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ACTION Buses and the Sustainable Transport Plan

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ACTION Buses and the Sustainable Transport Plan STANDING COMMITTEE ON PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT ACTION Buses and The Sustainable Transport Plan AUGUST 2007 Report 29 ACTION Buses and The Sustainable Transport Plan AUGUST 2007 Report 29 What am I ? A long rolling roomful of frost-brightened faces, or strangers to sweat with at forty degrees; a babbling bubble of crossed conversations; a crowd to get lost in and be at your ease; a lumbering oblong of light in the darkness; a half-hour of freedom to do as you please. Melinda Smith Canberra poet represented in Poetry in ACTION 2007 STANDING COMMITTEE ON PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT Committee membership Mr Mick Gentleman MLA Chair Mr Zed Seselja MLA Deputy Chair Ms Mary Porter AM MLA Acknowledgements Secretary Dr Hanna Jaireth Administration Mrs Lydia Chung Research assistance Ms Gabrielle Lauder; ACT Government & Assembly Library staff, particularly Mrs Siew Chin Scholar, Mrs Chiew Yee Lim and Ms Kathy Dempsey, and inter‐state parliamentary library staff The Committee thanks the Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Mr John Hargreaves MLA, ACT and inter‐state government officials, and the many community stakeholders who assisted the Committee during this inquiry. The Committee is particularly grateful for the contribution made by peak bodies, community councils, and community groups who submitted detailed analyses following participatory consultations. The Committee also welcomes the interest taken in the issues driving this inquiry by the media, and particularly The Canberra Times, The Chronicle and CityNews. Contact information Telephone: (02) 6205 0137 Facsimile: (02) 6205 0432 Email: committees@parliament.act.gov.au Post: GPO Box 1020 CANBERRA ACT 2601 Website: www.parliament.act.gov.au/committees i STANDING COMMITTEE ON PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT For more information ii ACTION BUSES AND THE SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT PLAN Resolution of appointment and terms of reference On 7 December 2004 the ACT Legislative Assembly agreed to establish general purpose standing committees. The Assembly resolved that: (1) The following general purpose standing committees be established and each committee to inquire into and report on matters referred to it by the Assembly or matters that are considered by the committee to be of concern to the community: … (e) a Standing Committee on Planning and Environment to examine matters related to planning, public works and land management, conservation and heritage, transport services, and environment and ecological sustainability. .1 On 15 March 2007 the Legislative Assembly resolved that: (1) the Standing Committee on Planning and Environment inquire into and investigate the services provided by ACTION buses, specifically: (a) examining how well it meets the needs of different segments of the community while recognising that ACTION’s role is a mass transport provider; (b) incorporating comparative analysis of other bus transport operators in Australian jurisdictions; (c) focussing on ACTION’s services within the context of the Sustainable Transport Plan with particular reference to: (i) the appropriateness of the plan, especially targets; (ii) progress towards implementation; and (iii) measures needed to ensure targets are met; and (d) providing guidance on principles and key priorities for future service planning; (2) the Committee report by 30 June 2007; and (3) if the Assembly is not sitting when the Committee is ready to report, the Committee may send its report to the Speaker, or, in the absence of the Speaker, to the Deputy Speaker, who is authorised to give directions for its printing, publication and circulation.2 On 7 June 2007 the Legislative Assembly resolved to extend the Committee’s reporting date to 30 August 2007.3 1 Legislative Assembly of the ACT, Minutes of Proceedings, no 2–7 December 2004, pp12–16 2 Legislative Assembly of the ACT, Minutes of Proceedings, no 96–15 March 2007, pp983–4 3 Legislative Assembly of the ACT, 2007 Week 6 Hansard (7 June), p1560 iii STANDING COMMITTEE ON PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT iv ACTION BUSES AND THE SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS Committee membership ..........................................................................................i Acknowledgements..................................................................................................i Contact information ..................................................................................................i RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................... IX 1 INTRODUCTION......................................... 1 The ACTION bus service ............................................................................. 2 Other bus services in Canberra ............................................................. 6 History of public transport in Canberra ........................................................ 7 The National Capital Plan........................................................................... 10 Griffin Legacy amendments ...................................................................... 15 Broader Australian Government policies ................................................... 16 Tax concessions for public transport users ......................................... 18 Externalities of private vehicle use ...................................................... 20 Territory Plan ............................................................................................. 23 2 MEETING THE NEEDS OF DIFFERENT SEGMENTS OF THE COMMUNITY ...................................................... 27 Discrimination issues arising from identified social needs ........................ 27 General comments about ACTION services.............................................. 30 Specific comments about ACTION services.............................................. 33 Bus services to and from the airport ................................................... 35 Issues with particular bus routes............................................................... 36 Customer feedback services..................................................................... 39 Stakeholders with special needs and interests ......................................... 41 Older people........................................................................................ 48 Footpaths and bus shelters ....................................................................... 51 Smaller buses...................................................................................... 53 Concession fares....................................................................................... 54 Young people ...................................................................................... 56 School students................................................................................... 59 Tertiary students ................................................................................. 65 Women ............................................................................................... 65 v STANDING COMMITTEE ON PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT Commuters ......................................................................................... 66 Pay parking.......................................................................................... 68 Car sharing and car pooling ................................................................. 71 Visitors and tourists............................................................................. 72 Residents of the Causeway................................................................. 74 Environmentally aware passengers..................................................... 74 Cyclists................................................................................................ 76 3 COMPARING ACTION WITH OTHER BUS SERVICES..... 79 ACTION’s budget 2006–07........................................................................ 79 Woden depot....................................................................................... 83 Bus fares ................................................................................................... 84 Commonwealth Grants Commission data................................................. 88 General comparative comments ............................................................... 89 4 ACTION AND THE SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT PLAN ... 91 How appropriate is the Sustainable Transport Plan and its targets?.......... 92 General comments on the Plan........................................................... 92 Specific comments on targets............................................................. 95 What progress has been made towards implementing the Sustainable Transport Plan?.........................................................................................103 What measures are needed to ensure targets are met?..........................108 5 PRINCIPLES AND KEY PRIORITIES FOR PLANNING FUTURE ACTION SERVICES .................................. 111 The centrality of human rights considerations..........................................111 Bus fleet replacement ..............................................................................112 Climate Change Action Plan 2007–2011 ..................................................113 Sustainable Transport Contribution Fund .................................................114 Human resource management.................................................................115 Marketing and promotion of ACTION services.........................................116 Integrated transport,
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