Labor has struck a serious blow to all public transport users - backing away from their commitment to free fares for concession card holders and cutting the rapid R2 and R3 bus services relied on by West Belconnen residents.
"Canberrans are understandably frustrated. Under this new plan, how are people expected to get to work, get their kids to school, or meet their daily commitments without these rapid, essential routes?"
"The impact of these decisions cannot be overstated. The frequency of the R4 is dropping affecting Tuggeranong residents, whilst residents of west Belconnen will miss their rapid services, significantly disrupting people's lives," said Andrew Braddock MLA, ACT Greens spokesperson for Transport.
"Labor has chosen to pull bus services from the outer suburbs, making an existing problem much worse. Buses are the answer to congestion, not the thing you cut when there are going to be more cars on the road.
"Residents in Canberra's outer areas deserve the same level of reliable public transport as those in the inner city, but Labor continues to leave them behind.
"The Friday and Saturday night fares is a gimmick to replace election campaign fare-free Fridays gimmick."
"Canberrans don't want random fare-free periods that keep changing, they want convenient, reliable, and accessible public transport."
"Rather than making public transport cheaper for concession card holders such as students and seniors, they're subsidising travel for those who would already be going out for dinner.
"These poor decisions will encourage people off of public transport and into cars, exacerbating the very congestion the government should be trying to alleviate."
Mr Braddock also criticised the decision to delay releasing details of the network changes until after the final parliamentary sitting day.
"Withholding this information until the end of the parliamentary year is yet another instance of Labor using process to avoid scrutiny and accountability."
Jo Clay, ACT Greens Member for Ginninderra has sponsored a petition calling on the Government to reverse the cuts to the R2 and R3 routes to ensure West Belconnen residents maintain access to reliable, convenient public transport.
"Belconnen resident Dani Hunterford started the community petition because there are so many people who really rely on the R2 and R3. West Belconnen has very poor public and active travel connections. Cutting the few options we have is a bad decision," Ms Clay said.
"This will only increase congestion in Belconnen. The Greens, along with the community have been calling for more buses and more drivers for decades. It's a clear sign of poor performance when the Transport Minister is cutting services at the very moment we need them most.
