Adequacy of Tourism Transport Infrastructure in Eastern Indonesia
This Report develops further the findings of earlier work by the Bureau of Transport and Communications Economics and the Research and Development Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Communications on transport in northern Australia and eastern Indonesia. It explores the adequacy of tourism and transport infrastructure in eastern Indonesia to a greater depth of detail than was possible in the earlier work. The focus of the report is on international tourism, because of its importance to eastern Indonesia following the onset of the financial crisis.
- Adequacy of Tourism Transport Infrastructure in Eastern Indonesia
Brisbane to Melbourne Rail Link: Economic Analysis
Historically, railways have provided the means to open up new areas for economic development. When built to link existing centres of economic activity, they have given rise to greatly increased opportunities for trade and travel.
- Brisbane to Melbourne Rail Link: Economic Analysis
Atherton Tablelands Regional Analysis
The agriculture-based Atherton Tablelands region of Far North Queensland experienced major change after the deregulation of the tobacco industry, and more recently, the dairy industry. The area was previously stable and relatively prosperous, but coping with continual change, unfamiliar market systems and the move to operating professional farm businesses, had caused some levels of distress. This working paper provides a social and economic overview of the region, an assessment of factors affecting the region and a brief discussion of economic development possibilities which might increase the economic resilience of the region.
- Atherton Tablelands Regional Analysis
Improving Transport on the Warringah Peninsula: Issues And Options
The Warren Centre's Community Values Study identified traffic congestion as the main traffic and transport concern for Warringah region residents (51 per cent of those surveyed, compared with 42 per cent for Sydney). The closer to the city, the greater the congestion, although Forest Way, in the northern part of the peninsula, is also significantly congested. The slowest car speeds are on Spit and Military roads (average of 21 kilometres per hour, five to eight kilometres per hour slower than inner routes through Chatswood and Willoughby). At weekends particularly, the Spit Bridge, which opens regularly for boat traffic, is a major congestion point. Secondly, public transport was the focus of 29 per cent of the Warren Centre's survey respondents in the Warringah region, 17 per cent identifying lack of adequate public transport (compared with 12 per cent for Sydney) and 12 per cent indicating the reliability of public transport as their main concern (compared with 11 per cent for Sydney). With no rail service in the region, Warringah region residents have fewer public transport options available to them than many other parts of Sydney. 'East-west' bus services are more limited than 'north-south' services. Bus services also are not independent of congestion on the road system, although bus priority arrangements secure a travel time advantage for bus passengers relative to car passengers over the same route. Thirdly, the Spit Bridge and Roseville Bridge routes each pass through dense residential inner areas. Conflicts between through and local traffic, which include 'rat-running' through residential streets during peak periods, have adverse consequences for the local transport environment and residential amenity. On the Spit route, where traffic is heaviest, with six traffic lanes to accommodate and less than optimal lane widths, safety is an issue with insufficient space for a Jersey (crash) barrier on the winding Spit Hill. There are also kerbside markings at Spit Junction in the northbound direction, advising pedestrians that large vehicles may 'jump the kerb'.
- Improving Transport on the Warringah Peninsula: Issues And Options
Regional Public Transport in Australia: Economic Regulation and Assistance Measures
Regional public transport plays an important role in meeting the needs of Australians living in regional and remote areas for access to essential services and for mobility. This paper provides information on Commonwealth, State and Territory government regulatory arrangements and assistance measures relating to regional public transport in 2001–02.
A companion paper, Regional public transport in Australia: Long-distance services, trends and projections (Working Paper 51), provides information on long-distance regional public transport services in Australia, and includes a snapshot of all such services across Australia in 2000–01 and the level of demand and characteristics of regional passenger travel.
