Page 4382 - Week 12 - Thursday, 24 October 2019
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Light rail is a success story for investment in infrastructure, coming in under budget, and a success story for public transport. In the six months that light rail stage 1 has been operating from Gungahlin, down the Northbourne corridor to Civic, it has moved over one million people, roughly 15,000 people a day. That is 15,000 people a day who do not have to drive a car to work or uni. That is 15,000 people a day not looking for a car park. It is 15,000 people a day from Gungahlin and north Canberra who appreciate that light rail has given them a better transport option than sitting in road congestion waiting for the light to turn green.
Although light rail stage 1 is only 12 kilometres long, it carries 20 per cent of our integrated transport network passengers. This is a figure that was not expected for several years and has prompted demands that we buy extra light rail vehicles to offer more services and provide more capacity on just this first stage. This remarkable success in encouraging new construction and economic growth, lifting public transport patronage and reducing road congestion is the model that we want to apply to the rest of Canberra. We want to extend the benefits and success that we have seen with light rail stage 1 down to Woden and then to Belconnen and Tuggeranong.
As the infrastructure plan released shows, our city is growing and there is strong demand for both places to work and places to live. This government is committed to providing options to people who want to live in an apartment, in a town centre, along a transport corridor, in a standalone house in the suburbs or in a small complex of townhouses in suburban neighbourhoods.
We do not want residents to continue to be victims of car dependency due to the poor planning that we inherited in a large, spread-out city; we want them to have better options. We can provide that by ensuring that active travel and public transport are planned and funded appropriately, not just between the town centres but in suburban neighbourhoods. This is important because our government recognises that the way people move around our city every day matters to them. That is why we have invested in infrastructure that supports people’s choices. With a city-wide light rail network as the backbone of an integrated transport network, Canberrans will have more transport options.
Our integrated public transport network features 10 rapid routes, with nine rapid bus routes and one light rail route. As we continue to grow the light rail network, the ability to integrate buses and light rail will deliver more benefits to those that choose to use public transport. Buses will always be a major part of our city’s transport options. More buses mean more local routes, greater frequency and better integration with rapid routes, be they light rail or bus rapids.
The new roads that we have planned and are building right now—even the roads that the Liberals and Greens did not support yesterday in Ms Cody’s motion—are also important. Better roads that allow for safe and efficient travel mean less congestion, less driving and more time with our families. This government recognises that cars, trucks and buses will remain an important part of people’s transport choices, and we have planned and invested in road infrastructure at the same time as we are investing in light rail infrastructure. We can do both, and we must do both.
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