slideshow
Travel Champions
Brisbane Traffic Congestion and Carbon Reduction - Scooter pilot program
An innovative program aimed at reducing traffic congestion and carbon emissions will be launched in Brisbane. (The Launch date is yet to be confirmed.)
Labor State Member for Ashgrove Queensland Australia and Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Kate Jones MP will launch the Scoot2commute pilot program in the Gap/Ashgrove corridor and will be the Ambassador for the trial.
The program, the first of many to come, will allow participants, called "Travel Champions", free use of a scooter for two days, logging travel times to and from work, along Waterworks Road.
The pilot program will run for 12 weeks culminating in a scooter awareness day, where scooters will commute en masse from The Gap to a barbecue breakfast at the Roma St Parklands.
All Travel Champions will go into the draw to win a Scooter. (Prize details to be confirmed at launch of the program.)
The program has attracted support from the Transport Workers Union, Local Environmental Community groups and interest from RACQ, TravelSmart and other communities on busy T2 corridors.
The Gap/Ashgrove corridor was chosen for the pilot program due to:
- Close vicinity to city (10-15km)
- transit lane which allows scooter commuters to use T2 lane
- 60km speed limit which will allow use of 50cc scooters which are inexpensive, require only a standard car licence and have the smallest carbon footprint.
The initiative will raise overall awareness on Brisbane's traffic congestion and scooters as an alternative transport to single occupancy cars, highlight the following benefits:
- TIME: Preliminary trials along the Waterworks Road route to the city have seen a 40-minute reduction per day on a return peak hour trip from the Gap to the CBD. This equates to 3.5 hours per week, allowing more time for families and recreation.
- COST A 50cc scooter commuting from The Gap to the city daily would cost under $8 per week for fuel. When we compare this to the $60-$90 that it would cost to run a car, the savings are substantial. Scooters are also far cheaper to purchase and maintain.
- ENVIRONMENT: The ever increasing use of single passenger cars is literally chocking our cities. With pollutants that we are now creating tax’s to pay for. The billions of dollars our Government has already spent to reduce congestion is nothing compared to what will need to be spent if our current appetite for single occupant cars continues. A scooter has 70% fewer emissions when compared to an average passenger car. This reduction in the use of precious oil resources will give hope to the coming generations.
The program has the support of Mr Mark Hincliff, Chief Motoring Editor at the Courier-Mail who will report the pilot program findings of the unique initiative in both the Westside News and the Courier-Mail on a weekly basis during the trial.
The results of the pilot program will be presented to TravelSmart (www.travelsmart.gov.au/), in an effort to have scooters recognised and promoted by TravelSmart, as an economical and sustainable mode of transport.
The establishment of scooter-friendly transit corridor does not offer a quick fix or silver bullet to the city’s massive challenges. It does however provide a demonstration that engages a community- based approach to these challenges and rewards those participating with reduced travel costs, more time, more flexibility and a greatly reduced carbon footprint.
It places no further financial burden on an already stretched government both state and federal.
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