Bicycle Network Victoria: VoteBike

Pollies shy on bike commitments

17 November 2010. Only about 25 per cent of candidates standing in the Victorian State election have posted their commitments to the bike riding community on the VoteBike website, with The Greens dominating the responses.

A total of 37 Greens candidates have acted to make specific public commitments to improve conditions for bike riders, more than half of those who have participated.

Twelve ALP candidates and five Liberal candidates took the time to lodge bike policies. Two nationals also participated.

VoteBike is an online system which enables candidates to connect to Bicycle Network Victoria members and publicize their bike-related policies.

Most of the candidates who acted on the offer clearly took the time to investigate the local needs of the riders in their electorate.

There are also candidates who have a strong commitment to bikes, but who did note take up the opportunity to state their case through VoteBike.

Victorian voters getting ready for November

6 October 2010. VoteBike is now open for the 2010 Victorian State Election. Voters and candidates will see a list of priority projects in their electorate. These projects are all high value projects that will get a lot of people riding for transport and recreation. Some are low cost and easy to do, others will require strong political support. Candidates will be asked to comment on these projects and present their party's policy on bike riding.

When you log on as a voter you will see all current candidates for your electorate. We encourage you to contact those that haven't made a comment.

Time for candidates to commit

5 August 2010. Candidates for this year's Federal election have began to flesh out their bike policies and upload them to the VoteBike website. Make sure your local pollies are in the race.

So far candidates for the Greens have shown the most interest in formulating and broadcasting policies on bike issues.

The major parties are lagging.

Contact the candidates running in your electorate and impress on them the importance of have a strong commitment to bike transportation. Tell them that putting their policies on the VoteBike site will enable members and friends of Bicycle Network Victoria to make informed judgements on the best candidates.

Riders to muscle pollies

22 July 2010. Bike riders will have more influence than ever before in this year's Federal election, thanks to hi-tech innovation by Bicycle Network Victoria.

For the forthcoming Federal and Victorian elections the VoteBike system, trialled in the 2008 local government elections, has been fully developed so that riders can monitor and evaluate policy on bikes, electorate by electorate and candidate by candidate.

Members and Friends, can easily find out what, if any, policies their local candidates have to respond to the bike boom.

By logging in Blink, the server automatically locates the correct electorate, and displays the candidates running and their policies (if the candidates have published policies).

Furthermore the web site indicates the priority bike projects for that specific electorate, Federal or State. Riders can click on the links and read the webpage about the projects.

Each one is a project that has been identified as a worthwhile investment that will get More People Riding More Often in your area

Riders are urged to participate in the process contacting local candidates or political parties to ensure that all candidates get a bike policy entered on the VoteBike site.

For this Federal election the focus will be on Victoria. Nearly all Victorian Federal candidate have been contacted and asked to submit their policy statements.

Candidates for the State election in November will be contacted later.