C lean transport: HOW COUNCILS CAN PLAN for the future

By Tayla Oates, Journalist, Council Magazine

As a part of its Cities Power Partnership program, the Climate Council is working with local councils to reduce emissions across many avenues, with one of the most pivotal being the adoption of clean transport solutions such as public transport, walking, cycling, and electric vehicles.

To reduce the effects of global warming in line with the Paris Agreement (as adopted in 2015), Australia should reach net zero emissions within the transport sector by 2035, with the country’s renewable energy goal to reach net zero by 2050.

Transport is Australia’s third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, as showcased in Climate Council’s new report, titled Are we there yet? Clean transport scorecard for Australian states and territories, which provides analysis on why cleaning up transport is the next frontier in tackling the climate crisis.

The report also discusses which states and territories are paving the way to a sustainable future.

Climate Council Head of Advocacy, Dr Jennifer Rayner, said the Climate Council’s new report aims to empower local governments to advocate to the Federal Government for resources to introduce clean transport into their regions.

“There's a role to play for every level of government in shifting Australia from being a really car-centric place, to one where people are making more regular use of active and public transport,” Dr Rayner said.

For many in Australia, cars are a part of daily life – especially in rural areas or regions without convenient public transport, with councils collaborating with Climate Council through its Cities Power Partnership, to make clean transport more appealing and accessible for locals.

Climate Council’s report tracks each state and territory’s transport emissions and clean transport solutions, with the rankings as below (ranked most to least progress):

1. Australian Capital Territory (Clean All-Rounder award)

2. New South Wales (Public Transport Powerhouse award)

3. Equal third place – Tasmania (Emissions Slasher award) and Victoria (People Powered award)

4. South Australia (Charging Ahead award)

5. Queensland (Fleet Footed award)

6. Western Australia (High Hurdler award)

7. Northern Territory (Active Mover award)

Two local governments who assisted their states in advancing to the top of the scorecards were Lake Macquarie Council, located in New South Wales, and Merri-bek Council in Victoria.

Lake Macquarie City Council is making electric vehicles more accessible for locals and reducing charging anxiety, which is caused by a lack of charging infrastructure and is a significant barrier for residents and businesses looking to adopt electric vehicles.

Whilst Merri-bek City Council is promoting clean transport through an intricate bike path network and its Ride & Stride program.

Lake Macquarie Tackling Charging Anxiety

Lake Macquarie City Council are equipping themselves with a charging infrastructure strategy that prepares the community for the global transition to electric vehicles, addressing the absence of publicly available electric vehicle charging stations.

Lake Macquarie City Council’s Electric Vehicle Charging Strategy 2020–2023 aims to develop regional and crosssector partnerships, create transport solutions for liveable communities, deploy the Lake Macquarie Council charging infrastructure, facilitate the deployment of non-Council infrastructure and encourage smart energy and smart grid management.

Electric vehicle charging provides Council with opportunities and challenges for the way it sources energy and manages the grid, with Council due to begin smart-charging trials through developing regional and cross-sector partnerships.

Lake Macquarie City Council Mayor, Kay Fraser, said all indicators point toward an increasingly electric future that the community needs to start preparing for now.

“We currently have nine Battery Electric Vehicles and to reduce fleet emissions we transitioned 75 passenger vehicles from petrol or diesel to hybrids in our fleet,” Mayor Fraser said.

“Council has also upgraded the electric vehicles charging station at its Speers Point administration building, with three modern chargers installed.

“In addition, Council has been awarded grant funding to install more destination electric vehicle chargers at three key tourism locations across the city by 30 June 2023.”

MERRI-BEK ENCOURAGING YOUTH TO ADOPT CLEAN OPTIONS

In Merri-bek, the Council is aspiring to create a community where the streets belong to all varieties of transport.

Merri-bek City Council is aiming for 80 per cent of all trips to schools to be made via sustainable forms of transport by 2030; whether by foot, bike, scooter or public transport.

Council’s Ride & Stride Program is a behaviour change focused program designed to get more kids riding, striding and scooting to school. Through developing and fostering a culture of healthy, active travel in young people, the Ride & Stride program hopes to drive generational change towards a safer, more sustainable transport network in Merri-bek.

Former Mayor of Merri-bek City Council, Mark Riley, said, “I encourage all councils to consider how they can boost uptake of safe and sustainable transport. Walking, riding and catching public transport are great options that reduce carbon emissions while keeping us healthy.”

Merri-bek Council has also introduced Shared Zones, where pedestrians and bike users have right of way over cars and where select streets outside some schools are open for walking, riding and play, without the threat of car traffic, during pick up and drop off times.

“Many residents tell us they feel safer in these busy areas than before, and we’ve observed reduced speed from vehicles,” Mr Riley said.

