High petrol prices fuel case for two-wheeled transport
Because of the increasingly high price of petrol, increasing numbers of motorists and commuters are shunning the car in favour of alternative modes of transport.
VACC (Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce) is calling for the Government (State and Federal) to recognise this shift in vehicle choice for everyday commuting.
“With rampant petrol pump prices, it is now apparent that there are fewer cars on the daily commute to work. This presents an opportunity for the Government to acknowledge the role motorbikes and scooters can play in reducing congestion and vehicle emissions, and also in reducing petrol costs for families and commuters,” VACC Executive Director, David Purchase, said.
“Scooter sales were up 40% last year and they are here to stay. That is a simple and inescapable fact. But the infrastructure for two-wheeled vehicles is not up to scratch. The Government needs to make fundamental improvements to our roads and form an integrated transport policy to incorporate motorbikes, scooters and push bikes.
“As well as being less expensive to buy and run compared to cars, two-wheeled vehicles are more environmentally friendly, they reduce congestion on the roads and they reduce pressure on parking spaces.
“VACC recommends policy initiatives for new road sharing practices to tackle safety issues. In order to encourage more people to take up these alternative modes of private transport, the Government must do all it can to make the vehicles and the roads safer. More than 80% of motorcycle crashes involve other vehicles hitting them from behind or failing to give way to motorcyclists at intersections. Cars, and poor driver practices, pose the greatest risk to scooter riders, motorcyclists, and bicyclists, all of whom are vulnerable road users.”
Here are four VACC initiatives to make scooter and motorcycle riding safer:
• Establish designated and signed “Safe Routes” with improved traffic management features for two-wheeled transport
• Establish safety boxes for motorcycle and scooter riders at the head of busy intersections
• Allow access by scooter riders to certain, designated bicycle lanes on roads where such sharing can be achieved safely (many electric and smaller scooters travel at bicycle speeds or less)
• Allow boxed turns, utilising safety boxes, on certain busy intersections for scooter riders (to avoid having them standing unprotected in the middle of passing lanes)
“Both Labor and the Coalition appear to be confused over their best policy on tackling the rapidly rising petrol prices. But there is a golden opportunity staring politicians in the face in promoting the environmental and economic merits of two-wheeled transport.
“It has worked in Rome, Paris, London, Stockholm and Tokyo – why can’t it work in Australian cities?” Mr Purchase said.
