Canberrans take ACTION over high fuel prices

I was a regular bus user and cyclist until I got my Vespa. I loved the opportunity to sit down and read a book while someone else drove. Methinks we all complain too much – the bus routes and timetables cannot suit all the people all the time. But then again when was the last time you saw a grandstanding politician on a bus?

tandu said :

not since being here in the ACT, the bike tracks are insane! They’re just thrown a bit of white paint down on the side of the road.
In Adelaide one can cycle from one side to the other without ever having seen a car, let alone try to cross an off-ramp ! That means 60 minutes of pleasant cycling on a dedicated path

Tandu, we have dedicated cycle paths here too. Only many cyclists chose not to use them as they don’t provide enough opportunities for showing off the lycra to admiring hoards in their cars.

Canberra bike paths are great, I lived in Adelaide and it sucked. Clearly the poster has not seen a bike path *map* and realised they don’t necessarily run along the side of the road, but through parks and along their own paths. *Adelaide* had it down the side of the road and that sucked. And what was *worse* in Adelaide is the fact that “bike lane” just means “free parking” in Adelaide, entirely defeating the purpose.

Adelaide had great scenery and beaches and so on, and good paths for recreational riding, but sucks compared to Canberra for practical purposes.

Get a bike map.

Admitedly it does take longer taking the bike paths though as they are much longer often, and it is just faster to take the main road. That’s why commuters do.

There are some real morons on the road though, but they were worse in Adelaide.

I would love to see a fence or some even cheap barrier separate bike lanes from the road, but then how to overtake the geriatrics.

Would stop morons parking in the damn lane though.

@ Bailes23

Isn’t Bruce on the “5-minute corridor” between Belconnen and Civic?
If you live around Fernhill jump off at Radford College, If you live in Jaeger Circuit jump off at Calvary Hospital or if you are in the older part of Bruce there is a bus stop near CISAC.
Do you expect the bus to drop you off at your doorstep?

Bailes23: jumps a treddly man, you could be in Civic from Bruce in about 10-15mins tops! Good for the ticker too!

I live in Bruce and the buses near my home suck…Not being close to the express route I have 2 options
Route 1: Bruce – Calvary Hospital – O’Conner – ANU – National Museum – Civic (Total time Approx 40 Minutes)
Route 2 Bruce – AIS – Dickson – Braddon – Civic (Approx 40 Mins)

I would love to use buses more often, but 40 mins from Bruce to Civic is a bit of a joke.

> I can’t believe there is only one bus in and out of Fyshwick every day. Tons of people work out there!

I reckon there’s fair percentage of Fyshwick workers who drive works van & utes….maybe that messes with passenger numbers.

Mælinar said :

Yeah but nobody wants to wait for an hour after their 5 mins of glory. Afterglow wears off pretty quickly when its cold and wet.

Or when it’s raining and windy…

Yeah but nobody wants to wait for an hour after their 5 mins of glory. Afterglow wears off pretty quickly when its cold and wet.

… I mean bus *route*.

I can’t believe there is only one bus in and out of Fyshwick every day. Tons of people work out there!

I’m at the southern end of Belco; and the new routes have improved things dramatically – though the Expresso service I use is now at a less convenient time (I just have to get up 10 mins earlier).

Just spitballing here; but maybe the route planners have deliberately improved services to closer in areas at the expense of the more “far-flung”. If you can get a bus to work every 15 minutes that will get you there in 10-20 mins; you will. Without a hell of a big investment, that’s not really possible unless you’re talking about the closer-in areas only.

The bus from our place got worse. We used to be able to catch one from our shops to near work. Now we have to go thru civic & change buses. Really, when you’ve got stuff to do dithering like that is not what you choose if you don’t have to.

Our trip to work is about 10kms. It takes about 25min to cycle (easily) and driving is either a bit faster or a bit slower depending on the traffic. The bus used to take about 40 mins and now it’s longer. Why would you chose that option? If the bus can’t get there faster than a bike over that distance I think that’s pretty hopeless.

