Page 1185 - Week 04 - Thursday, 26 March 2015
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An example of an area in need of targeted reform is ACTION’s relatively high workers compensation costs. Arresting these costs by creating a safer and healthier workplace is a win for government, workers and the community. ACTION is already under a government-commissioned review which will deliver expert advice on ways to improve the service. The results of that review will be the subject of further work in the transport reform portfolio this year.
Transport reform also means re-examining our approach to road safety. In the five years from 2009 to 2013 an average of 11 people were killed and 163 seriously injured on ACT roads. It is unsatisfactory to accept that road deaths are an inevitable part of our transport system. The ACT government has adopted the vision zero philosophy. Consistent with this, our policies must prioritise human life and health. This philosophy guides outcomes in some areas that are very visible to the public. Slow speed environments such as the 40-kilometre-an-hour zones introduced to our town centres and recently expanded to group centres irritate some Canberrans who want to drive faster. Traffic calming measures in residential neighbourhoods can evoke the same reaction, but these measures bring clear safety benefits for people and have the effect of improving the amenity of the streets and attracting more people.
This year I intend to release a revised government road safety strategy. I will also be releasing a government road safety camera strategy. The focus of this strategy will clearly be on safety and on using the best information, data and strategies to ensure that road safety cameras are performing their key task of preventing road deaths and road trauma in the ACT. I will also release a new road safety education strategy focused on achieving a lifetime learning approach to road safety in the territory. This project will look at the spectrum of road safety learning across a person’s life from school to old age.
Transport reform means finding ways to embrace new technologies and innovation. The government is working with National ICT Australia—NICTA—to develop a trial of a new way of delivering public transport during periods of light patronage, such as on Sundays. The scheme essentially uses the ACTION fleet to run services between our city centres and then proposes the use of taxis to collect passengers and drop them at their final destination. Discussions with the Canberra taxi council and NICTA are now in progress and I look forward to providing progress updates later in the year on this innovative way of providing transport services.
Another new method of delivering transport services is underway with the government’s flexibus initiative. Introduced in conjunction with network 14, this service uses spare capacity in the government’s special needs education minibus fleet to provide a bookable, door-to-door service for Canberrans at a transport disadvantage, such as the elderly and people with a disability. The service was introduced as a trial covering Canberra’s inner suburbs, and it has already been expanded to also cover Tuggeranong. The uptake has been excellent, making sure that people who are at risk of isolation can stay connected with their local communities. The service has transported over 4,000 passengers in its first six months of operation, with numbers steadily increasing.
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