Free Public Transport

The Bob Pritchard Column 

Starting July 1, Estonia, population 1.5 million, will allow all its citizens to travel from one end of the country to the other without ever buying a ticket.  A wonderful idea with great economic benefits.

 

The move to free public transportation builds on a  scheme already in place in the capital, Tallinn, where public transit on the city’s buses, trams, trolley buses and trains was made fare-free for city residents back in 2013. Now, the government is rolling out free bus travel across the country.

 

 

Free journeys will be available for all Estonians using county buses, and enhanced subsidies will make tickets on the state-owned rail network considerably cheaper. It is the largest national free public transportation scheme in the world. It’s aimed chiefly at giving people on low incomes greater mobility to find work, but it also has an environmental impact, cutting carbon emissions by reducing the number of cars on the road.

 

A study of the fareless scheme by the Netherlands Delft University of Technology during its first year identified a 14 percent increase in the use of public transit, a 10% decrease in car usage and evidence that free travel helped low-income and unemployed residents as they became more mobile.  A great result for just the first year.

 

The city’s own public satisfaction surveys show low-income groups are very happy with free bus travel as it enables them to look for and take jobs in a wider area than they would be able to access by walking.

 

The study found that while the rise in public transit usage mainly came from extra journeys by people already using the system and people who previously walked, a 10% reduction in year one is significant.  They have also taken several measures to reduce car usage along with free public transport ― special bus lanes, more bike racks to encourage cycling, and they have also raised on-street parking fees and reduced parking places.

 

The price of public transport is seldom the reason car users switch over to public transport, but making the car more expensive to use, that’s key to making an impact. But you also have to make public transport attractive. Having a good system requires a long-term commitment.

 

Funding a transit system that is not only free but also widespread and efficient enough to accommodate lots of people undoubtedly poses a challenge, but that’s not stopping other European countries from considering similar fare-free schemes. 

 

Paris has commissioned a study to look at the pros and cons of making public transit free and in Germany to tackle air pollution and avoid EU fines, Five major cities will try out free public transit schemes by the end of 2018.   A free-ride zone in downtown Seattle came to an end in 2012 after the city decided it could longer afford it. Hasselt in Belgium reintroduced fares in 2013 after 16 years of providing free bus travel.

 

Free public transport is beneficial for the whole of society, not only those who use public transportation.  It is an especially important idea in poor and more unequal societies, because without assistance for mobility, some people will be prevented from having access to resources ― to jobs, culture and leisure opportunities.

 

 

If we can provide $25 billion, that's 25 thousand million, in subsidies to the petroleum industry, surely we can throw a few scraps to provide free public transport

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Funding for Incubators in Regional Australia

AIMEE CHANTHADAVONG

The federal government has appointed four ‘innovation facilitators’ across regional Australia to help regional incubators and startups through the Incubator Support program.

• Andrew Outhwaite, chair of StartupWA
• Brad Twynham, startup consultant
• Daniel Smith, former MassChallenge country manager
• Mark Phillips, business mentor

 The facilitators are charged with providing advice and helping people develop professional networks in Australia and overseas, and to forge local links with business, industry, universities, research institutions and government.

Jobs and Innovation Minister Michaelia Cash said the program aimed to drive regional development and growth.

“The additional support and advice these expert facilitators provide to incubators and startup hubs will help to foster successful start-ups in our regions,” she said.

Interestingly, however, while the specialists are responsible to focus on assistant incubators and startups in regional Australia, some are based in what many would consider as metro, leaving some sceptical about exactly how the facilitators will be to assist if they’re not on the ground.

David Masefield, co-founder of Startup Toowoomba, said the additional measure should improve the overall quality of startups and entrepreneurs in the regions.

“Overall, what the federal government is doing is a good idea. From my understanding, the quality of applications that were going through the Incubator Support process was not up to scratch,” he said.

“The government recognises that people want to be doing some good out in the regions, but were not hitting the target of what was really required in the applications, so by bringing on board some coordinators to assist the process I think that’s a good thing.

“For me, it becomes a bridge between the people who are going to make the decision in Canberra, who may not have direct contact with the people who are putting in the applications.”

The $23 million Incubator Support program is an initiative of the National Innovation and Science Agenda, and designed to give incubators and accelerators access to matched funding of up to $500,000 to improve their commercial prospects.

Since its launch in September 2016, the Incubator Support program has awarded almost $6.3 million to 15 new and existing Australian incubators. An additional $800,000 has been invested in expert secondments into 30 Australian incubators. 

JCA 2018 Living Dangerously

Great session last night at JCA’s living Dangerously event.

Phil Nosworthy was talking about the importance of Community and Connection on our journey into the future.

There were great keynotes by 4 awesome humans 

Thanks JCA for an awesome event! 

Max Stossel and Mark Bakers - Living Dangerously

Allanah Zitserman’s Keynote

Tamar Krebs’s Keynote 

Living Dangerously - into the future

Great keynotes by Max Stossel and Mark Baker 

We are a work in progress - says Mark Baker.

We survived the holocast - and we are now in the wilderness - creating history of humankind

• performing our rituals and expanding on them - enriching and expanding the narrative for our future generations.
• Sharing the stories of our forefathers 

As much of 40pc if daily behaviours are habitual. 

Are we repeating things that grow our communities and grow ourselves or making it harder for people to follow ? 

How long will the human exist in its current form? 

We are not the customer - we are actually the product living in the Matrix. We are being “farmed for our attention” says Max Stossel

We can be anywhere at anytime - touching and feeling and being immersed in Virtual Reality experiences 

- with the objective of “being sold to” by those that have the power to influence.

Algorithms are playing chess with our minds  to keep us  liking and scrolling and swiping! 

Facebook remembers everything - Facebook channels you  to people that you like 

Your views will be cemented by clever arguments making it impossible to empathise with others - you are being taught to hate. There is data to justify everything.

The algorithm hides condemning evidence that’s not on our side with secrets and with lies. In a world of secrets and lies and hidden agendas - the truth matters most when it is not on your side