Where transport systems are serious and procrastination is seldom seen...
Living in a city with a good metro system I can vouch for how exceptionally good a good one (not London!) can be. But the overwhelming fact that presents itself is the population density supporting the metro. Here you are looking at acreages of 4-6 storey (and higher further out) apartment buildings. While I support metros in principle in Sydney as a transportation system I just can't see the current urban structure supporting the investment. It can only be assumed that a metro line would be built with a plan to support a vastly higher level of future development/population (if such development isn't there already).
Some interesting statistics from Prague. The population of the main city is about 1.2 million, a little more than Adelaide. (Greater Prague is about 1.9 million.) Public transport annual patronage is 1.2 BILLION. The metro carries 620 million passengers per annum and the tram system 350 million ppa. The rest are carried, in that order, by the tertiary bus system and the suburban rail lines (to outer suburbs). When the metro was largely closed for several months as a result of the 2002 flood the tram system took over the load, moving double their normal patronage. Unbelievable, but when you use the trams here you understand their extraordinary carrying capacity (not that you'd want to carry that number too long or too far!). Convinces me that trams can have a very big role in Sydney (if done the right way) until the urban development case for metros is worked up. I'm not the first Australian to say this but Prague is definitely one for the study tour agenda for Australian politicians wanting to look at transport systems that do their job with the efficiency of a Swiss watch.
The public health issue of public transport use has also often been discussed. You don't see any fat Czechs! (or fat Europeans for that matter) Walking and PT use would be one factor. I'm sure apartment living is another though! Interesting that when Australia introduced the 3-storey walk up flat, that was considerd to be the maximum comfortable climb without a lift. Well try walking up 4-5 storeys (with shopping) in an unmodernised apartment building! I'm hoping my Aussie suburban gut will have disappeared by the time I get back!
They also get their bicycles onto the trains and go cycling, canoeing etc in the countryside. I don't want to paint too idealistic a picture. Car ownership and use is very high and there are amazingly engineered new motorways everywhere but more on a ring road basis and as part of their obligations to the European inter-country road system (for which reason the main railway lines are also being upgraded). All these works built with such relative cheapness and ease (and lack of procrastination) compared to Australia.
Note on Baku metro, Mott McDonald based in Prague - a lot of these multinational firms now operate their European base from here.
Your European correspondent...