Private Transportation System In Australia: Issues And Challenges

Positive and Negative Impacts of Private Transportation

Discuss about the Private Transportation for Major Sporting Events.

Transportation plays an important role in Australia. A major portion of Australian transportation depends on the road transport (Renne 2018). The transportation can be divided in two parts such as public transportation and private transportation. Most of the private transportation is depending on the road transport section. It has been observed from various sources that Australia is holding the second position regarding the private car ownership. The term private transport denotes a system where no rights have been conferred to all the public. However, there are certain examples where the public transportation services are owned privately (Maniatopoulos, Andrews and Shabani 2015). It has been observed that in modern world, privatization of vehicles is very common thing. However, rail privatization is quite rare until now. However, it has been observed in recent days that private transportation service has been observed in all the sector of public transport. It is one of the dominant form regarding the transportation system and most of the automobile vehicles are from the private category. Further, it has been observed that many non-motorized mediums are laid down under the private transportation.

In Australia, the introduction of new mobility creates a great effect in the development of private transport. According to the notion of International Council on Clean Transport, the intersection of new technologies has caused great evolution and private transportation helps to move people and goods efficiently. Considering the importance of private transportation, Smith and Clayton (2017) has mentioned it as the best sustainable transportation system. However, it has been observed that private transportation has certain positive as well as negative impacts and it is important to make a balance in between various outcomes of the private transportation. The government of Australia has implemented various policies for mitigating transportation related problems with utmost priority. However, it has been observed that in the present circumstances of Australia, many other models have been introduced and the importance of new mobility has been faded (El Asmar, Ramsey and Cho 2017). Further, the introduction of alternative fuels and automobile technologies forced to make a change in the concept of private transportation. With the span of time, the concept of new mobility has been changed and certain other services such as mobility service and shared mobility have been cropped up. The future of the private transportation based on the common facts of injury prevention, new vehicle technologies, vehicle design, driver behavior, environmental impact, information technology, cost savings and vehicle law and regulations. All these aspects should be analyzed and these matters play important role to identify the possibilities of future transportation system in Australia (Saberi et al. 2017). There are certain major issues attached with the future of the private transportation. According to a study made by International Council on Clean Transport, the effect in the green house is a serious issue regarding the private transportation. Australia is one of the densest countries regarding the private transportation and the facts regarding the positive transportation impacts play an important role to this effect. A tendency to create positive atmospheric impacts has been grown up and a high level of research regarding the same is required. The ultimate focus of the research should be based on the assurance of positive transportation mobility (Dowling and Kent 2015).   

Future of Private Transportation in Australia

A close vigil on the transportation reveals the fact that the scope of transportation has been increased in the recent era and the public and private transportation system has been fuelled. However, certain challenges are cropped up concurrently. It has been observed that a demand regarding the safe and sustainable way has been made. Further, it has been observed that the intense growth of private transportation has given birth of over crowdedness. Smith (2017) has held the globalization and digitalization responsible for the massive increment in case of transportation system. According to Fulton (2017), significant revolution in the transportation system has caused great impact on the internal combustion engine (ICE). However, certain inefficiencies have been observed in the present transportation system. In the words of Ecola et al. (2014), “Globally, private mobility is associated with increased economic output and higher standards of living”. Private transportation is one of the best choices for transport from one place to another and it has been observed that the demand regarding the private car has been increased gradually (Liu, Wang and Wilkinson 2016). According to United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs 2014, in Australia the rate of demand can be increased up to 66% by 2050. According to a study, it has been observed that many parts of Australia are affected by the over dependence on the private transportation and one of the most affected parts are Sydney and New South Wales.

Certain controversial issues has been observed in the transportation in Sydney. The issues can be paragraphed as follows:

• Chaotic city life,
• Density problems,
• Withdrawn the tram service from the city and
• Moving away from car oriented city.

