improvement on environment features. The last step of transportation planning is to develop a financial plan. The financial plan gives an overview of the revenues required to cater for the cost associated with implementing the strategies. Relationship of parties involved in transportation planning The process of transportation planning is cooperative. There is no any single agent who is entitled the responsibilities for the whole transportation system. For instance, interstate highway systems are maintained by the state government but some roads that are part of it are subject to certain standards. Other examples involve City Streets or county arterials that are operated, maintained and designed by the local municipalities or counties. Transit system is built, maintained and operated by a separate entity. Metropolitan planning organizations are responsible for seeking the participation of stakeholders and agencies in the planning process in the metropolitan area. State conducts the activities that are outside the metropolitan areas. These organizations work together. A state staff can sit in metropolitan planning organization board. Transport system There are several transport means in Australia. The country largely depends on land transport. Further, it has over three hundred airports that have paved runways. Rural areas and metropolitan centers are connected by the rail network. Some sectors such as mining highly rely on rail transport to move their products to the port for export. In Western Australian cycling is a common activity. Cycling is not only a transport means but also a recreation, sport and commuting activity. Studies from recent reports show that the activity has been increasing in over the previous years. Public transport in Western Australia In Australia, the means of public transport include the use of buses, trains and ferries that are provided by the trasperth. Trinperth provides free train trips around the city to holders in smartrider. Roads One of the essential elements in Australian transport network is road transport. The country highly relies on this means of transport due to its large area with low population density. Further, the rail network is not sufficiently developed leaving the road as the most applicable means of transport. Goods that could be transported using railway are transported using the road. The country has the 2nd largest number of individuals owning cars (Waddell, 2011). According to the survey conducted in the previous decade, Australia has over 11000 vehicles moving to and from the city in every day. In future, this number is expected to increase raising the need for transportation planning. The nation has three categories of roads which include local roads, state highway and federal highways. Road network comprises of paved 353331 km and unpaved 559669km giving a total of 913,000km. Intercity public transport networks The table below gives an overview of the transport network in Australia cities. Carberra and Darwin are the Australian capital cities that do not have multi-modal networks. city overview Integrated network name buses Urban rail Light rail monorail watercraft Rapid transit adelaide Public transport Adelaide metro Yes Yes Yes Yes Brisbane Public transport Translink Yes Yes Limited Darwin Public transport - Yes Gold coast Public transport Translink Yes Yes Yes Hobart Public transport Metro Yes Yes Yes Melbourne Public transport Public transport Victoria Yes Yes Yes Limited Under construction Newcastle Public transport Transport for NSW Yes Limited limited Perth Public transport Transperth Yes Yes Planned Yes Sydney Public transport Transport for NSW Yes Yes yes ceased Yes Rail transport Australian rail network consists of 33819 km. Out of 33819 km, 2540km are electrified, 3719km broad gauge while the 32225 comprises of standard, narrow and dual gauge. The country offers various services to cities and state that are controlled by private entities and the government. Marine vessels Australian fleet comprises of 53 ships. In Australia, the use of registered ship to transport cargoes is permitted with continuous voyage permit and single voyage permit issued to ship. Over the past year, the country has registered a decrease in the number of flagged ships. Marine unions claim that the decrease is due to shipping policy that allowed foreign ships to operate along the coastal traffic. Shipping industry statistics Total ships: 53 ships Totaling : 1,361,000 GRT/1,532,874 metric tons deadweight (DWT Bulk ships 17 Cargo ship 4 Container ships 1 Roll-on 5 Liquefied gas tanker ships 4 Chemical tanker ships 3 Petroleum tanker ships 6 General passenger ships 6 Combined passenger and cargo 7 Functions of transportation planning organization In Australia, there are policy-making transportation organizations comprising of representatives from transport agencies and the local government authorized to carry out the planning process. There are created with an aim of ensuring that transportation program’s and project are based on comprehensive, continuing and cooperative planning process. Federal funding for projects in the transportation field is channeled using these organizations. These organizations are entitled with the responsibility of establishing a setting. An impartial and fair setting is established for effective decision making. Further, they evaluate the alternative options for transport improvement (Tumlin, 2012). Planning methods and data are used in generating as well as evaluating the alternatives. Another responsibility of these organizations is to prepare as well as maintaining a regional transportation plan. It is achieved through regularly updating a long-range transportation plan for the regional area. The plan is aimed to improve access and mobility of goods and people, efficient system preservation and performance and good life quality. Regional transportation organizations assist in developing short-range transportation plans that takes less than four years. However, they should be based on long-range plans. They are designed to achieve regional