Public transport changes may be made in ACT in an effort to increase public transport use
September 16, 2013
Community consultation has been called in Australian Capital Territory as changes to ACTION’s bus service have been proposed in an effort to get more people using public transport.
Minister for Territory and Municipal Services Shane Rattenbury invited the community to provide feedback on proposed changes to ACTION’s bus service last week.
“The new network has been developed based on patronage data from the MyWay system and feedback from bus passengers and drivers,” says Rattenbury.
“The entire network has been reviewed with a focus on providing more direct routes, better connections and increased frequency.”
To allow for increased frequency and more direct routes there does need to be some trade-offs, according to Rattenbury.
For example, to make services more direct, the walking distance for some people to get to a bus stop might be increased although 95 per cent of residents will still be within 500m of a bus stop as the crow flies.
The proposed changes to the bus service build on other investments such as bus priority measures, bus station and stop upgrades, new buses, NXTBUS – the real time passenger information system – and light rail.
Rattenbury says increasing the frequency of bus services will encourage more people to get out of their private vehicles.
“The ACT Government is committed to providing a more efficient bus network which meets the travel needs of the community,” he says.
“I encourage the community to get involved in this consultation process to ensure a positive outcome for the service.”
Consultation on proposed changes closes on October 14 and for more information visit timetotalk.act.gov.au