Further, controversy can be observed regarding the preparation of roads in the city (Schuler et al. 2017). In Sydney, the demand of private transport is become overwhelming during the peak hour. Further, the rate of population and car density has been incremented in an alarming way in Sydney and the problem cannot resolve without active participation of the citizen. Further, it can be stated that the demand of private cars is at top gear in Sydney and therefore, the Australian government has decided to withdraw tram service from the society and this has caused serious problems in the society. this mentality has also geared up the tendency of privatization. Further, controversy has been cropped up regarding the construction of road in a high level. However, it has been observed by Fulton (2017), construction of road is not a solution to the problem regarding the private transportation. On the other hand, it is a fact that Sydney is a car-oriented city. Considering the gradual increment in private car and interdependence of the citizen on the private car has been caused serious impact on the environment of Australia and therefore, a demand regarding the sustainable transportation has been seeded (Kent 2016).

Challenges and Controversies in Sydney

The rapid growth in the private transportation has been affected the state rules of many Australian states. Australia is a federal country and it has been observed that the state policy is different and varied from one state to another. It is a fact that overcrowded private transportation has created great impact on each part of Australia. However, the scope of effect is quite large in the States like Sydney and NSW. According to Tim Reardon, Secretary of Transport or NSW, the over population and increasing demand of the private cars are the main reason of deteriorating private transportation system (Duarte, Barczak and Yamawaki 2016). Further, it has been observed that the government has failed to implement systematic rules for the development of private transportation problems. Therefore, the condition of the private transportation sections is very much neglected by the NSW state government. Further, it has been observed that the state policies are quite adverse in nature. The government regarding the pollution has ruled out no policies or the government has not taken green house or alternative fuel. According to Tim Reardon, “Freight, Strategy and Planning lead the delivery of evidence-based solutions, drives innovation and sets strategic directions to meet the State’s transport needs of the future. This incorporates development of strategy, policy and planning for transport across NSW, as well as managing frameworks and standards to ensure the safety of transport throughout the State.” However, the government has tried to construct passes and lines for the betterment of the transport service. Several rules have also been enacted to curb transport related accidents and incidents (McIlroy 2018). According to the Transport for NSW Annual Report 2016-17, almost 85% of cars are privately owned in NSW. The NSW government has taken certain policies and applied them for developing the base of the privatization. However, a strict rule is required to stop any kinds of environment degradation and manage all the transport related problems in a systematic manner.

The government of NSW has implemented much legislation on road transportation to manage the transportation problems in a systematic way. There are many regulations also implemented by the government for the betterment of road issues. Road Transport (General) Regulation 2013, Road Rules 2014 and the Traffic Law 2007 are certain current legislative rules. According to clause 25 of the Road Transport (General) Regulation 2013, standard provision of law should have to be applied on the all road transportation vehicles. Further, it is to be stated that the special rules has been mentioned for the articulated vehicles. Certain transport related terms have been mentioned in the Regulation 2013 (Hodge 2018). Further, it has been stated in the Chapter 3 of the Act that driving license is mandatory for all the road vehicles. Certain definition regarding the parking area and space have been discussed under the Regulation. Further, reference relating to the Light Vehicles Standard Rules has been mentioned here. On the other hand, the main objective of Road Rules 2014 is to consolidate single instrumental road rules for the portion of NSW. Further, it has been contended that this rule assure the substantial uniform code for the roads of Australia. An observation has been made in this rule that all the citizens who are using the road for their transportation should have to follow the relevant rules and regulations for a systematic private transportation. An insertion of Australian Criminal Code has been made in this rule. The main reason for the same is to control criminal activities in the roads. It has been observed that most of the illegal events have been done in the private car and the young Australians are choosing the private car for racing and other illegal activities on road. This rule has attempted to stop these activities. The criminal liabilities can be observed under chapter 2 of the Criminal Code 1995. Further, certain general defense for the drivers who held apprehended for the rash driving or road related disputes. According to the rule, if any person can show reasonable cause for the accident or driving, he can be held innocent in the eyes of law (Martin and Lawther 2015). A brief definition regarding the heavy motor and large motor vehicle has been made under this rule. It has been observed that in most of the Australian states, huge density, overgrown demand for the private car has created problems, and the environment has been polluted for the same. The government has attempted to regulate the environmental degradation and sufficient policies and rules have been implemented for the same. Many accidents have been taken place in Australia due to road rash and Road Rules 2014 specified the speed limit for the motor vehicles. In case any car exceeds the speed limit, certain penalty provisions have been made in these rules. The drivers who have exceeded the speed limit prescribed by the rules should have to face penalties or driving license can be cancelled. The provisions of the Rules are applied on the road and road related areas. Further, the rules are dealing with the road signaling system also (Love et al. 2017). These rules will help to diminish the problems like over crowdedness and help to secure the interest of the common people and society.  Apart from these two rules, there is an Act named The Traffic Law (2007), which helps to reduce the traffic problems in NSW. It has been reported by the Annual Transportation Report 2017 of NSW that the road of NSW are congested during the peak hours and the overwhelmed demand of the private cars causes serious chaos. The ultimate aim of these rules is to mitigate the issues and expand a systematic plan for the future development of private transportation in NSW.

