Redex - One month on - a review.

The Redex 'rapid bus' trial has been operating for just under a month now, and after using it several times I decided to write a short review of how it appears to be serving Gungahlin commuter needs. One month is a sufficient period for any new network to sort teething problems out. For those who have short attention spans let me save you from skipping to the end and say - Redex is a good thing.

I have divided the review into 'The Good', 'The Bad', 'the Could Be Done Better' and 'Overall'.

This bus could be any bus. Redex buses need a big RED sticker/magnet on the FRONT of the bus and adjacent to the front door.

The Good

The Redex services arrived close to or exactly to its scheduled departure times from Gungahlin, Civic and Kingston. The services ran quickly and frequently. I used it six times over two weeks and experienced no 'cancelled' (ie: the bus just simply never turns up) services which sometimes happens on other Action routes.

All Redex buses I caught were new and comfortable. I was able to get a seat in every one. The aircon wasnt working properly in one vehicle, and I did alert the driver who said he would tell the depot.

The onboard destination verbal and visual announcements are a good idea, and work well. They also add to the 'tram-like' feel of the Redex service.

The 'limited stops' works well. It adds to the 'tram-like' concept Action are trying to sell, and speeds up the service trip time.  These trip times are averaged over 6 trips in peak hour over a two week period.

Gungahlin to Civic       17 minutes

Civic to Kingston         16 minutes

Kingston to Civic         19 minutes

Civic to Gungahlin       20 minutes

Canberra's best bus stop in Gungahlin Town Centre. It is not a dedicated Redex stop, despite appearances.

The Bad

The signage regarding Redex is poor. Not only are the Redex buses themselves no different externally from other Action buses, but Redex stickers all over a bus stop does not mean it is a Redex only bus stop. This can cause confusion and can be easily remedied.

Redex needs a separate platform at Interchanges. As can be seen from the photo above, at first glance this appears to be a Redex only bus stop. It is not. There is also no dedicated Redex platform in Civic.

Redex buses are not distinct from regular Action buses. As can be seen from the photo above, this could be any other Action bus. From a distance the service number cannot be seen distinctly. The scrolling Redex message is also indistinct. Action need to plaster a big red magnetic or vinyl sign across the front of the bus, or place a large redex placard in the front window of the bus, and also adjacent to the passenger boarding door.

This can easily be done, those ridiculous Movember bus stickers on the front of buses indicate that there are no safety or policy issues, its just a management decision to make the Redex buses more distinct, that needs to be taken, and the signage applied.

Because of the problems mentioned regarding inadequate signage, there are confused passengers. This confusion consists of passengers sailing past what they thought were stops and also asking if the bus goes somewhere it doesn't. Now I know all bus drivers get asked questions by passengers, but a distinct coloured bus clearly NOT a regular Action bus would resolve at least 80% of confused passenger questions. It would also stop the passengers at non-Redex stops from hopelessly trying to wave down a Redex bus.

The biggest problem I can see with Redex continuing past the funded trial is limited passenger numbers.

These numbers are averaged over 6 trips in peak hour over a two week period.

Gungahlin to Civic       3

Civic to Kingston         6

Kingston to Civic        15

Civic to Gungahlin      12

I am not sure how Action are capturing passenger trip data, but they did recently trumpet increased passenger figures, so I assume they are keeping a close eye on this data.

Automated destination announcements linked to GPS - this works well.

Could be done better

There are several small things that Action could do immediately which would raise the profile of Redex and differentiate the Redex service from regular Action bus routes.

• Separate Redex platforms at interchanges
  
• More distinct Redex buses
  
• More Redex advertising/promotion

Apart from that I think Action are doing a very good job in delivering a rapid-transit-lite service for Gungahlin commuters. It is a service that should have been delivered at least 10 years ago.

Kingston railway station bus stop. 

