Page 2950 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 14 August 2019
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been disadvantaged under network 19 once again shows the complete and utter contempt that this government has for Canberrans.
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong) (5.38): The Greens will be supporting this motion today. We are very happy to see the numbers that Mr Pettersson has highlighted in his motion today. They demonstrate how light rail stage 1 in Canberra has enhanced Canberra’s public transport options and attracted people to use public transport.
We see this as a further validation of our advocacy for light rail for so many years. It is a testament to the fact that this is a great step forward in public transport for the ACT. Reaching our 2021 targets this early is a good problem to have. I have heard that phrase used a couple of times already in this debate; I think it is a fair one. I appreciated Mr Steel’s comment. It is a good problem to have, but it is still a problem. That goes to the heart of this motion—that that popularity means we need to take further steps. We need to respond to the public response to light rail and think about how to make sure we continue to provide a service that people clearly like and make sure that it remains at the standard they expect.
I am pleased to see that increased peak services have already been added, both for students returning from school and for worker transit peaks, but clearly it is important to look at how to meet the increased demand as soon as possible. As we face the reality of climate change, there must be an urgency to our efforts to provide the infrastructure to give people an option to get out of their cars and into public transport.
On the face of it, while more light rail services will benefit residents of Gungahlin and the inner north by further reducing car traffic into the city, the resulting reduction in traffic and parking congestion will also benefit residents of other areas who may need to drive. That is a reality for some people, and we need to think about how our whole transport system works together. Certainly, one of the positive things we can do is to maximise the number of people that take public transport and maximise the options for them.
It is also useful to reflect on this experience as we move through the planning phase for light rail stage 2. All of the priorities need to be weighed up, but there is a strong argument to ride the wave of popularity for light rail, increasing services where needed, before it becomes known for overcrowding and passengers are put off.
As I said in my remarks earlier—and Mr Pettersson made a similar comment—people like it, but we need to make sure they do not get discouraged by overcrowding. Now is the time to entrench the new habit of taking public transport, which some people have done for the first time. I have met people who have said, “I’m so impressed by light rail that I’ve started taking public transport in a way that I never did.” It has opened up a world of convenience for some people and it has opened up a world of comfort. People like it as a form of transport, and the numbers using it certainly reflect that. We need to make the most of this opportunity and the investment already made to reduce traffic congestion in our city and reduce our community’s contribution to climate change.
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