Page 2773 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 23 June 2009
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So, yes, there is more money going back into bike paths, footpaths, bus stops and bus lanes, but the people of Canberra would appreciate a clearer sense of what it will all add up to.
Services on the ground also warrant a closer look. Wheelchair accessible taxis are a case in point. I note that the budget papers have only one accountability indicator relating to WATs. It is about waiting times, and the goal is for waiting times to meet the required standard. The estimated outcome for this year against that standard is 95 per cent. Given the number of stories that have come to my office about WAT users left waiting for hours, unable to get around as they would like, being left when other bookings turn up, and being loaded in and out of the vehicles by people without the skills or the interest, I do not know what that 95 per cent really means.
Last week, the minister tabled a response to a petition that I presented in March, calling for an improvement to the WAT service. It was pleasing to read the comment that he has written to both taxi networks and industry representatives in the hope of significantly improving services provided for WAT users. But if that does not work, there does not appear to be any back-up plan. A truly inclusive accessible transport plan will have the goal of ensuring adequate transport choices for all members of our community, including those who are unable to drive, for whatever reason, or for whom mobility is a challenge. That goal needs to be explicit, with related targets and time lines. The hope that players will work better together falls well short of that.
In terms of accessibility, I note the interesting discussion at estimates hearings on the attempts to link the provision of accessible ACTION services with the needs of patrons and the attempts to link those services with community bus services run by the regional community service organisations. Clearly, once we have 100 per cent accessible buses in service, we will have a more complete service. Until then, it is quite a challenge. I would hope that there might be a more flexible approach taken to the regulation of community buses and that there will be some attempt made to get the WATs interacting more easily with these services and with ACTION in order to improve the service for people living with limited mobility.
Cabs will also need to play a more general role if we are to develop a seamless transport system that will work effectively for people without a car. We have seen innovations over the past few years in providing an affordable way home for young people out late on Friday and Saturday nights. There are still real problems when it comes to peak periods. One obvious bottleneck is at the Canberra airport. The Greens take the view that the ACT government needs to be prepared to take action in order to remove this unnecessary bottleneck.
Finally, I would like to make some comments on ACTION. We have already publicly welcomed the trial of the REDEX rapid transit scheme. I have been talking about the community service end of public transport, but this proposed bus rapid transit system is about increasing our commuter public transport capacity, getting more people out of cars, improving public health and reducing our overall emissions. It may well be that the government has a bigger bus plan in store in terms of the overall budget allocation to bus transport. We would be pleased to discover that this is the case.
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