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The Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics (BTRE) today hosted the BTRE Colloquium - the biannual forum for researchers, policy makers and industry to debate and discuss challenges facing the transport sector.
A series of small think tanks gathered in Canberra to work through a range of issues including urban traffic congestion, freight transport and inter-regional transport.
David Bray of Economic and Policy Services identified controversial issues relating to urban traffic congestion - looking specifically at transport strategy and road pricing.
"Although most state governments' transport strategies intend to guide the development and management of transport, they have often been developed without an understanding of the market," Mr Bray said.
"This lack of understanding increases the risk that strategies cannot be implemented or that they are ineffective. The apparent lack of understanding restricts the capacity of governments to put in place effective strategies to improve urban transport, particularly traffic congestion.
"Governments also have a central role in charging for the provision of roads and public transport. Generally the prices that are charged bear little resemblance to the value of those resources.
"In the longer term, technological developments such as Global Positioning Systems and stored value cards may lead the way to direct road use pricing arrangements which would enable better use to be made of the road system and which might be acceptable to the community."
Other areas discussed at the Colloquium included:
- Emerging transport policy issues such as access regulation, transport security and the health effects of vehicle emissions with speakers from CSIRO, the ANU and the National Competition Council.
- Inter-regional passenger transport with speakers addressing aviation as well as land transport issues in our regional areas.
- Freight transport bringing together industry players such as International Mayne Group and Meyrick and Associates to address present issues and future plans for Australia's freight industry.
Tony Slayter, Executive Director of the BTRE said today's discussions had bought a number of contentious and topical transport issues to the fore.
"In the true tradition of the Colloquium, my transport colleagues across a range of interests have gathered to debate and discuss critical industry issues openly," Mr Slayter said.
The BTRE operates within the Commonwealth Department of Transport and Regional Services, undertaking applied economic research on current and emerging policy issues of interest to portfolio responsibilities.
The BTRE's research contributes to the improved understanding of factors influencing the efficiency and growth of the transport sector, and the development of effective transport policy.
For more information about the Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics (BTRE) please visit www.btre.gov.au
Media contact: Anna Tannock ph: 6274 6843
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