Morgan, wait till you have a 5 year old and then see how you feel about them walking down the road to the bus. Then wait till you have a 7 year old at school, a 3 year old at preschool and a younger one doing childcare stuff. I’ll bet you a 6 pack (of good beer not cheap stuff) that you drive rather than bus to all those things one after the other (btw I often ride my bike to all those things and it’s still faster than the bus). come to think of it, make that a case of beer.

oh I have to take the kids to school crap

Morgan,
I have to take my one year old to child care, 20 km’s from where I live, because it was the only child care I could get. It happens to be near where I work.
I would prefer to bus, or cycle. But I can’t.
I could put my toddler on a bus with me? 2 bus changes and 1 hour trip would not be fun.

ACTION are cr%p, and the bike “network” in the ACT is a joke! I gave up on buses a while ago after taking over 80mins average to get to work, in Canberra! I got better service in Syd and Adelaide. I also used to bike a bit but not since being here in the ACT, the bike tracks are insane! They’re just thrown a bit of white paint down on the side of the road.
In Adelaide one can cycle from one side to the other without ever having seen a car, let alone try to cross an off-ramp ! That means 60 minutes of pleasant cycling on a dedicated path and the most you have to worry about is half deaf geriatrics wandering about down near the Torrens feeding ducks and getting in the way. I have personally seen 5-6 cyclists here on the side of the road on Adelaide Ave near the Lodge, much the worse for wear after getting hit by cars. What genius thought to run a bike lane right OVER the damn off-ramps/exits???? Probably the same Mensa candidates that thought up a one lane GDE.
Seriously, I know the rest of the country thinks Canberra is in a little world of it’s own, but just wandering around for the day here shows how divorced from reality the powers-that-be here are!

tylersmayhem said :

Morgan, dude – you could walk to Civic to catch a bus! With all due respect, Holt (or Giralang) is not a far out suburb of the ACT, and the service out there not only sucks, but has gotten worse since the changes to the schedule!

May be “far flung” if you live within walking distance of the GPO, but Canberra is a pretty big place now!

That is what I was getting at, the far flung comment is a dig at the Canberran attitude to distance. I suppose my point is that my suburb, (which I tend to ride my bike to and from civic to) is really well serviced by buses going to ANU, Civic, Dickson, Belconnen and so on. But the services in suburbs that are a little further away (Griralang is three suburbs) are fairly difficult. I am not saying everyone should abandon their cars, but there are still loads of Canberrans that are not using the good bus that exists in their suburb ( I am having a dig at my fellow O’connorans), and leave the roads for the less fortunate less well serviced (I am sure if you lived in Mitchell you would be very well serviced).

Morgan, dude – you could walk to Civic to catch a bus! With all due respect, Holt (or Giralang) is not a far out suburb of the ACT, and the service out there not only sucks, but has gotten worse since the changes to the schedule!

May be “far flung” if you live within walking distance of the GPO, but Canberra is a pretty big place now!

My bus is now less crowded, but comes less often (every 30 mins down from every 15 mins). That said, its a 2 minute walk to the stop, and a 5 minute walk to a different route that leaves every 15 minutes, so I can’t complain.

Seems about as good for me, but my partner, who works out at CSIRO at the intersection of the GDE and the Barton Hwy can’t get a bus anymore because they discontinued the only service that stopped anywhere close to her work.

I should add that I live in O’Connor and are very well serviced by Public transport, I understand if you live in the far flung places (Like Giralang), ACTION is not as good. That being said there are a lot of people in my suburb who could use the bus to free up the roads for further away mountain folk.

I don’t buy this, oh I have to take the kids to school crap, as an excuse not to catch the bus. I used to go to the end of the street and catch the bus to school, why can’t the kiddies walk too??

I regularly bus it, but live so close to the main intertown route that I’ve never had a problem. I’d prefer to drive, but with the cost of fuel and parking (and parking spots in Civic fast running out) $22 a week looks pretty good, even if I have to stand during the trip.

There are busses out to Brindabella Business Park and Fairairn now, that is a HUGE improvement. Traffic out there is a nightmare and this should really help if people use the service. That’s up to 80 or more cars off the road if the busses are packed.

The reality is that the more people use public transport, the better it will be, as it will become a higher priority in government planning.

Read this.

I was reading this the other day and thinking the same Kramer.

I haven’t met anyone who thinks its better, I have met people who think it is the same (my bus number just changed the route is the same) or worse, my flatmate has to catch two buses instead of one now.

Can’t please everyone, but its cheaper than petrol