Overall

Despite limited patronage on the services I was on, Redex is a good model and seems to be working. For public transport systems to work effectively, they must be Comfortable, Frequent and Attractive. I found the Redex service to satisfy all three criteria. The service is frequent enough to not have to worry about timetables, which is a good thing. The buses are comfortable, with plenty of seating, and the trip advice display is a nice touch. I had a friend who is a non public transport user call me from the Redex bus trip he was on and talk it up (although he also mentioned confused passengers). If non-PT users can be converted, then that is a good thing.

Extending the idea.

Tuggeranong, Belconnen and Woden already have direct services from their town centre interchanges to Civic. Redex is really a service which should have been in place at least ten years ago to offer the same service to Gungahlin commuters. Despite that observation, Redex is different in that it has limited stops and runs a slightly longer route to cater for commuter destinations. This fits in with the idea that public transport should link population and employment centres, and that minimising having to change vehicle or mode makes PT more attractive (and adds to quicker trip times).

No doubt if Redex is extended, services like 216/217 can be converted to 'Redex' quite easily.

When first announced, Redex was to operate from the other Canberra town centres. This was changed due to funding problems (as reported in my previous blog post on Redex). If the redex trial in Gungahlin proves successful it should be rolled out across the Action network. As Jon Stanhope said on Sep 29 2009:

"The significant change in relation to the trial is that we're trialing it in a form that we would hope to roll it out and that is an all-day service, 15 minute frequency along those major routes.

"That's what we're trialing and if it's successful, if the people of Canberra respond, then of course that's the model that we'll roll out to Belconnen and Tuggeranong."

If this eventuates, the business case for dedicated Redex buses quite clearly distinct from regular Action services would then exist. By making the Action network more closely resemble a mass-transit network, fed by feeder routes, Canberra's public transport system would be more efficient and deliver quicker trip times. These are important in attracting increased patronage.

I urge Action executives to pick up some of my suggestions and to act on them, Redex needs to be a success so that the limited stop, rapid-transit model can be extended to other Canberra population centres.

Brisbane Road trip - Part One

At the end of October my mate, who wishes Internet anonymity and insists on being referred to as ‘Goose’ (from Mad Max 1), and I, decided to go on a roadtrip from Canberra to Brisbane. His mate who I shall refer to as Tarzanelli, moved there a year or two ago, from Melbourne. The plan was drive up, hang out for a few days, drive back.  

I haven’t done this particular trip before, so I was keen to go. Initially we planned on taking the XF Pano, but due to ACT Registration hassles (to be documented at a later date, but seriously – is 93db really that loud?) we took the 1974 Leyland P76 V8 Super instead. Google maps initially suggested that we travel via Sydney and the Pacific Coast. I instantly recognised this was idiotic, and dragged the dots on the Google map inland, via Dubbo, Goondiwindi etc. This would make for a far more interesting trip, with far less traffic, in far less time.

It was decided on grounds of logic, that I would be doing the driving and Goose would be doing the navigating. He is a shocking navigator, but a worse driver. His list of driving sins deserves a blog of its own, but let me list his major crime - he drives a bilious blue nissan micra. His obvious lack of navigational skill asserted itself primarily in Brisbane proper, with comments like ‘Should have taken that road mate’ AFTER we had gone past it. Fortunately I had driven to Gunnedah over Easter 09 and was familiar with the greater part of outback NSW having traversed it several times over the years, so his shocking navigational skills didn’t cause too much trouble.

Here we are filling up at the Yass Junction Service Centre. When I do a long roadtrip, I like to stop after 50 or 60 Km and check everything (fluid levels, tyre pressures, look underneath for weird leaks etc). Yass Junction is roughly 60km out of Canberra, and is convenient for this. You can see my Willow 20 litre water cooler on the back seat just at the edge of the drivers seat - more on that later.

Goose navigating. He has no idea what he is looking at.

The trip to Brisbane was a two dayer, with an overnight stop in Goondiwindi. Primarily this is because I dislike driving in the outback as soon as dusk arrives. As a person who has previously collected a kangaroo with his car, I don’t fancy sharing the passenger compartment with a kangaroo, camel, horse, cow or anything else that wanders the outback. The amount of road kill we saw would indicate my policy is a sound one. I have no bull bar or a B double mass of weight on my side.

