As a connected city, Melbourne will have mobility infrastructure that supports its prosperity, liveability and sustainability. An integrated and affordable network of public transport, roads and paths for pedestrians, bicycles and motor vehicles will enable its people to access commerce and services. This mobility is essential to the life of the city.

The City of Melbourne is connected to:

• metropolitan Melbourne, including bike paths, road, bus, tram and rail connections;
• all regions in Victoria, including road, rail and regional air connections;
• other Australian capital cities, including road, air and rail connections; and
• the world, including air and sea connections.

Peak oil costs ¹ and climate change are likely to drive major changes in urban transport technologies and practices². New technologies have the potential to shape urban transport systems in the future, including in Melbourne. New science and technology could be applied to infrastructure design, generating intelligent infrastructure systems and user systems that are robust, sustainable and safe.

Making roads safer and easier for pedestrians and cyclists, combined with improved integrated train, tram and bus services will enable more people to leave their car at home when traveling to work in the municipality. The number of people using these modes is currently (in 2006) 72 per cent, the target for 2020 is 90 per cent.

Connectivity is about access to opportunity. Residents of the City of Melbourne enjoy access to more than one million jobs within a half hour's drive (during morning peak hour) from their home. Residents of Werribee, Sydenham, Epping, Ringwood and Frankston have access to fewer than 250,000 jobs within the same drive time. Comparative figures for travel by public transport are not available, but the difference in access to services and employment between the privileged urban core of Melbourne and the outer metropolitan areas would be even starker on this count.

Community and business engagement in transport management will help to improve the quality of life for residents and workers in the central city. Maximum enrichment of Metropolitan Melbourne's social and human capital requires better linkages between the various sub-regions that make up the metropolis.

Goals to be a connected city are:

Resources

• Transport Demand Information Atlas for Victoria 2008
• My Grandma Owned a car -leading transport and urban development thinkers envisage we might be living and working in a post- peak oil and climate change future
• National Transport Commission.
• Survey of Travel times in Melbourne - Department of Transport, Victoria

References

1 : When Will The Oil Run Out? George Monbiot Interviews Fatih Birol Chief Economist of the International Energy Agency. The Guardian 15 December 2008

2 : Peter Newman: The Crash, Peak Oil and Resilient Cities December 9th, 2008 by Peter Newman