Bus changes are ‘a win for the people’ but more challenges still to be overcome

Derwent Valley residents have welcomed an improvement to the bus service shake-up, but the region’s mayor says there are still more challenges to overcome.

Derwent Valley Mayor Ben Shaw. Picture: DAMIAN BESTER

DERWENT Valley Mayor Ben Shaw has hailed State Growth’s changes to the bus network in the region as a “win for the people”.

It was revealed on Wednesday that after feedback from the Derwent Valley in the past week an additional dedicated school bus will leave from New Norfolk central at 7.15am on Monday, after running through Fairview. The return service will depart the Hutchins School at 3.35pm.

“It’s a win for the people,” Cr Shaw said on Thursday.

“We’re happy that State Growth sent a couple of their project managers out to the community meeting on Monday — that showed a bit of good faith.”

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For commuters, the current 7.17am general access bus from New Norfolk will now run as a “super express service” to the Glenorchy interchange. Consideration is also being given to an evening super express service during peak traffic.

“There’s still a fair few challenges from our community’s perspective, but the minister’s office has confirmed they’re certainly willing to work with us to alleviate any issues,” Cr Shaw said.

“They want people on the bus network, and so do we. We want cars off the roads as much as we can to help ease the congestion but, essentially, the new timetables were forcing you back into your car.”

Changes to bus routes came after the first detailed review of public transport in a decade.

Infrastructure Minister Jeremy Rockliff said with such a massive undertaking it was inevitable that some changes would need further work and adjustment to get them right.

“A once-in-a-decade bus review was always going to present challenges and require some refinement when it rolled out, such as at New Norfolk,” Mr Rockliff said.

“We are listening to communities, making additional changes where needed and we will continue to do so to ensure we get it right.

“The Government is also listening to bus operators who have indicated they want to work with us to ensure that changes best meet the needs of the communities they service.”