Page 2919 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 14 August 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Network 19 is also providing more services, and this is evident in Transport Canberra’s timetable that shows that as at 31 July 2019 compared to 1 April 2019 before the network came into force there were: 709 more public transport services provided each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday during school terms, including 470 more bus services and 239 light rail services; 720 more public transport services each Friday during school terms, including 470 more bus services and 250 light rail services; 895 more public transport services each Saturday, including 737 more bus services and 158 light rail services; and 785 more public transport services each Sunday, including 629 more bus services and 129 light rail services.
This equates to more than 19 per cent more timetabled services for Canberrans each weekday than just a few months before and more than 70 per cent more timetabled services each weekend. The government is pleased that with the addition of these extra services many more Canberrans are making the switch to using public transport.
On every measure more Canberrans are now using public transport than under the old network. From the end of the free travel period on 27 May to 11 August 2019, Transport Canberra recorded, 4,571,499 boardings on bus and light rail services, 11.3 per cent more boardings than during the same period in 2018; 3,360,010 journeys on bus and light rail services, 6.9 per cent more journeys than the same period in 2018; and 350,795 weekend journeys, 26.6 per cent more journeys on weekends than during the same period in 2018.
I also advise members that many more Canberrans are now using MyWay cards, giving them the lowest available fare and providing valuable information to help us plan better public transport services. The proportion of people using MyWay cards is around 95 per cent compared to around 90 per cent before the new network was introduced and free travel was offered for customers using a MyWay card. That means thousands of Canberrans no longer have to find change to buy a bus ticket, making it easier and faster for more people to use public transport.
Many customers are, of course, eligible for concession fares, including free travel during off-peak periods on weekdays and at all times on weekends for seniors, pensioners and certain other concession card beneficiaries. Those measures were introduced by the government earlier this term.
These figures speak to the reality that many Canberrans now have a practical, realistic option to use public transport where they did not before and that they have responded by coming out in droves to use our bus and light rail services. The figures show that there are more boardings on our public transport network, more journeys made each day and more individual public transport users each day.
However, it is also clear that there are some teething issues with the new network that we are working on addressing so that Canberrans can depend on bus and light rail services, particularly on the weekends. Since the end of the free travel period, Transport Canberra has delivered around 88 per cent of weekend bus services. This is well below the target set by the government of 99.5 per cent, a target that equates to about one service in every 200 not being delivered.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video