Public transport just doesn't work in Australia

(pic: space required to move 60 people)

I was writing letters to Sydney's transport authority 20 years ago about the pathetic state of public transport in this area.. I see that they haven't done anything since and have made it worse with plans to build more freeways, overpasses and tunnels.

The other day I was driving to Chatswood to drop hubby at the station (I didn't dare drive to the airport, it would've probably taken 3 hours) and it took 20 mins to drive 2km along Warringah Rd. It was only 7am but since it was raining heavily and a weekday the road was completely blocked. Now this stretch of road runs right near the new fandangled hospital.

What dickhead decided to build a giant hospital on one of the worst bottlenecks in Sydney? As I sat in the car not moving I thought to myself I'd hate to be someone in an ambulance.. where the fuck would the ambulance go? It would have to drive on the other side of the road facing oncoming traffic which is highly dangerous. How else could they get through? Impossible. Or are they gonna get everyone in by helicopter? Also impossible.

Oh then I read that the dumbasses decided to resolve the problem by building 2 overpasses, one at Forestway, one at Wakehurst Pkwy/Warringah Road.. yeah cos that'll solve the problem... not! It'll cost more money, take more time and cause months or years of disruptions (to the already residents who are already disrupted by fucking roadworks).. and it'll work for some time until THAT becomes blocked again..

Just like the 1200 car spaces they decided to add to Warringah Mall only 4-5 months ago which already gets full.

I'm absolutely appalled that this area, city and country is run but short-sighted dumb idiots who can only think of themselves, not give a fuck about others, nor the environment for that matter... it seems like the most important decisions are being made by kindergarten people.

Meanwhile, Sydney buses are the most ridiculous joke too and I have caught buses in many countries. Inside the bus there is ZERO indication of where you are, where you are going, or what number or line you are on. As a local I could barely remember how to catch them, foreigners/tourists have no chance. You just have to keep asking fellow passengers. The signs at Wynyard are a pathetic joke. They don't even give you a proper timetable and have moved half the stops away from Wynyard.

Oh but of course maybe I should stop complaining and just drive to the city like everyone else right? Spend hours sitting in traffic breathing in disgusting air inside the car or coming from outside, give myself backpain, tons of stress, pay the toll, and then fork out an absolute fortune to park in the city (if I can even find a space at all and probably spend an hour looking for a space)...

And yet the house prices keep going up as the problems get worse and worse with overpopulation and overcrowding...

The problem is when you've lived in so many different places as I have you very quickly start to see what works and what doesn't work in a country and for Australia, that's transport. It was always my biggest gripe and still is.

I know that every city and country has its flaws but this is a huge issue which will one day blow up.. I'm willing to bet that some years down the track - 20, 30, 50? they will finally build some kind of rail to this area.. but by then I'll be so old and living far away I won't care.

Meanwhile I can also see the things I love about Australia and it's pros over France.. when I think back to France it does almost feel like a 3rd world country compared to Australia.. I know that sounds like an exaggeration but that's how I feel. France is so ridiculously inefficient and understaffed everywhere you go. There are 50 billion jobs waiting to be done and noone to do them. In that sense it seems even worse than third world countries where there are people willing to work for nothing.