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Department of State Growth

Tasmanian Urban Passenger Transport Framework

The Framework's vision is to provide a safe and responsive passenger transport system that supports improved accessibility, liveability and health outcomes for our communities. Initiatives related to the framework are:

Infill Development Report

The State Government has developed a report in conjunction with the Southern Tasmania Councils Authority, together with several Greater Hobart Councils, to identify the barriers and drivers to infill development, including policy changes required to significantly increase the levels of this form of development in Greater Hobart.

Transit Corridors

The development of transit corridors in our urban areas is one of the key measures identified by the Framework to improve public transport use. These corridors need to be supported by high quality features that enhance the attractiveness and reliability of public transport including high frequency bus services, bus priority measures and off-bus infrastructure (such as improved bus waiting facilities and information).

Greater Launceston Metropolitan Passenger Transport Plan

The Department has developed a Greater Launceston Metropolitan Passenger Transport Plan in conjunction with Metro Tasmania and the Launceston, West Tamar and Meander Valley Councils.

Tasmanian Walking and Cycling for Active Transport Strategy

The Strategy aims to promote walking and cycling as viable and desirable forms of transport through: improved infrastructure; land use planning; and, behavioural change.  It is intended to guide development of walking and cycling as transport options in our urban areas over the long-term by creating a more supportive transport system for pedestrians and cyclists.

Overview

The Tasmanian Urban Passenger Transport Framework was established to set a future direction for passenger transport in Tasmania's urban areas. The Framework's vision is to establish "a safe and responsive passenger transport system that supports improved accessibility, liveability and health outcomes for our communities, in the context of the challenges of climate change".

Following the vision, the Tasmanian Urban Passenger Transport Framework focuses on improving outcomes in the following priority areas:

Reduced greenhouse emissions

Climate change means that we need to transition to a low carbon emissions transport system.  We can make decisions that enable and promote low carbon passenger transport options. We can give priority to infrastructure and travel modes with low carbon emissions.

Liveable and accessible communities

Our urban areas must support a broader range of transport modes. We need more compact, connected communities that reduce overall distances travelled and car reliance through the provision of safe walking and cycling opportunities and high quality, efficient public transport services. Compact urban areas and development that integrates with public transport (transit) corridors will improve the attractiveness and effectiveness of public transport services.

Travel reliability

Travel reliability focuses on providing consistent travel times for all transport users (including public transport users), ensuring we can predict the time taken to travel to a destination and reliably plan our journey. This is in contrast to mobility, which aims to simply reduce the time it takes to travel between different destinations, and emphasise the fastest mode of transport - generally, cars.

Healthy, active communities

Many of our daily trips are short journeys. Many people make these short trips by car, and there is significant opportunity to substitute these trips with walking or cycling. The flow-on benefits for the health of individuals are significant.

Integrated transport and land use planning

We need to ensure our land use decisions support our passenger transport system. We have dispersed, low-density urban areas with many outlying centres. While we can't change the land use planning decisions of the past, we can strategically plan and design our existing metropolitan areas so that future development is more sustainable and supports attractive and efficient low carbon transport modes.

The Framework relies substantially on information and recommendations from the Hobart Passenger Transport Case Study, an integrated study into transport and land use planning issues and responses in the Hobart metropolitan area. The Framework reflects the recommendations of the Study, including the importance of introducing a range of integrated measures over time to meet the future challenges for our transport system - reducing greenhouse gas emissions, better managing travel demand, and establishing more liveable, compact urban areas.

The Framework identifies six action areas to improve the passenger transport system:

  • Moving minds - Increased public awareness, acceptance and usage of public transport, walking and cycling options, and building partnerships between key stakeholders.
  • Moving places - Consolidation of population around designated transit corridors, providing the critical population density to support future mass transit systems, and strengthening the role of regional urban centres to support more localised access to commercial centres and other key facilities.
  • Moving people - High frequency public transport delivered with high quality infrastructure that enhances the attractiveness, efficiency and utility of public transport.
  • Moving policies - Encouraging use of alternatives to private vehicles.
  • Moving legs - Encouraging walking and cycling though infrastructure, land use planning and behavioural change.
  • Moving forward - Adopting a long term approach to integrated land use and transport planning.

The Framework is a key output of the Tasmanian Infrastructure Strategy and it builds on existing policies and plans across our passenger transport system, including the departments regional integrated transport plans (Southern Integrated Transport Plan, Northern Integrated Transport Plan and Cradle Coast Integrated Transport Plan).