Page 3982 - Week 11 - Thursday, 26 September 2019
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Another item that can really contribute to isolation and hence loneliness is lack of accessible public transport. For example, the recent very disappointing cancellation of many buses throughout Canberra, especially in Tuggeranong, has led to many people feeling isolated. I will read a letter I received recently from John of Wanniassa:
I do not drive and I have been reliant on buses in Canberra since 1969. When I first moved to Wanniassa in August 1980, I used to have to walk to Erindale to get a bus to my work at Russell.
He goes on with a few other complaints about the bus system and how he used to play tennis at Vikings Tuggeranong and use the bus to do that. Then he says:
If I want to go to Woden I now have a walk of some 800 metres to a stop on Langdon Crescent. Whereas, if I want to go to Tuggeranong my closest bus stop is about one kilometre away at Erindale. Both walks are arduous and involve quite steep decent or ascent for most of the journey.
Anyone who knows Wanniassa will know that it has some quite hilly areas. John goes on to say:
This has meant that I rarely venture from home and feel quite isolated. One of my next-door neighbours is widowed and in her late 70s—she remarked to me a few days ago that she felt isolated and was very troubled by the walk back from Erindale with her shopping.
I had a similar experience last week after shopping at Erindale and facing the walk back up the steep hill. A number of my neighbours are aged between mid 60s and older and they are similarly affected. We are all disillusioned with the rhetoric used to justify the significant changes. It now seems that if we are to contemplate a long walk to catch a bus, we also have to content with longer times and changing buses to reach our destination … I feel very disillusioned with this whole matter.
I find it difficult not to get angry about the lack of thought for the public transport travelling the public. From my observations over some 50 odd years in Canberra the main people who seem to use bus services at non peak times are students, the elderly and unemployed, all of whom appear to be significantly disadvantaged by this new system.
This is just one of many complaints, letters and comments I have received about the bus system and its contributing factor in people feeling isolated in their own homes.
Accepting that loneliness is a public health issue and that it especially contributes towards mental health issues, what can be done to reduce it? Of course, as with many if not all—I am not 100 per cent positive—public health issues, prevention is usually better than cure. Removing the barriers to social inclusion will go a long way to reducing loneliness: making sure that our city is safe; providing adequate public transport; making it more affordable to live here; making sure the footpaths are in good repair to assist those with mobility impairment, especially but not only older Canberrans; making sure that there is less vandalism and littering because research
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