goals, using regulating, spending, management, operating and financial tools. Li, et al (2012) by summarizing the work of many others noted that public should be involved in transportation planning. In Australia, it is the duty of regional planning organization to involve the public. Federal regulation only allows the regional planning organization to carry out their responsibilities accordance to the state planning. Most of regional planning organizations do not play the part in implementing projects. However, they coordinate planning of operations and projects funds. These organization involve local transport providers in process of planning through including considering transit agencies, local and state highway departments, maritime operators, airport authorities, rail freight operators, port operators, Amtrak and private transport providers viewpoint when making their decisions. Most of regional transports planning organizations are composed of executive or policy board, citizens, and technical advisory committees, staff and a director. Public transport authority in Australia Inferring from the study conducted by Duthie, Cervenka and Waller (2015), public transport authority abbreviated as TPA operates and coordinates transport services in Western Australia. The authority consists of the bodies governing public transport. The authority was formed to eliminate the weakness of Western Australian Government Railways, which controlled road and railway transport services. The authority runs the transport services at transperth that is a famous public transport in metropolitan Perth. Further, it runs Transwa which is a company operating in regional WA. Bunbury bus services are regulated by TPA. According to Golob, Kitamura and Long (2013), other transport companies ran by Public Transport Authority include new metro rail and bus services at Portland. Other functions of public transport authority The authority is involved in developing as well as maintaining long-range transportation plans. Plans vary from region to region. Inferring from Bryan Weisbrod and Martland, (2015), developing strategies to improve public transport is one role of PTA. Public transportation plans address strategies , policies and future project. Use of fund in transportation programs There are several program supporting the transportation activities in metropolitan and state areas. The projects are not cash up front. When the eligible amount is distributed, there is no cash that disbursed at that point. Instead, the states are informed that there is cash for funding the programs. The works start after the projects have been approved. The federal government is in charge of ensuring compliance planning organization have complied with the federal laws. The funds are made available through by processes such as authorizing legislation, appropriations, apportionment and matching. Relevant organizations are advised to spend the money in the most economical way so that the citizen can get the best results. Conclusion Transportation planning addresses the problem of continuing failure of cities and state to develop due to poor transportation means. Transportation planning ensures that public transport gives high-level mobility, environmental sustainability and equity. Over the past years, relevant bodies in Australia have formulated different development policies. In Australia, transport planning gives key concepts in metropolitan and statewide transportation planning as well as additional information for reference. Transportation planning plays a crucial role in community or religion and state’s future vision. It involves possible strategies, the collaborative of participation most relevant transport-related organization and agencies, evaluating diverse viewpoints and timely, meaningful as well as open public involvement. These policies have a great sense to mean of transport both at regional and state level. The process of transportation planning is cooperative. There is no any single agent who is entitled the responsibility for the whole transportation system. Each and every agent is entitled the duties to perform as well as the area of the control. Sometimes functions of one planning organization can influence the other. References Bryan, J., Weisbrod, G., & Martland, C. (2015). Rail freight as a means of reducing roadway congestion: Feasibility considerations for transportation planning. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. Duthie, J., Cervenka, K., & Waller, S. (2015). Environmental justice analysis: challenges for metropolitan transportation planning. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. Golob, T. F., Kitamura, R., & Long, L. (Eds.). (2013). Panels for transportation planning: methods and applications. Springer Science & Business Media Li, A. C., Nozick, L., Xu, N., & Davidson, R. (2012). Shelter location and transportation planning under hurricane conditions. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 48(4), 715-729. Martens, K., Golub, A., & Robinson, G. (2012). A justice-theoretic approach to the distribution of transportation benefits: Implications for transportation planning practice in the United States. Transportation Research part A: policy and practice, 46(4), 684-695. Nijkamp, P., & Blaas, E. W. (2012). Impact assessment and evaluation in transportation planning. Springer Science & Business Media. Peidro, D., & Vasant, P. (2011). Transportation planning with modified S-curve membership functions using an interactive fuzzy multi-objective approach. Applied Soft Computing, 11(2), 2656-2663. Tumlin, J. (2012). Sustainable transportation planning: Tools for creating vibrant, healthy, and resilient communities (Vol. 16). John Wiley & Sons. Waddell, P. (2011). Integrated land use and transportation planning and modeling: addressing challenges in research and practice. Transport Reviews, 31(2), 209-229. Wen, X., Qing, L., Yong, S., & Juan, L. (2012). Learning from World Class Cities: Pedestrian and Bicycle Transportation Planning for Central Business. Urban Transport of China, 1, 010. Read More

