Page 4436 - Week 14 - Thursday, 28 November 2013
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We got an extraordinary level of feedback. ACTION received around 2,500 surveys and letters through the consultation period. I believe that is some kind of record and is about 10 times the amount received for the last revamp of the ACTION network in 2012. I think that is in part because the proposed revamp is far more extensive than that that was implemented in 2012.
Of course, as members will note, and as we have discussed before, this is the first time we have used patronage data from the MyWay ticketing system to assist with the planning. That has been particularly advantageous in looking at the number of people on particular services. One of the areas we have looked at is reducing night-time services where some of the data show the service literally averages one person a service over an extended period of time. Some of those services have been removed to enable resources to be put into more well patronised services.
In terms of where it is up to next, the feedback from the community is currently being reviewed. There has been a range of feedback. Some people are very pleased with the new approach; other people expressed some concerns about gaps in the network or things that perhaps have changed from how they had previously seen it. ACTION is working through that at the moment. It has taken a bit of extra time over what we had anticipated, given the high level of feedback. But ACTION is taking the time to look very carefully at the feedback.
I expect the network to commence some time during the first half of 2014. I am waiting to see what the final form of the network looks like and also exploring enhanced community transport options and looking to line up the introduction of the new network with the enhancement of those community transport options.
MADAM SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Ms Berry.
MS BERRY: Minister, what are the principles that have guided the design of the new network?
MR RATTENBURY: The design of the network really was based on three central principles: to make routes more direct, to make them more frequent and to improve the connections. These are the things that people want. They have certainly given ACTION that feedback over the last number of years and they are certainly, we believe, the key to increasing patronage of public transport in the ACT.
The new network in light of that has proposed some significant changes based on those principles. As I mentioned, it is the first time that we have been able to use the MyWay data to plan the network as well as match that with the considerable community feedback. The thinking very much now is that in designing this new network we will create the architecture of the network that should not need to be changed, that this will be the network that delivers the high frequency connections that people tell us they want, with these feeder services coming in from the suburbs.
Certainly there are some real highlights of the new network that I think we have had very positive feedback on. That includes services for new and growing suburbs in
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