- Regional Public Transport in Australia: Economic Regulation and Assistance Measures
Government Interventions in Pursuit of Regional Development: Learning from Experience
The questions of why regions grow or fail to grow, and what, if anything, governments can do about it have attracted considerable interest and debate for many years. This report provides a select review of previous government intervention approaches and experiences in pursuit of regional development. The review provides useful insights into the purpose and outcomes of various government-sponsored interventions in Australia, and in a number of other comparable countries.
- Government Interventions in Pursuit of Regional Development: Learning from Experience
State Spending on Roads
Over the last few years, the Commonwealth has devoted considerable resources to the task of helping local government authorities maintain and upgrade their road systems. The major initiative was an extra $1.2 billion in road funding paid directly to councils through the Roads to Recovery programme but federal authorities have also been directed to work with their local government counterparts to improve road policies and practices. The Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics' main contribution to this initiative has been to carry out two research projects. A regional analysis of council road finances was published last year in BTRE Working Paper 44, Spending on Local Roads, and this report presents a complementary study of State and Territory spending on roads including the assistance they provide to local government. It also identifies the roads for which State and council authorities are respectively responsible in each jurisdiction. The BTRE would like to thank State, Territory and Local Government organisations that assisted in the preparation of this report by providing information or advice on road finances. The data presented in this report is based on the responses provided by the States and Territories to the BTRE's Survey of State Government Spending on Roads. The BTRE has made every effort to ensure the figures are internally consistent and has relied on the State and Territories to ensure the accuracy of the data.
- State Spending on Roads
Rail Infrastructure Pricing: Principles and Practice
Since the early 1990s, railway operations in Australia and in many overseas countries have been radically reformed. One reform has been widespread outsourcing of railway activities such as infrastructure maintenance, to encourage efficient provision through competitive tendering for services. In some cases, entire rail operations have been contracted out or privatised. The major reform, however, has been to introduce regulations to require access to rail infrastructure by outside ("third-party") train operators. This mandated access also supports rail interoperability objectives facilitating train service coordination by streamlining the logistics chain across infrastructure networks.
Prior to these regulations, there were no access charges because the track use was an internal transaction within the railway company the company maintaining the infrastructure had exclusive use of the tracks for its own trains. In essence, the railway's revenue was generated only from tariffs for transporting goods and passengers. However, with mandatory access, rail infrastructure owners offer an additional service non-track owners' access to the infrastructure.
What are fair, equitable and efficient charges for that access? We know that the level and structure of these charges matter, for they account for, perhaps, one-third of the train operator's total operating costs. This report focuses on the rail infrastructure pricing structures that have developed with mandated access around the world, and the lessons that can be drawn from the subsequent experiences.
Our analysis involves consideration of the benefits and costs of mandatory access; the principles of efficient access charges; Australia's systems of access and pricing; international pricing and access systems and the lessons from the experiences with them. While principles of access charges apply equally to freight and passenger trains, mandated access is generally directed only at freight operations. For that reason, in this report we consider only freight operations.
- Rail Infrastructure Pricing: Principles and Practice
Focus on regions No. 1: Industry Structure
Australia, like many other developed countries, has experienced a decline in the importance of the manufacturing and agriculture sectors over recent decades, and strong growth in the services sector. In particular, Business services accounts for a large and growing share of national value added and employment. Between 1991 and 2001, the Business services industry was the single largest source of employment growth in all States and Territories.
- Focus on regions No. 1: Industry Structure
- Industry Structure Database 2003
Appropriateness of a 350 Million Litre Biofuels Target
In July 2003 the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, jointly with BTRE and the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, were asked to investigate the appropriateness of maintaining an objective that biofuels, produced in Australia from renewable resources, contribute at least 350 ML to the total fuel supply by 2010. The joint study was initiated on 5 August 2003 with a final report required to be delivered on 19 December 2003. "Appropriateness" was to be considered in terms of net environmental benefits, net economic benefits, net regional benefits and industry viability. In turn, industry viability was to take into account announced reforms to fuel tax arrangements, including the phase out of effective excise relief.
- Appropriateness of a 350 Million Litre Biofuels Target