State Budget 2018: Bus routes that follow train and tram lines most like to be cut to save money

MORE detail has been revealed on how the State Government will decide which bus routes to cut to save money — if your regular route is duplicated, you may be about to lose it.

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BUS routes that closely follow tram and train lines will be under the gun when a budget cut review begins this week.

Following a State Budget announcement on Tuesday that millions were to be saved from the bus cuts, State Government sources have confirmed to The Advertiser what the targets are likely to be.

The government will announce which exact routes will be affected within several weeks, but those reviewing how to make $1.1 million in savings in 2018-19 — increasing to $14.8 million per annum (indexed) from 2019-20 — have been told to:

IDENTIFY routes which are barely used and could disappear completely.

COMPARE and contrast bus routes with train and tram lines that follow a similar path and could be providing commuters with multiple means of getting to the same locations.

REORGANISING timetables on routes where buses were often half empty.

CO-ORDINATING timetables between train, tram and bus services with the aim of keeping all three but staggering their availability times.

NIGHT time bus patronage reviewed to determine if some late-night services are necessary.

People for Public Transport spokeswoman Josehpine Buchhorn said the cuts would pose a two-fold problem.

“Routes can be cut in areas where people have few options to get out and about and they can become very isolated, which creates problems, but also there is a global trend towards making things sustainable and getting people out of public transport and into cars has the opposite effect,’’ she said.

“Any cuts to public transport, unless there is some logical reason for it, is not a good idea.’’

Ms Buchhorn rejected the need to axe duplicate public transport services.

“It sounds like a good idea on the face of it but if you think of the Grange line (where there is a duplication), the more options there are the more people will use it, which is what government also wants,’’ she said.

Ms Buchhorn said the organisation had not been consulted but it had its “finger on the pulse” of public transport and would be sharing its views with the government.

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