21 June 2008

Canberrans take ACTION over high fuel prices

| Kramer
Join the conversation
33

Yesterday Andrew Barr claimed success for the new ACTION network with passenger numbers up 8.4 percent. Obviously Andrew Barr (cruising around in a govt car) hasn’t noticed that the price of petrol has gone up about 20% over the same period.

So is this Canberrans avoiding a second mortage to fuel their car, or is the new ACTION network actually better? Personally I can’t say, as I avoid busses like the plague.

Join the conversation

33
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest
green_frogs_go_pop9:06 pm 25 Jun 08

same here with the 315..no, i mean now the 11. what a joke, honestly.

For the first time since the new network, I attempted to catch the bus to Belconnen (the 30). There are only two 30’s to Belconnen in the morning to get Giralang residents to work before 9am. As used to happen frequently with the old 47 to Belconnen, the first bus didn’t show, that means a 40 minute wait in the cold. So it seems nothing has changed.

It looks like Symonston got shafted.

The Canberra Eye Hospital website lists at least 5 route numbers that could be used to get there. With the new routes, there is just one.

I get on at the Chisholm shops – and I have noticed a doubling of cars in the carpark there each morning. And the fact that I used to be able to get a seat every trip – now not always the case.

Parking and fuel from any outer suburb adds up when compared to $22 per week on the bus. Bussing it also means I can have a few beverages on a Friday arvo and not have to worry about driving…

stonedwookie3:40 am 23 Jun 08

the bus threw giralang isnt that bad gets you to civic or belco interchange which is all you really need

The more I think about the fuel crisis the more I am convinced that a major event has occurred but is still not recognised by those in government. People want houses near where they work and children go to school not 20 or 30 kms away. The cost of travelling 30 kms last year will only get you 10 km by next year. Building new houses at Gungahlin and locating the jobs at Tuggers is not going to satify the population.

The new ‘one bus ride from the inner north to Barton/Parliament House’ is fantastic. I’m bussing several days a week now.

I think they have reduced services in older areas of Canberra, in order to add services to newer areas like Gungahlin and places like the airport.

I live in Ngunnawal and there has been fcuk all changes to myone bus route into civic or belconnen.

Its either full at 0715 or chockers at 0730

green_frogs_go_pop8:26 pm 21 Jun 08

Mine definatly got worse. Now, both bus routes that went anywhere near my place got mushed into one, and it now goes through one side of calwell, ALL through theodore (i mean, all through, the trip takes at least 10 or so minutes!!!), through the other side of calwell, through isabella, then finally to tuggeranong.

So it now takes half an hour to get there, which is just ridiculous.. (And that is, if the bus fucking well turns up, but i guess thats another story!)

Andddd, they’ve now diverted another route to go via calwell shops, which sounds good, but the one that i’d have to get to school, according to someone who catches that service, it never goes past there. Gahhh.

Our bus got worse. It now terminates in Civic, and doesn’t continue on to Russell. Noone is going to hang around civic interchange in the middle of winter and change busses to go 3 more stops.

I think they have reduced services in older areas of Canberra, in order to add services to newer areas like Gungahlin and places like the airport.

Whoever thought up their tv ads was off the mark – 20% of people may have got what they asked form but most of us haven’t . So they are wasting our money on ads that only annoy us.

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.

canberracafe.com4:03 pm 20 Jun 08

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?

tylersmayhem3:31 pm 20 Jun 08

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).

tylersmayhem11:45 am 20 Jun 08

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.

canberracafe.com10:56 am 20 Jun 08

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

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.