At its April 2007 meeting, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) released, and responded to, the 'Review of urban congestion trends, impacts and solutions', that it had commissioned in February 2006. The review was a cooperative effort by the three levels of government to improve urban congestion management in Australia in the face of rising congestion pressures. The task was complex on a number of levels, involving difficult economic, technical and policy questions; multiple governments, agencies and viewpoints; as well as a tight timeframe. In response, the review introduced a number of innovations to economic analysis, policy development and governance of national cross-jurisdictional initiatives. These are addressed in this paper. The paper discusses the: 1. background to the review and its governance; 2. methodology and results from the new congestion cost projections undertaken for the review by the Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics (BTRE); 3. key findings and outcomes from the review; 4. subsequent decisions by COAG and the Australian Transport Council of Ministers, and how these are being implemented; and 5. conclusion and way forward. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E216058.
Samenvatting