Outback servo. These are disappearing and being replaced with ‘Service Centres’ . Note that the fuel is 20 cents cheaper in the middle of GAFA than in Canberra.

This is probably a good place to mention the various approached to preparing for a long distance outback roadtrip. My approach is to take adequate water (25 litres), food (muesli bars, canned food, fruit), spares and equipment to cover possible emergencys, but also to ensure the car is prepared and up to such a trip. Another approach (Gooses) is to take a bag of muesli, a litre of organic soy milk, and a 500 ml Mt Franklin water bottle. Four or five hours into the trip, Goose runs out of water. I offer him some from my water cooler, its filled with big ice blocks and is COLD. He doesn't like that idea, how do we know its clean ? I continue drinking COOL COOL water and 90 minutes later he relents and agrees to drink the POSSIBLY CONTAMINATED BECAUSE IT DOESNT COME IN A PLASTIC BOTTLE water.

Parked outside motel room in Goondiwindi. Check out that Leyland boot space! It was while taking this shot I noticed my hand was filling with oil leaking out of the camera.

Around 4.30 PM we arrived in Goondiwindi. On roadtrips i like to stay at the most ridiculously named motel possible. Sadly, the Jolly Swagman, had no vacancies, so we stayed at some anonymous motel whose name escapes me. This is where I discovered that a litre of 15w/40 motor oil had leaked onto and into my camera. I drained as much as possible out, but some had penetrated the camera. This is not good.  This was my own fault - I like to make sure I have 5 litres of oil and 5 litres of coolant in the boot, and when I was securing the fluid bottles with ocky straps (squint and look at the spare tyre to the left in the boot) I noted one was quite low, so I filled a one litre oil bottle and grabbed a new 5 litre bottle from my garage. The bottle that leaked was the one litre bottle.

Arty shot taken when camera discovered coated in oil, and obvious oil wiped off.

Goondiwindi was a blast. After looking at the various options (a pub crawl) we settled in at the Australia Hotel. The barmaid introduced herself as the Evil Fairy. We drank much beer. We then adjourned for dinner. We then came back and drank more beer. A local called ‘Doug’ joined us. He believes that the Kevin Rudd/Penny Wong government is trying to dispossess agrarian land holders and set the ground for a quiet takeover by China. He has written NUMEROUS letters to the Brisbane Courier mail, but alas, no one is doing anything. he showed us his latest letter, on Cubby station, water rights and the Rudd/Wong conspiracy, and while reading it the Evil Fairy came over and asked if Doug was bothering us with his sad life story. We assured her he was not.

Goose standing in middle of road taking photo of sign.

I had a fairly sleepless night as when we came back from the pub, I was feeling a little schicker. I lay down on the bed and zonked out. I was then woken rudely every hour or so by Goose screaming out MAKE IT STOP or FOR GODS SAKE or WONT YOU SHUT UP etc etc. I was also assaulted by a pillow and various shoes thrown at me from the other side of the room. He claims I snore. This is a filthy horrible lie. I do not snore, if anything, its a gentle purr. In any case, EVEN IF I snore, its rude for one person who is having a ruined nights sleep to wake up the snorer in a vain attempt to make it stop. It doesnt - all it does is ruin two peoples rest. Goose is very inconsiderate.

The next day we rose fairly early and while I endured his whining about a ruined nights sleep, Goose had organic muesli with soy, and torn up cardboard, I had crumpets, froot loops and a coffee. We then packed the car.

947 km from Canberra, not bad for a days driving.

Off we went, with a short detour while Goose took photos of a quaint street sign. I also had to explain to the front desk that some motor oil had been spilt accidentally on one of the quilt covers. The lady at the front desk told me not to worry, as I wouldn’t believe some of the stains shes seen, and expressed surprise that I raised the matter as people normally leave as fast as possible when they cause some damage. I left my details in case the damage was worse than she thought, but to date they haven’t contacted me, so I guess motor oil washes out with a bit of OMO. Maybe I should have thrown my camera in with the wash ?

