Direct bus from Gungahlin to Woden

JC said :

darkmilk said :

Light rail which is by design deliberately sticking all those Gungahlin through-commuters into one route and not able to route around traffic problems is just crazy. How can Northbourne av. be the primary ‘transport corridor’ for everyone travelling between North- and South-side when there will be two almost freeway grade alternate routes which don’t have intersections every few hundred meters.

Herein lies one misconception with light rail. For all purposes it is to serve those that live/work/shop etc along the route. It has never been intended to be of use to anyone in the Gungahlin area except those along Flemington Road. So come from the burbs you would do what they do now.

Agree the biggest issue with public transport in Canberra is its not convenient. People say make it free, but I don’t think cost is what deters people. Its time and convenience. Live along the light rail route and you’d probably use it. Maybe some couples who work in different locations might drop the partner at a convenient stop and rive on to their destination (if its not civic).

I still think rapid bus or rail transit between the town centres would be much more palatable, useful and probably cost the same. If you could actually get from say tuggeranong to Civic on public transport in 30 minutes people would use it. Instead try an hour at least when a car trip is 25 minutes.

darkmilk said :

Light rail which is by design deliberately sticking all those Gungahlin through-commuters into one route and not able to route around traffic problems is just crazy. How can Northbourne av. be the primary ‘transport corridor’ for everyone travelling between North- and South-side when there will be two almost freeway grade alternate routes which don’t have intersections every few hundred meters.

Herein lies one misconception with light rail. For all purposes it is to serve those that live/work/shop etc along the route. It has never been intended to be of use to anyone in the Gungahlin area except those along Flemington Road. So come from the burbs you would do what they do now.

Couple of thoughts:

1. Wouldn’t MyWay be capturing data about the number of passengers that travel to and from Woden from Gungahlin? Would this data and any analysis done be able to be sought through FoI?

2. From darkmilk:

darkmilk said :

… plus by the time we get anywhere near evening out the cost of this vs. light rail there will be self-driving buses/taxis/pool-cars which route themselves intelligently, going only to passenger locations by request from you smartphone, skipping those awful circuitous routes through suburbs full of empty bus stops, and taking groups of passengers directly to their destinations by the fastest least traffic route instead of fighting through the congested hubs

I’ve been wondering if I’d ever see this raised around here since reading of a similar sort of system in Charles Stross’ near-future novel “Rule 34”. From memory, passengers were able to flag a bus down and then bid for route changes. Or something. It was a while ago when I read it, but it struck me as a system that would be well-suited to a place like Canberra.

rommeldog56 said :

This sounds like a good idea. Very logical.

But, if the Light Rail materalises, would Gunners-Woden (and vice versa) commuters catch it to go to Civic then hop on an express bus to Woden ?

Actually, this raises an interesting question: if light rail goes ahead as planned will there be any buses at all going from gungahlin to the city?

rommeldog56 said :

This sounds like a good idea. Very logical.

But, if the Light Rail materalises, would Gunners-Woden (and vice versa) commuters catch it to go to Civic then hop on an express bus to Woden ?

I’ll take the bait: No way!

That would be a trip combining the worst aspects of light rail and bus; light rail getting stuck in Northbourne avenue traffic plus two transfers bus-tram-bus, that’s just not practical for any normal person. Why choose to get on a tram just to go into Northbourne and the city traffic when you don’t even have to be in it: a car trip down GDE and the parkway, or soon Majura parkway, the Monaro and Hindmarsh, gets you there in less time – for most people the fuel and parking cost is going to be more than offset by saving an hour or more per day.

Light rail which is by design deliberately sticking all those Gungahlin through-commuters into one route and not able to route around traffic problems is just crazy. How can Northbourne av. be the primary ‘transport corridor’ for everyone travelling between North- and South-side when there will be two almost freeway grade alternate routes which don’t have intersections every few hundred meters. If Canberra was layed out like other cities where Northbourne was the only thouroughfare then maybe light rail would work, but it’s just not like that!

Here’s a though experiment to ponder: Imagine how many extra, free to the user, buses you could put on as fast direct links between the outer town centres, for many years, with almost a billion dollars light rail would really cost. A few extra bus priority lanes and intersections could be thrown in too, they’re pocket change compared to that or light rail. Think about how much that would reduce Northbourne and city traffic… plus by the time we get anywhere near evening out the cost of this vs. light rail there will be self-driving buses/taxis/pool-cars which route themselves intelligently, going only to passenger locations by request from you smartphone, skipping those awful circuitous routes through suburbs full of empty bus stops, and taking groups of passengers directly to their destinations by the fastest least traffic route instead of fighting through the congested hubs… now that’s a visionary solution!

I’d like to see a service from Kingsford Smith Drive to Gungahlin Town Centre or to Mitchell. As would several other neighbours and fellow commuters on 702.

This sounds like a good idea. Very logical.

But, if the Light Rail materalises, would Gunners-Woden (and vice versa) commuters catch it to go to Civic then hop on an express bus to Woden ?

+1 signed. I don’t live/work there anymore but I remember that commute sucked!

+1 Would surely back this recommendation, reducing the traffic on city route during the peak hours would always be a good idea !