Merri-bek has also adopted electric vehicles to its government fleets, with the first electric vehicle added to the fleet in 2013. There are now 27 electric vehicles in the light fleet, each saving approximately 2.5t of greenhouse emissions each year.

Merri-bek City Council Mayor, Angelica Panopoulos, is excited to continue working with the Cities Power Partnership to strive towards net zero emissions.

“The popularity of electric vehicles in Merri-bek is rapidly growing, and we have a network of 16 public chargers powered by 100 per cent renewable energy from the Crowlands Wind Farm, as part of this shift towards alternative forms of transport. We’re proud to be paving the way thanks to initiatives like the Cities Power Partnership” Mayor Panopoulos said.

Dr Rayner said she is very impressed with Lake Macquarie charging ahead with its electric vehicle rollout, and the progress that Merri-bek is making.

“As members of the Cities Power Partnership, I think their success, from our point of view, lies in being incredibly willing and open in sharing their approaches in detail with other councils and it's that collaboration that's really crucial in propelling other councils going forward,” Dr Rayner said.

DO AUSTRALIANS WANT CLEAN TRANSPORT?

To achieve zero emissions in the transport sector by 2035, transport emissions will need to plummet by an average of 6.99 million tonnes annually, a goal which requires a huge amount of community commitment.

Statistics show that the community is in favour of adopting more environmentally friendly travel options, with the Climate Council’s People and Transport National Poll 2022 revealing that 80 per cent of Australians believe governments should invest more in public transport to help reach net zero goals.

The report also found that 70 per cent of Australians want to see the nation’s public bus fleet electrified and powered by renewables, whilst over 67 per cent of Australians think governments should invest more in footpaths and bike lanes across the country.

Government Fleets Leading The Way

Those who purchase second hand cars know that many dealerships are full of vehicles once owned by governments, as the average government vehicle enters the secondhand market after only three to four years.

This allows governments to play a unique role in increasing the supply of affordable electric vehicles in the market and making them accessible to everyday Australians.

This is why the Australian Capital Territory Government has made a commitment that all leased government passenger vehicles are required to be electric, whilst the Queensland Government plans on having a fully electric fleet by 2026.

The New South Wales, South Australian and Tasmanian governments are also aiming for 100 per cent electric government vehicles by 2030. Whilst the Victorian, Western Australian and the Northern Territory governments have not yet made commitments to electrify their fleets.

“Climate Council did a recent piece of work where we looked at the commitments of manufacturers around the world and when they were moving to all electric fleets, and there's actually quite a number that are moving to manufacturing entirely electric vehicles between 2030 and 2040,” Dr Rayner said.

To accompany these investments, charging bays will also need to become a priority investment.

Dr Rayner explained that local governments have a large role to play in determining where charging infrastructure should be located, as they know how residents move through the region.

“They're really well placed to advocate for the right charging infrastructure in the right places with the State and Federal Government,” Dr Rayner said.

“Understanding where there are missing links or gaps in the active transport networks that make it hard for people to use those forms of transport regularly is the kind of really essential information that State and Federal Governments need when they're going to invest in those projects.”

BEYOND THE CLIMATE: THE WIDER BENEFITS

There are a multitude of benefits to reducing emissions, one of which is improved air quality, with 4,880 premature deaths every year due to exposure to Australian air pollution from cars, trucks and buses – a higher number than the national road toll which in 2022 sat at 240.

Traffic congestion is also a prevalent issue that can be reduced through the use of active transport, with the 2019 Australian Infrastructure Audit stating that traffic congestion will cost the Australian economy $38.8 billion annually by 2031 if trends continue.

There are also a variety of health benefits to participating in active transport like walking, bike riding, roller skating and skateboarding – helping the community to get active.

Improving public transport accessibility will also help all Australians to move around their communities, including some of the most vulnerable and marginalised groups, such as older people, people living with a disability, people on low incomes and migrant communities.

CLIMATE COUNCIL'S ADVICE FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

When it comes to active transport, there are some key actions that the Climate Council advises other councils to adopt into their communities:

∞ Encouraging sustainable transport like public transport, walking and cycling through council transport planning and design

∞ Prioritising those modes of transport in all of the ways that local governments are involved in transport system planning

∞ Ensuring that new developments are designed to maximise public and active transport use

∞ Supporting electric vehicle uptake

∞ Providing adequate cycle lanes, bike parking and end of ride facilities

Dr Rayner said local governments need to hit the accelerator on investments that will give their communities more active and sustainable transport options, to reduce reliance on increasingly expensive petrol and cut emissions.

“Cleaning up transport is a huge priority as we work towards getting emissions plummeting this decade. What’s at stake here isn’t just a race between Australia’s states and territories, it’s a race against the devastating effects of fossil fuel emissions on our climate,” Dr Rayner said.

“If we can share that knowledge and those learnings from people who forged the path, it makes it easier for other local governments to do that work after them and we can accelerate the cycle of positive action that way.”