Plans are on track and on time for activating Hobart's northern suburbs transit corridor, as investigations into rapid bus transport continues.
Acting Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Michael Ferguson, said while Monday's unprecedented traffic incident was extremely unfortunate, he called on all road users to drive safely to avoid problems like this in the future.
"I look forward to advice from crash investigators as to the cause of the crash and want to applaud Tasmania Police and my Department of State Growth staff for the rapid response to keep the disruption as short as possible," he said.
"The ferry services did a superb job responding to the Government's request for extra and extended services at no notice.
"There were double the number of crossings yesterday evening, carrying more than 1100 passengers."
The response shows the importance of the River Derwent ferries as part of the Government's overall transport strategy, which is the most progressive agenda for public transport in decades.
The Rockliff Liberal Government is building the necessary infrastructure for future growth while incentivising public transport and car-pooling to move more people more quickly.
The Greater Hobart Traffic Solution commits $200 million for short and long-term transport initiatives to manage peak commuter demand in the Hobart area.
This includes the new Southern Outlet Transit Lane (including an extra lane through the bottleneck to Macquarie Street), new, wide shared pathways on the Tasman Bridge, expansion of the Derwent Ferry service, as well as the already-completed Kingborough Park and Ride facilities.
"The Government has also been clear on numerous occasions that Rapid Bus Transport is the preferred mode of transport for the northern suburbs transit corridor, as the existing rail asset is beyond repair," the Acting Premier said.
"We are on track to activate the corridor within the five-to-ten-year timeframe set out in the Hobart City Deal, signed in 2019.
"This is subject to discussions with the Australian Government to access funding and will require their approval of a business case.
"Additionally, the Southern Outlet Transit Lane project recently received parliamentary approval, so it surprises me to see the Labor Party politicking on this project which it fought tooth and nail to prevent."
"Labor's petty attempt at political point scoring on this issue will have no benefit to anyone following yesterday's disruptive crash."