Goose looking at map and referring to his Google map itinerary. Note, he is looking at a map of Brisbane CBD (we were in Warwick).

We headed out of Goondiwindi fairly early, and looked forward to the relatively short trip to Brisbane. Little did I know that Gooses appalling navigational skills would prove near-disastrous.... (I'm trying for a cliffhanger effect)

End Part One - part two coming soon.

street sightings - Ford GT, Ford Zephyr and a Lotus

This morning I dropped my XF Pano off for some last minute pre-rego inspection items at Kelos. I walked over to the Mall, and passed two very nice cars parked in the streets of Belconnen. The first was this nice Lotus Elise.

Lotus Elise - 0-100 in 5 seconds. None too shabby.

The second was a very tidy 1968 Ford Falcon XT GT.  It looked immaculate, inside and out. From the factory, the XT GT came with a 302 cube Windsor V8 and put out around 320 BHP.

Very nice, I like the old school steel 5 slotters.

Last weekend I saw this old Mark II Zephyr Station Wagon parked in the KFC car park in Fyshwick. I took this shot on my camera phone. Im sure the camera tech specs arent as impressive as my 5 year old digital camera, but at least the phone didnt recently have a litre of motor oil poured accidentally over it.

The station wagon version was built only in Australia from late 1956 to 1960. In 1960, Ford Australia started building the far more modern US designed Ford Falcon.

351 Cleveland Sigma

I was visiting the boys at Baltron and came across their latest 'project' a 351 Cleveland powered Mitsubishi Sigma. The 2.6 litre 4 cylinder and trans has been turfed and test fitting of the 351C was taking place when I was there. These photos were taken early November. The car should be finished in time for Summernats.

I apologise for the poor photos, I spilt 15w/40 oil on my camera a week before and not all of it had drained out of the camera when these photos were taken.

 

351 Cleveland engine fitted without transmission. It should lean forward a little with trans fitted. At present there is no exhaust manifolds, starter motors etc, but there is room for them.

Driver side.

Passenger Side

After I took some photos, they test fitted a set of extractors, which had to be poked up from underneath. They were also welding up plate steel engine mounts. No body work is planned, but they might get some matching wheels. They plan to run the stock diff. Summernats cruising should be fun in 2010!

Greens policy to encourage public transport use - subsidised ACTION tickets and bicycles

Today the media report that the ACT Greens have announced that they would like to see ACTION bus tickets and bicycles included in public servant salary packages. These comments seem to have support from the ACT Government, and the Liberals think that it is an idea worth investigating.

However,  as I have learnt from listening to ACT ALP politicians - its not what they say - it is what is delivered. They say all sorts of warm hug me sounding words. Rarely do they follow through.

My advice to the Greens is to not get too excited until they see actual legislative changes to make the proposed policy a reality. It is a good policy - and would lead to a percentage point or two of extra public transport usage. As parking in Civic decreases or shifts to paid parking, and becomes more expensive, this idea could gain some traction. I encourage the ACT public servants union, the CPSU, to get behind this idea in the next round of certified agreement negotiations.

The difficulties for delivery of the policy are twofold:

• The ACT ALP have no real incentive to actually do anything.
  
• There may be federal fringe benefits tax complications.
  

So a little bit of work from the legal department is in order to ensure aspiration meets reality.

The policy conforms with my general belief that to move people from their private cars to public transport for commuting, you must make public transport comfortable, reliable and frequent. You cannot punish people into using it.

Transport policy for the ACT Greens can be found here. For all their rhetoric on sustainable and green transport, disturbingly the ACT Greens remain welded to the ACTION bus model for public transport in the ACT. Their policy is bus focussed. I understand that they are working with the tools at hand (the existing ACTION bus network) but it is disturbing that they do not have a policy of exploring better mass transit options - such as light rail. This is something that I have gained from talking to Green MLA's as well, not just from looking at their policy.

