There is a huge appetite for more public transport in Melbourne – when the Suburban Rail Loop was first announced the public celebration was enormous. People want public transport to be prioritised. But will the Suburban Rail Loop meet expectations?

Last week locals came together for a mock opening of Doncaster Rail to call on the Andrews government to stop the North East Link. It was a fantastic action with moving speeches from community members like Cynthia Pilli.

“We call on the Parliament to immediately review their mega toll road thinking of the last decade.”

Switching our cars and trucks to electric vehicles fails to address the broader social and environmental implications of car-centric cities.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are not the silver bullet transformation for our transport industry. The momentum for change in transport is building, and EVs might be part of the change. But simply championing a technical switch to EVs we will miss the greater opportunity of this problem. Focusing too strongly on EVs will lock in existing problems around congestion, health and the liveability of our cities.

Public transport goes beyond an issue of sustainability and environmental concern. It is a social justice issue. Without good public transport people struggle with getting jobs and getting where they need to go. Transport disadvantage describes difficulties with accessing transport. Transport poverty occurs when households are spending more money on transport than they can afford. 4% of all Australians report having difficulty getting to places they need to go. People most likely to experience transport poverty and disadvantage are: low-income people, the unemployed, beneficiaries, youth, women, the elderly, people with disabilities, outer-urban dwellers, and ethnic minorities.

Image: http://www.snamuts.com/melbourne-2014.html

What a first year of transport campaign here at the Friends of the Earth (FOE) family. Nothing could have been achieved without the generous support of the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA).

Victoria’s 2018 state election has seen congestion as a top issue. So how do the parties transport commitments stack up?

Melbourne is seeing huge population growth straining a city built for many less. The current Labor state government won in 2014 on the back of scrapping a megaroad and some sorely-needed public transport projects. Over the past 4 years, the government has set the ball rolling with important public transport initiatives. But we've also see them switch gears to kick off some of the biggest dirtiest mega roads in our states history.

What will happen for the next 4 years based on what we’ve heard so far?

All aboard the brand new Melbourne Metro 2 train, leaving our new Fitzroy station!

We want to make sure our major political parties are on board as well. Sign here to welcome our pollies on board today!

Melbourne Metro 2 is still only a dream. But for a few hours on Sunday we brought it too life!

Today we sent the big five players for the Victorian state election a big letter asking them the tough question on their big vision for transport in Melbourne!

In the coming weeks we look forward to hearing back from Victorian Labor, the Victorian Liberals, the Victorian Greens, Fiona Patten's Reason Party and the Victorian Socialists.

We're gonna turn their responses into a scorecard for the state election for everyone to share with their family and friends! 

You can read a copy of our letter here.

All the questions are adapted from our #GetOnBoardVic plan. Find out more and sign on here: www.getonboard.org.au

Today Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced a game-changing rail plan for Melbourne's suburbs, linking all major rail lines via an underground loop. We are excited to see big plans for ramping up investment in transport.

We got straight down to Parliament to celebrate this announcement. Help us do more rapid response actions this election year by chipping in here!

Melbourne Metro 2 (MM2) is the vital next addition to Melbourne’s 21st century rail network and integrated public transport system. It’s a tunnel between Newport and Clifton Hill via Fishermans Bend, Southern Cross, Flagstaff, Parkville and Fitzroy connecting to existing services.