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Comment on ‘The cheap option’?: why the Gold Coast may be on track to build the most expensive light rail in the world

Putting aside Big 4 concerns and fiscal irresponsibility, what annoys me is the continued prejudice involved in the mode of transport chosen.

Bus beats the pants off light rail in just about every respect you can think of. It’s quickly scalable up and down, it can be rerouted on a whim, it doesn’t require additional road or electrical infrastructure to operate, spare parts are plentiful and the parts economy is competitive, maintenance overheads are lower, the fleet is amenable to reuse in non-PT contexts, etc.

But none of this counts for much when you realize you’ll sometimes sit near poor people on the bus! The bus does not boost real estate values.

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Zagorath@aussie.zone ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Light rail is higher capacity. Being separated from the road is an advantage because it makes it more consistent. It costs less to run once it’s built. It’s far more environmentally friendly—even if the buses were electric. It creates a nicer environment for the people living, working, and visiting the area near it (less noise, less inhospitable asphalt, etc.) There are very, very few advantages to buses over light rail.

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vividspecter@lemm.ee ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Dedicated bus lanes are needed if we want everyone to use it, and not just the poor (since people will typically use the fastest, most convenient option). Buses are also typically worse from an emissions perspective (especially fossil fuel buses) although it depends on the specifics. I’m not sure how that last point is any different with light rail, since all public transport will involve sharing space with poor people.

Nevertheless, I agree that buses can be a good option and might be a better fit in less dense locations in particular. On demand buses are starting to become a good option in rural areas, for example.

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- Zagorath@aussie.zone ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  
  Australia seems to be arguably overenthusiastic about light rail in general
  
  I have no idea where you get that sense. The Gold Coast light rail has so far been a massive success, proving that it was the right decision. It seems to have been very successful in Newcastle despite the route it takes being utterly ludicrous (incredibly short, only in areas that you’d probably have to drive to to begin with, parallel to a fantastic easy walking path), at least for now until the extensions are built. Sydney’s light rail has been an absolute blowout success.
  
  And yet despite every time it’s been done it being enormously successful, we are still hesitant to do more. The Sunshine Coast has just made the myopic decision to not build light rail. Despite the enormous success of stages 1 and 2, stage 3 won’t be finished until nearly a decade after the completion of the previous stage. Brisbane decided it would go for short team ease rather than the long term superior option. And Newcastle doesn’t seem to have any serious plans for its stage 2 over 5 years since it first opened.
  
  We have some good light rail systems in this country, but we are nowhere near “overenthusiastic”. Quite the opposite.
  
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  - vividspecter@lemm.ee ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    I was thinking more from enthusiasm from the general public, not so much governments. It’s not that it isn’t a good idea, it’s just that conventional rail can often be a better alternative in many cases. But when it’s the choice between building nothing and building light rail? Then yeah, that’s idiotic, agreed.
    
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    Zagorath@aussie.zone ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    
    it’s just that conventional rail can often be a better alternative in many cases
    
    Yeah it can. In most of the cases I’ve seen though, it’s been a question of light rail or buses. Buses also have their place for sure, but any time you’re sincerely asking the question “should we build light rail or use buses?” the answer is almost guaranteed to be light rail. That goes double if the buses are going to be BRT with specific dedicated infrastructure anyway.
    
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Jumuta@sh.itjust.works ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
The ability of buses to be rerouted on a whim isn’t necessarily good though

like I’d much rather plan my life around a tram line than a bus line because of its permanence

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unionagainstdhmo@aussie.zone ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
The light rail makes sense on the Gold Coast as there are fairly well defined routes that need to be serviced by the majority of people going to the Gold Coast, i.e. tourists.

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biscuitswalrus@aussie.zone ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I don’t know man, I’d prefer light rail than a banananana bus, you know Brisbane style 3 segment bus…

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