To achieve the goal that they are asking for, public transport patronage to increase by at least 5% per year between 2008 - 2012 (their policy), they must abandon the idea that ACTION buses can deliver that result. While the bus ticket proposal may eventuate and increase public transport by a percentage point, it will not offer the large scale increase in public transport patronage that a light rail system can deliver.

REDEX - the Bus Rapid Transit you have when you're not having Bus Rapid Transit

Every time the ACT Government conduct a review of transport they have a predictable outcome - a recommendation to improve bus services (in lieu of really offering proper mass transit like light rail). Opponents of light rail say that buses offer the same service that light rail can. This of course is totally false, as the major limiting factor is passenger capacity and reliability of route service.

In the ACT, the government monopoly bus company ACTION have been struggling for years to offer a service that will get people out of their cars and onto public transport. The major problem with ACTION is that it is trying to do two things with the same bus. It trys to offer local services delivering people to transport hubs, or bus interchanges, and it also offers town centre to town centre services. You would think that this would make commuting in Canberra relatively easy and quick. Wrong.

The local service buses meander all over several suburbs in a counter intuitive fashion, with service frequencies of around an hour. Occasionally, they just dont turn up at all. So people drive their car.

The intertown service buses do not run as express services, but service all stops along the way between interchanges. They also share the roads with regular traffic, and are subject to slow traffic, congestion and delays. This impacts frequency and scheduling severely. in peak times, full buses sail past people waiting for them.

Earlier this year, the ACT Transport Minister announced a trial of REDEX Buses . Ostensibly, this is an intertown express service offering increased frequency, and servicing less stops, focussing on major stops where large volumes of people work or live. Bus Rapid Transit 'lite'.

Late last month, the Transport Minister updated the REDEX plans, announcing a delay to the trial and significant alterations. His media release is here.

Am I the only person who finds the use of the word 'improved' in the media release facile ? Slashing the service by 75% of its previously publicised scope, is NOT an improvement.

When announced in May, the service was to service all town centres, Civic and the Parliamentary Triangle. All major service areas, with significant passenger volume needing to be shifted with few stops (or none) along the way. A commendable aim, and one which I supported at the time. If it worked, it would be a demonstrable way to show those who commute by car that their travel times on public transport would drop, and service would be guaranteed to be frequent in peak hours.

The key to attracting people to public transport is to offer reliable, attractive and frequent service to the places people want to go. The REDEX announcement goes partway to satisfying the problem with buses, in that they would be a more direct express service than existing buses.

The 'improved REDEX service' waters down the much publicised trial to a single town centre, Gungahlin.

I was told that Tim Swift would be addressing the Gungahlin Community Council to discuss the REDEX trial, and decided to attend. Mr Swift and ACTIONS Business Manager, Jenny Bowler, attended and showed the audience a large map of the new service route.

The 'improved' REDEX 'trial' will now run from Gungahlin Town Centre, to Mitchell, Dickson and Civic along Northbourne Avenue, then Barton and Kingston terminating at the Kingston Railway Station. The return route is the same, just in reverse. The service aims to offer a frequency of 15 minutes in peak times.

It is disappointing that the Government and ACTION have slashed the REDEX trial to just one town centre. It is positive that they are trialling a bus express service.

There are a few things that ACTION could do to improve the success of the trial. I offered these suggestions to Mr Swift and Ms Bowler:

• ACTION need to differentiate REDEX services from regular buses. I suggested large coloured panels in the front window, which could be removed when the bus ends REDEX duty and returns to other services. These would also promote REDEX services. 
• Handling cash and providing change delays services. I suggested that REDEX services not accept cash, making REDEX a bus card only service. 
• Coordinate the proposed REDEX brochure drop, with a free ticket to be used on REDEX only. This would attract an initial boost in service ridership, which if the service proved viable, would remain. 
• Enable traffic light coordination so REDEX travels express down Northbourne and other traffic light infested roads. 

