GrodsCorp

Another ‘F’ for Kosky

Friday 16 March 2007, 2:26 pm

The Editor

Categories: Melbourne, Politics, Public transport

Tags: LynneKosky, PublicTransport, schools

Lynne Kosky is coming up with all the great ideas about how to improve Melbourne’s public transport system and none of them require the government to do a thing. Last month she admonished commuters for unreasonably expecting their trains to turn up on time, and now she wants schools to stagger their start times to ease demand on the transport system during peak times:

Public Transport Minister and former education minister Lynne Kosky wants to run a pilot scheme encouraging schools to change starting times to spread the commuter peak.

“If we changed some of our schools’ starting patterns, and it probably is the ones that are located close to the city, that would provide incredible capacity on our train system,” Ms Kosky said.”

For crying out loud, why can’t the government “provide incredible capacity” on the train network by investing some bloody money? The government’s public transport strategy at the moment seems to require commuters changing their behaviour to match the crumbling and inadequate system rather than building a system that matches commuters’ needs.

4 Comments

wbb (Friday 16 March 2007, 6:02 pm) #

Kosky is on the money, here. Anybody who thinks the most efficient system is one where we all try to get to the same place at the same time isn’t thinking.
The Editor (Friday 16 March 2007, 6:09 pm) #

Yep. And those parents whose employers wouldn’t have a bar of staggered starting times will love staggered school times.
brokenleftleg (Friday 16 March 2007, 8:24 pm) #

You really need to think outside the square on this one. The Govt should just let public transport slide until it’s virtually unworkable.
They should then auction off school start times to the highest bidder. A great revenue raiser!
Melbourne Grammar could easily lock in a 9.00 AM start while Broadmeadows High would get a 1AM start.
At least it would keep the hoodies off the streets at night, thus reducing policing costs.
You know it makes sense.
Jacob (Monday 19 March 2007, 8:37 am) #

It’s the damn ‘employers’ fault… If they didn’t create jobs then more people would be at home, leaving extra capacity on the trains for the true workers. In this day and age can’t more people work from home? Then we wouldn’t need public transport and the money the government wastes on that dieing course they could invest in the roads.