18 April 2005

FlexiBus is Here

| che
Join the conversation
20

I’m sure I’m not the only one to recieve a letter from ACTION buses over the weekend telling us all about the new FlexiBus services. Simon Corbell has put out this media release annoucing the start of the service. Now I haven’t had a chance to look closely at the new system it seems they are trying something and user friendly and we’re told the trial in Weston Creek went well.

For the cost of a normal bus fare you’ll get dropped at (or near) your door, and with the usual number of people on ACTION buses it could be like your own personal taxi, but we’ll see.

Join the conversation

20
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

Silly me, forgot to put up my email contact! I suppose working late doesn’t really leave much room for conscious thought!

Please email feedback to: k.w.wong@student.canberra.edu.au

Your comments will be very much appreciated!!

Hi all, I’m doing a feature article on the Flexibus services for NowUC, a student publication by University of Canberra journalism students. I was wondering if anyone here could tell me in greater detail about your experience with the new service. Please email me at if you wish to share your experiences with us. Thanks in advance!

One gets the feeling that no-one at ACTION is strong on math.

Samuel Gordon-Stewart8:19 pm 27 Apr 05

Just read the ABC article:
ACTION CEO Peter Wallace said “When we talk about the 30-minute guarantee, that’s for people in the suburbs booking a bus to pick them up to bring them back in but it’s an hourly service,” he said.

“Before flexibus it was a 90-minute service, so we’ve improved the service by 50 per cent.”

What calculator is he using…or maybe he is using the timetable randomisation machine.

Samuel

Samuel Gordon-Stewart8:17 pm 27 Apr 05

I think you can call until midnight, unless they changed the end time for buses as well.
I’m suprised that Canberra Cabs are silent…surely they should be using my line “Buses are not Taxi’s”

Samuel

What time can u call till?

Um – am I the only person that remembers this sytem from the first time around. They used to be called ‘Area Busses’ and they were great. They would cover the route/s of two existing busses, on sundays and evenings. You hopped on the bus, said where you were going, and the bus dropped all passengers to their own busstop.

git – a high denisty public transport backbone woudl aid civic planning and enable businesses to build or move with certainty. less cars, less carparks, higher density housing near public transport, less resources consumed.

buses meander all over the country side, or they just change the route on a whim.

when you see the rails, you know one will be there soon.

I know what you mean, LG. It is a very strange way to promote this new bus service!

Ahh, now I don’t want to spoil the plot for you! Keep an eye out for it.

ummm, no,

of what do you speak?

Haven’t you seen the tv ad, JB?

OK, I’m curious, why philanderers?

As to the system I still think the best option would be to rip out almost all the seats (for oldies and the disabled) and let people roll path-legal vehicles on and off.

between scooters, bikes, and low power electric scooters the whole population would be able to easily get to stops only along the arterial roads.

the buses freed from trundling through the back streets could zoom along at higher frequencies down the trunk routes.

better than this “plan for failure” system.

The service in Weston Creek seems to work pretty well, far better than no bus at all.

It certainly isn’t a bad thing in Weston Creek – get on a scheduled late night bus at Woden and head nearly straight home, rather than traveling through endless twists and turns with 3 other people. I haven’t had to catch one *to* Woden at that time, fortunately, but the phone-a-bus thing hopefully solves the lack of timetabled bus problem for most people.

The bus service for philanderers…

Yep, the main problem with Flexibus services is that they only work *as long as* patronage stays low.

There seems to be considerable irony in the fact that if the system works and attracts more patrons it becomes unsustainable.

Flexibus only operates after 9pm, not 7pm, or so is my understanding. So there’s presumably even fewer people on buses after 9pm… and I guess this is not such a bad option to reduce the wasteful system of having empty buses driving around.

Canberra doesn’t have the population to sustain that sort of ‘permanent’ transport solution. It has to be 100% flexible to adjust to fluctuation in demand, that’s buses.

Wether it is managed that way is another kettle of fish.

Flexbus is an absolute con.

It removes existing services and replaces them with a lack of certainty.

Still, the miniscule volume of people you see travelling on action after 7PM probably led them to this decision.

I think if the ACT had lightrail as its transport backbone with buses servicing teh light rail terminals then this sort of service might work, but I cant see Action lifting patronage by reducing services.

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.