The CLP will close Casuarina and Palmerston bus interchanges

A major infrastructure announcement by the CLP could forever change Darwin and Palmerston. Read what it is.

The Northern Territory Government will relocate Top End public bus exchanges, Treasurer and Logistics and Infrastructure Minister Bill Yan told parliament on Tuesday.

The commitment comes months after the NT News reported plans to relocate the Casuarina bus exchange to a location on Vanderlin Drive, Leanyer.

Logistics and Infrastructure Minister Bill Yan told Question Time on Tuesday after questioning by the Opposition that Casuarina and Palmerston bus exchanges would close.

The government said they would be relocated to industrial land in Berrimah or Winnellie.

“We’re going to get rid of the thing,” Mr Yan said.

“We’re going to remove the Casuarina bus exchange - it’s soon going to cease to exist.”

Mr Yan said the CLP was overhauling the bus network to better focus on efficiency and safety.

“We’ll be able to reduce the issues and some of the social order issues we’ve seen at Casuarina due to the bus exchange,” he told parliament.

“There’s something that the previous Labor government never, ever considered. They were just happy to kick the can down the road and let people become victims of crime at those interchanges.

“We’ve listened to the communities of Palmerston and Casuarina, and we’re working hard now to deal with the social order issues we see on our public transport network.

“The buses will run on time, people will still get to work, kids will still get to school when they need to.”

The future of the Darwin bus interchange remains unclear.

Removing the Casuarina bus interchange would free up land for development at the site.

Sentinel Property Group’s Warren Ebert, who purchased the premises in early 2022, had spoken previously about developing a town centre at the location.

Speaking outside parliament, Mr Yan said the relocation was meant to make bus routes safer and more accessible.

“As part of ongoing bus network reform, a suite of rolling changes will commence as soon as June 30, 2025 to deliver a safer public transport network for passengers and bus drivers.

“We have developed a Bus Safety Reform Strategy which outlines a range of initiatives to help deter anti-social behaviour away from the public bus network, to address safety concerns and to improve connectivity of bus services.

“One of the key initiatives is the closure of the Casuarina bus interchange. This change is anticipated to be implemented in October 2025.

“The closure of the interchange will allow Transit Officers to have an increased presence on the Darwin public bus network.

“It will take away areas which attract anti-social behaviour and the need for passengers to wait for long periods of time for a bus due to higher frequency bus services.”

He said the Palmerston bus interchange would remain open while alternative options were being considered, particularly for school buses and the Palmerston orbital services.

CCTV cameras will also be installed at “hot spot” locations across the network to monitor instances of anti-social behaviour and provide a more rapid response across the service.

As part of the strategy, bus contractor CDC NT is undertaking a review to optimise the bus network to achieve efficiencies, better connections and frequencies so that waiting times are reduced.

“Late night bus services may be reduced and replaced with on-demand flexi rider services for passengers travelling to the Palmerston Bus Interchange,” Mr Yan said.

Originally published as The CLP will close Casuarina and Palmerston bus interchanges