Many faced a long wait to get home after bus services ran short in Canberra on ANZAC Day
A record turnout to ANZAC Day services caught Canberra’s Action buses by surprise, and resulted in a long wait for attendees.
Action put on free services on the day, but the number of buses allocated fell way short, resulting in long delays for people travelling to the Australian War Memorial.
Minister for Territory and Municipal Services Shane Rattenbury says while it was great to see a record turn-out to the 100th centenary ANZAC Dawn Service, the number of people forecasted to attend, and so the number of buses required, was underestimated.
“The ACT Government were pleased to see so many people attend this year’s ANZAC Day dawn service,” he says.
“The original forecast for this years’ service was 50,000 people, but it was reported over 120,000 people attended.
“While more people attending the service than originally forecast, in addition to associated traffic, did affect bus running times, ACTION was successful in transporting over 20,000 passengers to the service from all over Canberra.”
Certain roads were blocked as a last minute decision, which affected bus timetables and resulted in delays in drivers getting to and from the Australian War Memorial.
“Police were required to change the temporary traffic measures part way through the morning, which meant that buses weren’t able to get back to the interchanges as quickly as expected for further journeys,” Rattenbury says.
“Nonetheless, Action staff report that bus interchanges were mostly clear of people wanting to attend the service by 5.20am.
“Action would like to thank Canberrans for their patience and support as well as its bus drivers for their dedication in carrying so many passengers on full buses to the service, for what has proven to be one of the largest events Action has been involved in.”