These suggestions if implemented could see the REDEX trial become a success. The 'Expresso' services seem to be popular as they do the things that people need public transport to do - offer reliable, attractive and frequent service to the places people want to go. REDEX, if implemented and promoted properly could boost public transport patronage in a similar fashion.

How can this trial fail ?

• Two weeks out from the beginning of the service there are no timetables, routes or maps on ACTIONS website.
  
• Only one bus will run every 15 minutes from Gungahlin town centre. If this bus reaches capacity, it will sail past people waiting at the special REDEX stops (a sign on a pole) and the person will have to wait for another bus.
  
• The REDEX trial will use regular buses, not the new high capacity steerable rear axle buses.
  
• There is no differentiation between a REDEX and regular service bus. No paint colour, sticker, nothing. Just the number in the bus route display window.
  
• REDEX buses will travel on the same roads as Joe Commuter in his Camry. Stop at the same traffic lights and be delayed by the same road congestion. 

Essentially, ACTION are adopting elements of Bus Rapid Transit and grafting them to the ACTION tree. Other elements, those that cost money, are not being adopted. As I have said before - a sign on a pole is not transport infrastructure.

I am hopeful that this REDEX trial will be successful, but hope is not a business plan - REDEX needs to be funded, staffed and promoted properly by ACTION and government. It needs to use buses with increased capacity and provide a point of difference between REDEX and regular buses. Do this properly and attract regular increased patronage, and the need for increased road construction and increased parking spaces will alleviate.

The first step in creating a sustainable transport system is providing a functional transport system.

Electric Vehicle Festival 2009

The Canberra branch of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association organised a very successful display of past, present and future technology associated with electric vehicles on Sunday 4 October 2009, on the lawns of Old Parliament House in Canberra. Being a car nut I would have gone anyway, but in my role as Chair of the ACT Light Rail Coalition, a public transport lobby group, I was manning a stall promoting light rail in the Capital region. This meant that I spent most of the day handing out leaflets and saying ‘yes’ a thousand times when asked if I really thought light rail would be built in Canberra.

There was an eclectic mix of people with an association with electric vehicles. This ranged from a gentleman who imported a Tesla, with plans to sell them locally, to homebuilt electric cars converted from internal combustion engined cars, brand new hybrids from Toyota and Honda, some vintage electric cars, and electric bicycles. There was even a Segway – and a homebuilt Segway replica. The full spectrum of the electric automotive world.

The crowds were quite strong all day. Although I was inside a tent talking up light rail for Canberra most of the time, when I did escape to wander it was obvious that several thousand Canberrans had come out to look at electric vehicles. I saw several local politicians and the media covered the event as well, although just film footage as the journos don’t work weekends in Canberra.

Homebuilts

The homebuilt converted cars were fascinating. They were all ‘small’ cars and the conversions looked very neat. I was impressed with the Daihatsu that had a generator hanging on a sled at the rear of the car. This car was driven from Melbourne to Canberra, so it makes sense that a battery charging solution was required.

The engineering on these cars was outstanding. I was impressed that clear plastic was placed across the engine bays on some of them. The voltage and amps required to run the cars is significant – and dangerous. 

I find it fascinating that instead of waiting for mainstream car companies to deliver electric cars, some people are creating their own solutions. Electric hot rods.

One of the other things that impresses me about electric cars is the lack of moving parts. By removing the heavy metal engine and replacing it with much lighter components, and far fewer of them, significant weight savings are made. This makes it easier for the electric engine to move a lighter load. It was interesting to compare the simplicity of the converted electric cars, to the complexity of the commercially sold hybrids.

Segway

There are very few Segways in Canberra, I believe there are regulations restricting their use on public streets. This hasn’t stopped one person making a homebuilt Segway. I wonder what it’s called.

Bikes

This is a growing segment of the bike market. Most of the electric bikes on display were commercially manufactured, with a few modified from non-electric with a conversion kit. A conversion kit was on sale at around $900. When you factor in parking at around $35 a week in Canberra, this would pay for itself if you lived 10-15 km from your work place. I often see a rather tubby gent on an electric scooter zipping along William Slim Drive coming from Belconnen and heading towards Gungahlin, so I imagine the batteries are good enough for a 10-15 km round trip.

