6 December 2019

Transport Canberra's problem areas where fewer people are taking the bus

| Ian Bushnell
Join the conversation
49
Woden Bus Interchange

Woden Bus Interchange: Woden Valley patronage is down 5 per cent. Photo: File.

New figures on the number of people taking public transport show that bus use is falling in Woden, Belconnen and Tuggeranong, despite an overall rise in patronage across Canberra, according to the ACT Greens.

ACT Greens Transport spokesperson Caroline Le Couteur says new Transport Canberra data obtained by the Greens from Questions on Notice confirms that while Network 19 has seen many commuters enjoy improved services, there are parts of Canberra that are worse off.

The data shows that overall public transport patronage is up by 6 per cent from the September quarter 2018 to the September quarter 2019.

While patronage from some parts of Canberra, including Weston Creek (+12%) and the light-rail serviced Gungahlin (+29%), is much higher, the number of people taking the bus from the Woden Valley (-5%), Belconnen (-2%) and Tuggeranong (-4%) has fallen.

The figures also show that most fare types are seeing more patronage, including full fare, school students and concessions, but fewer tertiary students are taking public transport.

Ms Le Couteur said that after six months of seeing how Network 19 worked for passengers, the Government needed to fix the identified problems while keeping the gains.

“Scrapping Network 19 is not the answer because areas like Weston Creek have really benefited. Instead, it is time to make changes that improve services for people in the Woden Valley, Belconnen and Tuggeranong,” she said.

During the recent sitting week, Ms Le Couteur successfully moved a Motion Amendment to force the Government to report more detailed data on patronage in Woden Valley, Belconnen and Tuggeranong, and improve patronage from these areas

“I believe that the Government needs to look more closely at why patronage from Woden Valley, Belconnen and Tuggeranong is lower and take steps to fix the problems,” Ms Le Couteur said.

Transport Minister Chris Steel said recently that the Government continued to monitor the new network and Transport Canberra had made 180 changes since its inception in April.

The Canberra Liberal have also been pushing for axed services, particularly in Tuggeranong, to be restored.

Daily average number of journeys on bus and light rail

Daily average number of journeys on bus and light rail. Image: Supplied.

Join the conversation

49
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

There is a simple technical solution to solving Canberra’s public transport problems for buses with out requiring any tram extensions. Hire Brisbane City Council to run the bus system and design the busways. They have built many little busways around traffic hotspots and even some big ones which were much cheaper as they built them around and under already existing motorways. If you want a bus system that works look at Brisbane.

Capital Retro6:43 pm 08 Dec 19

The Greens certainly don’t use the bus with the Alan Jones’ advertisement on the back window.

“…areas like Weston Creek have really benefited”? Look at the data in the article and you will see no benefit for Weston Creek. In an area of 22,000 people only 958 people used the bus each day but after all this it is now a massive 1,066. A mere 108 more people a day. That means less than half of 1% of Weston Creekers started using the bus under this new timetable and this is the Greens idea of a “real benefit”? It’s easy to get an 12% increase (it actual is an 11% increase but they fudged the rounding) when you start from such a low base. So the only places with a real benefit are Gungahlin and Civic with their team.

Yes Ken. And i wonder if that ‘increase’ in Weston Creek numbers is due to some passengers having to catch two buses instead of one now – even just to get to Woden.

And the weekend buses running only once every two hours is a real pain.

Worst designed Bus system imaginable. Maybe the team from Love Island or Jar Jar Binks himself was involved in the new network?

ChrisinTurner6:39 pm 07 Dec 19

There are two huge problems with our buses. First is the ceiling imposed on the number of buses back in 1989. See actbus.net.au. We still have the same number of buses we had in 1989. The other is early running, which is worse than running late. People get really mad if they arrive a minute or two early at the stop only to see the bus has departed several even earlier. See all the green dots on https://anytrip.com.au/region/act

When they took away bus services from Tuggeranong and moved them to Weston Creek are they really surprised by the numbers?

The statistics and results exactly reflect the concerns of residents and transport experts from before the network was changed. What a debacle.

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.