The Greens have a vision for a world-class public transport system in the nation’s capital to create more liveable communities, improve our quality of life and reduce pollution and congestion.

We need to create a quick and reliable high-frequency public transport system that is competitive with cars.

Since the latest bus network (Network 19) started in April 2019, we know that these changes haven’t been experienced by all Canberrans, in the same way.

Overall patronage is up by 5% to 10%, but there have also been serious problems with weekend services.

But it doesn't need to be this way.

While Network 19 has seen 5% to 10% more patronage overall, some areas have done better than others.

For example, Weston Creek was the one big winner out of the bus network changes. They now have a direct Rapid service between Cooleman Court and the City – and as a result patronage was up 9% on weekdays between June 2018 and June 2019.

Yet in nearby Woden Valley and Tuggeranong, passenger figures were down 5% on weekdays.  This is disappointing and the Greens will continue to encourage the Government to improve the public transport network in line with community feedback.

By making key improvements in our public transport network, you can get people out of their cars – and onto public transport.
 

Cutting weekend routes is unacceptable - everyone deserves a decent public transport service.

It’s clear the people of Canberra want a better weekend bus service.  Weekend bus usage was up by 30% on Saturdays and 40% on Sundays between June 2018 and June 2019.

However weekend buses have had unacceptable cancellations, with almost 10% of services cancelled in June and over 14% cancelled in July.

To solve the cancellations, the Government has announced temporary cuts. Local bus services will now only run once every two hours.

Two-hourly services don’t work for weekend commuters.  They don’t work for people going to an appointment.  They’re a complete disaster for anyone connecting from one local service to another.  They’re too inflexible for people who just want to go out on the weekend.

The Government must restore full weekend services as soon as possible.