Will Labor's Metronet deliver? When we hear about spirited community fights against bad things we cross our fingers, resigned to them losing the fight - that's just how it is. How often does a grassroots movement contribute to a big upset that is profoundly positive? Lots of people will say it's just an election, or a road, or some bush. It's a bit more than that - it's the future of Perth.

Alex Fletcher, a Perth lawyer and cycling enthusiast. Credit:Yakub Erogul The Roe 8 saga showed that many people are prepared to speak up when they see their world going pear shaped. The government insisted, with gravitas and certainty, that building a privately operated toll road for trucks to an inner city port, also soon to be privatised, was the best thing for us. Objectors scratched their heads. The new road wasn't fully planned or costed. The business case was hidden. The traffic modelling didn't take into account induced demand. It would lead to a bottleneck. The other options hadn't been properly considered. An outer harbour made more sense.Trucks would ruin communities. Diesel particulates could kill people. Fremantle's potential would be torched. Rare wetland habitats and Aboriginal heritage would be bulldozed. Private logistics companies would benefit while public transport wasn't being built. What the hell? According to what seemed an angry majority, the Perth Freight Link represented progress, jobs and economic security. The objectors were written off as a minority of unemployed, idealistic, lefty NIMBY's. Or they were radical, Greens-voting inner-city elites. The message wasn't entirely clear, but they definitely cared about the environment. The objectors were, in truth, normal people, who were extraordinarily persistent and committed. Many were arrested in peaceful disobedience. They pursued legal challenges and senate inquiries. The noise they created eventually lead to information. The information confirmed that the fears were true.

Luckily we found this out before we hit the ballot box. Perth was at a crossroads and is now on the right track. While we've always been a sprawling, car-based city, it's been dawning on people that prioritising cars is destructive – of cities, bank accounts, nature, communities, your health, you name it. Meanwhile the government has continued to frolic in the bitumen dark ages. The Perth Freight Link was painted as a congestion reducing saviour by many, including Main Roads, Treasury and Paul Murray. Mr Murray quoted a Treasury paper in one of his strongly worded op-eds: "Heavy freight vehicles represent only 10 per cent of total traffic on the PFL route — the project is fundamentally about relieving congestion for commuters."

Perth is destined to have seven out of Australia's top 10 most congested roads within 15 years, according to Infrastructure Australia. We clearly need to do something about it. But was Roe 8 the answer? In its latest transport plan 'Transport @ 3.5 million', the Department of Transport set out its goals for catering for 3.5 million in Perth.The goals are to increase public transport use, increase cycling and walking, and reduce the mode share of car driver trips to 50 per cent. The Liberal party didn't get this memo. International consensus is that building a new freeway to solve congestion is bonkers. Induced demand means people will drive more and fill up any new lanes, and the road congestion cycle begins again. Uber, today's juggernaut of high tech transport solutions, has a vested interest in people using cars and roads. But after a day of chaos in Washington DC recently, Uber's Head of Transportation Policy and Research, Andrew Salzberg, admitted "there's no way in any system that Uber and any sharing models can move as many people as rail trains can".

Even Uber admits car-sharing is less effective at reducing congestion than trains. In this light, Metronet looks pretty good. A comprehensive commuter rail network for Perth ticks all the boxes. It will move more people, in more directions. Activate and regenerate suburbs. Speed up commutes. Encourage walking and cycling. Reduce congestion and pollution. Limit urban sprawl (in tandem with planning changes). It will also, eventually, attract international investment, talent and tourists. If we are going to diversify our economy we need to be a city that people want to move to. Liveable, successful cities these days are not car-based.

Rather than just building roads, let's get cracking on rail, bus rapid transit and cycle paths along key transport corridors. When they are built, let's actually use them. This will free up the roads for the cars and trucks that really need them. As a happy public and active transport commuter, I can say it is far more enjoyable to get a bit of exercise cycling then relaxing on public transport on the way to work. It's better than sitting in a traffic jam listening to reports on cutting edge freeway widening plans. Though the news should brighten up as Perth finally transitions into being a modern city. Alex Fletcher is the founder of Freewheeler and Principal of Fletcher Law