Public transport in Western Australia

In Australia, the means of public transport including the use of buses, trains, and ferries that are provided by the transport. Trenberth provides free train trips around the city to holders of the smart rider.

Roads
One of the essential elements in the Australian transport network is road transport. The country highly relies on this means of transport due to its large area with low population density. Further, the rail network is not sufficiently developed leaving the road as the most applicable means of transport. Goods that could be transported using the railway are transported using the road. The country has the 2nd largest number of individuals owning cars (Waddell, 2011). According to the survey conducted in the previous decade, Australia has over 11000 vehicles moving to and from the city every day. In the future, this number is expected to increase raising the need for transportation planning. The nation has three categories of roads which include local roads, state highways, and federal highways. Road network comprises of paved 353331 km and unpaved 559669km giving a total of 913,000km.

Intercity public transport networks
The table below gives an overview of the transport network in Australian cities. Canberra and Darwin are the Australian capital cities that do not have multi-modal networks.

Rail transport
Australian rail network consists of 33819 km. Out of 33819 km, 2540km are electrified, 3719km broad gauge while the 32225 comprises of standard, narrow and dual gauge. The country offers various services to cities and states that are controlled by private entities and the government.

Marine vessels
Australian fleet comprises 53 ships. In Australia, the use of the registered ships to transport cargoes is permitted with continuous voyage permits and single voyage permits issued to ship. Over the past year, the country has registered a decrease in the number of flagged ships. Marine unions claim that the decrease is due to shipping policy that allowed foreign ships to operate along with the coastal traffic.

Functions of transportation planning organization
In Australia, there are policy-making transportation organizations comprising of representatives from transport agencies and the local government authorized to carry out the planning process. There are created with an aim of ensuring that transportation program’s and project are based on the comprehensive, continuing and cooperative planning process. Federal funding for projects in the transportation field is channeled using these organizations. These organizations are entitled to the responsibility of establishing a setting. An impartial and fair setting is established for effective decision-making. Further, they evaluate the alternative options for transport improvement (Tumlin, 2012). Planning methods and data are used in generating as well as evaluating the alternatives. Another responsibility of these organizations is to prepare as well as maintaining a regional transportation plan. It is achieved through regularly updating a long-range transportation plan for the regional area. The plan is aimed to improve access and mobility of goods and people, efficient system preservation and performance, and good life quality.

Regional transportation organizations assist in developing short-range transportation plans that take less than four years. However, they should be based on long-range plans. They are designed to achieve regional goals, using regulating, spending, management, operating, and financial tools. Li, et al (2012) by summarizing the work of many others noted that the public should be involved in transportation planning. In Australia, it is the duty of regional planning organizations to involve the public.

Federal regulation only allows the regional planning organization to carry out their responsibilities according to the state planning. Most of the regional planning organizations do not play the part in implementing projects. However, they coordinate the planning of operations and project funds. 
                                          

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