Reference:

Dowling, R. and Kent, J., 2015. Practice and public–private partnerships in sustainable transport governance: The case of car sharing in Sydney, Australia. Transport Policy, 40, pp.58-64.

Duarte, F., Barczak, R. and Yamawaki, Y., 2016. Urban Transportation And Major Sporting Events?What Is Left After The Games: An Analysis Of Sydney And Cape Town. Theoretical and Empirical Researches in Urban Management, 11(1), pp.41-58.

El Asmar, M., Ramsey, D.W. and Cho, N., 2017. Quantifying and Benchmarking the Project Delivery Performance of Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) Transportation Projects in the US (No. Project ID: NTC2014-SU-R-18).

Hodge, G., 2018. Privatization: An international review of performance. Routledge.

Kent, J., 2016. Ontological Security and Private Car Use in Sydney, Australia. Sociological Research Online, 21(2), pp.1-14.

Liu, T., Wang, Y. and Wilkinson, S., 2016. Identifying critical factors affecting the effectiveness and efficiency of tendering processes in Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs): a comparative analysis of Australia and China. International Journal of Project Management, 34(4), pp.701-716.

Love, P.E., Zhou, J., Edwards, D.J., Irani, Z. and Sing, C.P., 2017. Off the rails: The cost performance of infrastructure rail projects. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 99, pp.14-29.

Maniatopoulos, P., Andrews, J. and Shabani, B., 2015. Towards a sustainable strategy for road transportation in Australia: The potential contribution of hydrogen. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 52, pp.24-34.

Martin, L.L. and Lawther, W.C., 2015. Case Studies in Transportation Infrastructure Financing Public-Private Partnerships. Private Financing of Public Transportation Infrastructure: Utilizing Public-Private Partnerships, p.67.

McIlroy, J., 2018. We can fix the public transport crisis. Green Left Weekly, (1168), p.12.

Renne, J.L., 2018. Transportation and land development in Australia and North America: Property values, the private sector, housing and travel behavior.

Road Rules 2014 (NSW)

Road Transport (General) Regulation 2013

Saberi, M., Wu, H., Amoh-Gyimah, R., Smith, J. and Arunachalam, D., 2017. Measuring housing and transportation affordability: a case study of Melbourne, Australia. Journal of transport geography, 65, pp.134-146.

Schuler, C.R., Castillo, D.N., Menéndez, C.C., Sinelnikov, S., Webb, S. and Chavez, E., 2017. A post-conference evaluation of the 2015 National Occupational Injury Research Symposium. Journal of safety research, 60, pp.5-8.

The Traffic Law 2007 (NSW)