Liberal MP Steve Murray vows to ‘vigorously and publicly’ oppose bus stop cuts proposed by his own government if they’re not beneficial to his electorate
A Liberal MP says he will fight bus stop cuts planned by his own government if he can’t be convinced the changes will be beneficial to voters in his electorate.
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- 500 stops to be axed in bus network overhaul
- More frequent services means no more buses idling at empty stops- Knoll
Explore the planned cuts to bus stops below
Dramatic changes to Adelaide’s public transport system are yet to secure the support of at least one Liberal MP, who has raised concerns about his own government’s plans.
Davenport MP Steve Murray yesterday said he was “vigorously pursuing additional facts” from Transport Minister Stephan Knoll to ensure the services are beneficial to people in his electorate.
“If I am satisfied with the response I receive over the next few weeks to my questions, I will support the proposed changes, and if not I will oppose them vigorously and publicly,” he said.
But Mr Knoll has downplayed the concerns as he urged all South Australians, including Mr Murray, to have their say on the bus changes before July 31 when a public consultation process ends.
Mr Knoll’s defence of the proposed public transport changes – which will put thousands of South Australians within 800m of more frequent, faster and direct Go Zone bus routes – continued yesterday.
South Australian Council on intellectual Disabilities Executive director Felicity Crowther raised concerns about the complexity of the changes and how they would affect some people.
Sarah Byrne, who works at the council, said it had been very difficult to work out what the changes mean for her.
“I use public transport a lot - to go to work, to go shopping,” she said.
“I use the app a lot to find the numbers and to connect with the routes as well, but it can be confusing for me.”
Ms Crowther said it could take some people with disabilities about two months to learn how to catch a bus, with many spending NDIS allowances to pay for support to learn.
The Government has set up a website to help people navigate the changes to their bus routes.
It includes maps for each of the proposed routes.
The Government has not released a list of the 500 bus stops that will go as part of the overhaul arguing the details can be found on the website.
The Opposition has made repeated calls for a list to be released. Opposition transport spokesman Tom Koutsantonis pointed to Mr Murray’s concerns as proof the overhaul was going to have a negative impact on commuters.
Mr Knoll said the Government was aiming to increase the quality of service across the state and get more “bums on seats”. He said the use of public transport plummeted under Labor.
“That is the biggest bit of feedback we received, that the reason that people were not using the service was because it didn’t provide a level of frequency that they felt comfortable using,” Mr Knoll told parliament.
“Where we can get frequency of service to below 12 minutes, and ideally around eight minutes or less in peak, people will stop looking at a timetable, just rock up to a bus stop and then expect that bus to come.
“That is feedback that we have listened to as a government and it is part of the reforms that we announced over the weekend.”
The public transport overhaul has promised to give about 700,000 South Australians closer access to faster, and more frequent, Go Zone bus services.