Cycle funding gets the chop

Apart from being edited by my friend The Conversation is also a great website for anyone who wants some informed and expert opinion. What with Fairfax and the Murdoch guys slashing their workforce to retain profitability in the face of such uninformed online drivel as you get on this blog, The Conversation stands out as a source of properly informed information and opinion.

The following article caught my eye:

In the current climate of economic uncertainty and fiscal restraint, governments are quick to reassure us that they are making every effort to “do more with less”. Providing mobility for citizens in Australia’s rapidly growing cities is a key public policy goal. When faced with alternative transport options, sensible governments will invest in measures that achieve maximum benefits for the least cost, right? Well, um, maybe. 

In fact, governments of all persuasions in Australia have been slow to align transport policies with comprehensive assessments of the benefits and costs of alternative transport modes. A recent example of this mismatch is the Victorian Government’s decision to stop funding the VicRoads Bicycle Program. Funding for the program (which averaged $15 million a year over the last three years) has effectively been abolished.

Piqued your interest? Read it the whole article here: Cutting cycling funding is economic non-sense.