Tesla

This is an impressive car. A private import, it is on a permit that does not allow driving on public roads or registration. A problem with ADR’s I believe. This car was the hit of the day, and was closely investigated by everyone who visited the EV festival.

Tesla engine bay

Interior (note left hand drive)

Tesla trunk/storage area/battery.

Tesla extension cord

With the road closed to the public, the Tesla made a few runs and it certainly had impressive acceleration. These runs were very popular as well.

Goy Motor Company

David Goy has a dream - to build an electric sports car in Australia. He has been working on this design for three years and is seeking capital to build a prototype. The car is impressively rendered, and looks great. It is a slightly cooler looking Australian version of the Tesla concept.

Although I have my doubts that the Australian market can support a dedicated electric sports car, the Goy Motor Company certainly present a compelling product. I would like to see the technology and design focus placed on a four door car and a commercial vehicle, as that is what would make his company profitable, but you cant deny how cool looking the sports car is.

As David and Anya manned the stall next the Light Rail table, I chatted to them several times during the day. He has an engineering background and boundless enthusiasm. I believe he will get his car built.

Prius/Lexus/Honda

The commercially available hybrids were on show and actively marketed by sales people during the day. As the link between internal combustion engine vehicles and what comes next, hybrids work very well in solving the big problem with electric vehicles – battery power limiting vehicle range. As an engineering solution it is neat, using the advantages of both technologies to limit the disadvantages of both technologies. Hybrid technology can only get better. When I was in the states a few months back, I saw many hybrid taxis in New York. 

Better Place

Another engineering solution to tackle the range issue is the Better Place model. Better Place proposes building a network of recharging and battery exchange stations. These are the equivalent of today’s petrol stations. This would mean that the gent that drove his electric Daihatsu from Melbourne would not need to have a generator on board; he could drive into a Better Place station and exchange his depleted battery pack for a fully charged pack. 

This seems like a good idea if the car is designed to have quick changeover battery packs. I would be concerned if the technology became proprietary requiring the use of a specific type of battery pack. The disadvantage here is that the electric vehicle industry may lock itself into a technology that is difficult to upgrade or evolve. Of course industry standards also bring advantages, knowing you can drive from Sydney to Melbourne without waiting 8 hours to recharge your batteries several times along the way could make the trade-off acceptable.

I discussed the proposed business model with Ben Keneally, from Better Place. The model would certainly work if you managed fleets of vehicles, and apparently the ACT Government has signed an agreement with Better Place and recharging points will be installed in the ACT.

Vintage Cars

Two amazing cars were on display - Detroit Electric cars from 1914 and 1917. These were registered and running, and gave some demonstration runs on the closed road. They attracted a great deal of interest from the crowds.

Imagine if the same level of technological refinement had occurred on electric cars over the last 100 years, that has been applied to internal combustion engined cars.

Light rail promotion

I attended the EV Festival representing ACT Light Rail, a public transport-lobbying group. Also manning the stall were Jon Reynolds and Ian Ruecroft. A few of the committee members did pop in during the day to say hello. We had maps of the ACT Governments proposed rapid routes, and brochures with information on light rail for the Capital region.

We also had a poster of a proposed light rail vehicle, designed by Ivo Ostyn of Strine Design . We received a very positive reaction from almost everyone who stopped to look at our material and talk to us.

Of the several thousand people that stopped by our stall, there were probably only three or four naysayers. Most people asked us if we thought we could actually achieve our aim. Overwhelmingly people were very supportive of light rail as a public transport alternative to buses in Canberra. By 3.30 we had exhausted our supply of brochures.

I enjoyed the EV Festival, and it was a very good way to promote electric vehicles and sustainable transport. I am glad that ACT Light Rail was associated with the event, and thank the organisers for inviting us to attend. We will be there next year.