I must agree with Tristan Peach analogy with regards to the State Government careering down the “highway” of transport infrastructure in an out of control Mac truck at top speed leaving voter road kill in it’s wake. While real planning is now talking place, infrastructure is being projected so far into the future, the road network is in all likelihood going to grind to a traffic jamming halt. My point of disagreement with Tristan comes in the amounts of money being spent. From the printed numbers 65% of funding is going to roads and tunnels while 35% is going to public transport spending. When you look at the ABS figures from the last census below. I think that Government spending is about right.

1.8% of people traveled to work by train
2.4% of people took the bus
0.2% of people took both the train and bus.
64.9% of people who traveled to work by car, either as the driver or passenger
5.1% of people either rode a bike or walked to work.

URL: http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/2001maps.nsf/Homepages/Ausstats+NRPs

Perhaps a different approach by the State Government would help. Over the last few months the price of petrol has been going through the roof. The total cost per week to run the average car is now no longer an incidental financial item but a real and brutal drain on the household budget. The net affect on me was to start car pooling, rethink the way I use a car, plan multiple activities in one car trip, explore alternative entertainments at home, catch a bus, train or ferry and longer term planning to buy a smaller (hybrid) car. Unpopular as this may sound, removing the petrol subsidy will force a rethinking on many people in the same way as it has me. The spare cash could go into say, 10 more bridges across the Brisbane river to reduce travel times and congestion. Few car trips might just give us the breathing space we need until our infrastructure is built and comes online.