this post was submitted on 26 May 2024
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About bloody time. I just spent a month in Taiwan. It was about this pricing. Initially I was booking taxis, using cars. Then when I saw the price I just stopped, and went all in on public transport. Fast, easy and cheap.
If it's affordable, people will use it. Great to hear.
Problem not in price but convenience and availability. For big cities public transport makes sense, services can be frequent enough and still have some load on each bus/tram/you named. For suburbian life public transport is just not an option, density to low. This is why it work in Taiwan. SO choice is between in living in human ant hill with public transport, or live in decent conditions and drive a car.
Price is s big factor though. Maybe not to you, but to many it is.
However frequency also. If I missed a train in TW, there'd be another come along soon. So I want stressed, running to get the train. Missed it... no big deal.
I think if you were commuting from Brisbane to Taiwan, the length of trip would come into play also. Perth to Taiwan would make more sense. It's slightly closer and in the same time zone. 😁
To answer your unstated question: suburbs with rail links see those rail services enthusiastically used. So, usage is not the issue. It's the upfront costs of establishing links, coupled with how long it takes - a decade or so. Our politics is just not well equipped for long term big infrastructure projects. The chances are high that the opposition will be in power to take the credit for the project's completion, or they'll blame your party for the bad project when they get in and the costs blow out. Or, they kill/maim the project anyway.