Mind The Gap!

We all want public transport that is environmentally sustainable, reliable and accessible. But are Australia’s public transport systems fair? Who do they benefit and who do they leave behind? In this edition, we visit the areas public transport has forgotten, placing barriers between residents and essential services, jobs and education, and in some cases, entrenching inequality. We also investigate some clever community initiatives in public transport black spots, and ask if these might be our ticket to ride.

More highlights in this edition:

• Girls to the front! Ultimate Rebel Girl Kathleen Hanna talks punk music, protest and having empathy for the girl she used to be in her Letter to My Younger Self.
• In The Big Picture, photographer Christopher Herwig shows us how the former Soviet Union did the bus stop – extravagantly, brutally and artfully.
• It’s been in your head for 26 years and in Ozzities we walk under a bus and get hit by a train to finally get to the bottom of Bachelor Girl’s 1998 smash hit, ‘Buses and Trains’.
• Writer James Colley is very strict about train etiquette. He’s been railed a few times, you see.
• We talk to actor Anjana Vasan about getting the band back together for season two of We Are Lady Parts.
• With the release of his latest novel Storm Child, Michael Robotham reflects on 20 years of catching bad guys, hanging out with the Spice Girls and getting sworn at by editors.
• Perth psych rockers Pond have a double record out and a tour to celebrate. Their secret? Silliness and seawater.
• The music, the stage, the shimmer of silk: writer Swagata Bapat relives the schoolgirl performance that changed her.
• In Tastes Like Home, Fadi Kattan shares his recipes for a traditional Palestinian bread, warm from the oven and studded with sesame seeds and zaatar: Ka’ek Al-Quds and Eggs.