The ACT Greens have this week put the territory’s transport minister under the microscope about cuts to rapid bus services in the ACT.
ACT transport minister Chris Steel was asked by ACT Greens members why there have been rapid bus service cuts in Belconnen, as well as asking for more detail about the MyWay+ ticketing rollout.
“Canberrans are left with major gaps in their public transport system thanks to substandard management from this government,” ACT Greens spokesperson for transport Andrew Braddock says. s
“Service cuts are being made with outdated data, limited – if any – consultation, and a lack of regard for the current and future impact on Canberrans.
“We know that there is newer data from the MyWay+ system that the government could and should be using to determine service changes.
- Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to receive the latest news and classifieds from Australasia’s bus and coach industry
- Don’t miss a second and subscribe to our monthly ABC magazine
“I have been asking the transport minister where this data is for months, but so far they have only given me excuses for why it’s not ready. It’s been 15 months since MyWay+ launched. I am calling on the ACT government to show us what data they have.”
The Legislative Assembly also debated this week a Greens’ morning ordering the government to produce documents on patronage data.
“Service changes have a real impact on the everyday lives of Canberrans. It is essential that the government is open with the community about on what data it is basing these decisions on,” Braddock says.
This comes after Steel faced questions from Greens MLAs about the cutting of rapid services for the people living in West Belconnen. The minister says people will have to wait another two years before they can get their rapid buses back.
“Labor is taking the people of West Belconnen for granted by cutting off public transport routes they’ve planned their lives around. This is not how you encourage more people to use public transport,” ACT Greens member for Ginninderra Jo Clay says.
“Canberrans need and deserve a public transport system they can rely on. There is nothing reliable about cutting all rapid services for one in 10 Canberrans.
“Before the election, Labor promised to increase rapid bus services to West Belconnen. Now they have cut off the only two existing ones. This is simply not good enough.
“The government failed to plan ahead for known closures to the Commonwealth Bridge and they’re making every day Canberrans pay the price.
“The ACT Greens are backing the more than 1,000 Canberrans calling for the R2 and R3 to be restored beyond Belconnen town centre to Spence and Fraser.”
Read more:
