Page 3497 - Week 09 - Thursday, 23 August 2018
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a rate of around three to four per cent over the next decade. It is critical that Transport Canberra looks at school travel now to ensure that as the city grows and demand for school transport grows, the public transport system can be responsive to the needs of our community.
Importantly, the new network will no longer require students to stand at school bus only stops in many locations where kids can be stranded if they miss their bus. However, some school bus only stops will remain, particularly where they are located in school grounds.
Madam Speaker, I think we can all agree that we need a public transport system that will attract as many passengers as possible. A well-designed public transport system will give individuals greater transport choice as well as keep our city liveable and productive. Canberrans have told us consistently that they want more frequent services seven days a week. Our investments in the rapid bus networks have proven to be a success and we are changing the bus network to deliver exactly that.
The resolution earlier this year also called on the government to provide the Assembly with information on the take-up of Uber in Canberra. On 31 October 2015, three ride-share booking services were operating legally under an interim agreement until the legislation was enacted in November 2016. Uber remained as the only ride-share provider until July 2017 when four other providers applied for accreditation.
Today there are a total of nine accredited ride-share transport booking services in Canberra, with five of those actively operating with their driver partners, and with the newest launched on 22 May 2018. As at 30 June 2018, there are 2,269 licensed ride-share drivers, 1,852 ride-share vehicles and 2,010 accredited operators. Access Canberra still receives and processes 40 ride-share applications per week. It is clear that the government is interested in investing in a truly integrated public transport network across our city. We have partnered with ride-share companies like Uber on a number of occasions to help people get home quickly and safety.
In December last year we ran services every Friday and Saturday until New Year’s Day offering inexpensive and convenient public transport options to help Canberrans get to and from the city’s nightlife hotspots. Transport Canberra partnered with Uber to offer an easy, affordable and safe way for people to get around the city on Friday and Saturday nights.
The ACT government is committed to continuing to explore other options for integrating our public transport services with other services to help people get to where they need to go and encourage a bigger uptake of public transport. This is not just by creating a better bus network but also through expanding our bike-and-ride and park-and-ride facilities, upgrading our depots and bus interchanges, and investing in more active travel through more footpaths and more cyclepaths, like the exciting initiative underway particularly in the Belconnen town centre. We are also innovating our ticketing system.
These are all changes, widely agreed around Australia and around the world, that are vital to increasing the uptake of public transport networks, to investing in the
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