Page 1310 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 5 May 2015
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MADAM SPEAKER: Do you have anything more to add?
Ms Burch: No.
ACTION bus service—network
MR COE: Madam Speaker, my question is to the Minister for Territory and Municipal Services. Minister, on 18 May the ACTION timetable will be updated, just eight months since the introduction of network 14. The changes to the network include a reduction of the route 200 and 202 services running from the Gungahlin town centre to the city but an increase in the number of services which run from Gungahlin suburbs to the city. These include routes 56, 57, 58, 251, 252, 255 and 259. Minister, why did the government opt for integrated Gungahlin suburbs to the city over routes 200 and 202?
MR RATTENBURY: Yes, Mr Coe is right. There is set to be an update to the timetable on 18 May. He alluded to the fact that it is just eight months after the introduction of network 14. This is quite deliberate and this will be a pattern that members will see on an ongoing basis. We will expect to see an update of the timetable about every six months.
With the provision of both MyWay data and NXTBUS data, there is an ability to continue to hone the timetable to particularly improve on-time running, as we are able to take account of things like Constitution Avenue construction works but also network 14 hitting the ground. Although there were test runs to measure it, the actual performance of the network has proved to be different in some places where services have either run too early or run too late. That is the purpose of the change on 18 May.
When it comes to Gungahlin, there is an increase of services out of Gungahlin in the mornings particularly because we were seeing overcrowding on some services, despite the fact that network 14 brought in additional services to Gungahlin. Further, since network 14 has come in there has still been an increase in demand. We have seen continued overcrowding, including through until 10 am. So one of the things that is a feature after 18 May is the introduction of additional services past 9 am because we are seeing that that peak period is lasting longer and some of the key pressures are after 9 am.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Coe.
MR COE: Minister, who is the current general manager of ACTION buses? Has there been a change and, if so, what was the rationale for that change?
MR RATTENBURY: Yes, there have been some changes in personnel at ACTION. This is part of the government’s efforts to make improvements in the running of ACTION. Some staff have been moved to a dedicated work stream in order to work on matters around the improvement overall of ACTION, as opposed to day-to-day operational matters, which is where ACTION staff tend to be focused.
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