Page 2975 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 15 August 2018
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learning package on hazards associated with the light rail. This will be followed up with a more detailed learning package to be jointly developed with capital metro, with a lesson plan for all firefighters to complete. This will cover risks associated with working within the light rail corridor, safe working practices for firefighters, shutting down overhead power, and liaising with capital metro staff and the light rail corridor control centre.
Additional hydraulic rams with 25-tonne lifting capacity have been purchased to enable the lifting of light rail cars. This was done from within ESA’s existing budget, so no additional funding was required. These will be placed in an upgraded technical rescue pod which will be deployed to all rescue incidents involving light rail vehicles.
ACT Fire & Rescue operational staff will undertake a familiarisation of the light rail vehicles and rail corridor on a scheduled platoon basis to be developed in consultation with capital metro, and a standard operating guide will also be promulgated which will cover responses to incidents involving light rail. The training program for the rams and associated equipment, known as a re-railing kit, including positioning needs on light rail vehicle undercarriages, will be delivered to all ACT Fire & Rescue level 3 rescue operators.
ACTION bus service—timetable changes
Debate resumed.
MS LAWDER (Brindabella) (3.40): During the estimates process we spoke about a number of issues that will be affected by changes to the bus network. Those include the issue of women’s safety. We talked about the fact that at present only 38 per cent of women feel safe in public on their own at night. Making people walk further to and from a bus stop will contribute to people, especially women—I will say that while I am still allowed to use gender specific terms—feeling less safe walking to and from a bus stop.
A number of older people, especially those in retirement villages and nursing homes, have raised with me their concerns about having to walk further to and from a bus stop. Working people have raised with me issues about the length of time it will take them to get to and from work, and many parents have raised issues with me about their children going to and from school, given the proposed changes to the school bus system.
One constituent said:
The proposed changes will hurt young people now and will hurt them in the future. Kids will be hurt at bus interchanges; not as many as people fear, but the occasional student on their way between school and home will find themselves isolated, unsupervised, and any kind of abuse may well happen.
Lindsay from Chisholm said:
If the changes to the bus timetable happen, it will take me longer to get to and from work, and I will feel forced to drive more often.
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