Page 2827 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 17 August 2005
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MR SPEAKER: Mrs Dunne, I warn you. You have been a constant interjector. Please desist. You are on a warning.
MR CORBELL: That helps to build confidence in the passengers about the reliability of the service and boosts patronage. I would have thought that everyone in this Assembly was interested in boosting patronage on public transport. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case from the opposition.
This is a good initiative, one that will make a real and practical difference for Canberrans using our public transport service and certainly encourage more people to see it as a reliable, timely service and one that can grow patronage to help us become a more sustainable city.
MS PORTER: Minister, could you please inform the Assembly of other public transport initiatives that the government has undertaken to create sustainable transport?
MR CORBELL: Again, I thank Ms Porter for the question. Of course, real-time information is just one of the initiatives. The government has a strong record on public transport investment and public transport infrastructure. By the end of this financial year, it is worth noting, this government will have purchased an additional 53 ACTION buses to replace older buses in the ACTION fleet—53 compressed natural gas buses. These buses have been really well received by the Canberra community; people like them; they are using them; and they like the signal it sends that public transport is a priority for the government and is a priority for people who use it and that we want to encourage more people to use it.
There is an additional $3 million available this financial year for the detailed assessment of the environmental, heritage, economic, social and operational impacts of the proposed Belconnen to Civic busway. This will allow the government to make an informed decision about any future investment in this piece of infrastructure. It is really worth highlighting the benefits that this busway could deliver. For example, it will improve travel times from, say, a suburb like Higgins into the city by 15 minutes. The use of a public transport system, the use of the busway, makes the journey comparative and competitive with a private motor vehicle. That is a really strong signal to send. If you are using public transport, you get the same journey times as using your car.
Of course the government’s commitment doesn’t stop there. There are a range of other initiatives. The bustext process, which is an SMS trial for ACTION bus passengers, has been strongly welcomed by bus users, in particular those who are hearing impaired. The ability to access information in that way has been strongly welcomed by that community.
In addition, there has been the introduction of the new flexibus arrangements—the first in the country, a flexibus on demand, public transport on the phone, delivering you pretty much to your door. That flexibus service is working well. It has been well received by the Canberra community. Again, it is an example of good innovation that this government is bringing to public transport services.
I heard the cries from the opposition about frequency. The government has increased frequency. I don’t know whether they know this, but the Xpresso bus services are
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