Released 16/08/2019
Adjustments will be made to the weekend bus timetable as the Government continues its rolling recruitment campaign for more bus drivers, Minister for Transport, Chris Steel today announced.
Under Network 19, which started on 29 April, 1377 extra services have been timetabled on the weekend. Since then, 27% more journeys have been taken on public transport on the weekend compared to the same period last year.
“While it’s great that Canberrans are responding to more weekend transport services, the reliability of bus services has not met community expectations or the expectations of the Government.
“As the Government said at the introduction of the new network, we have been reviewing the implementation of the new network to determine if tweaks were needed.
“To improve reliability of bus services on the weekend, the Government will be making adjustments to the weekend bus timetable while we continue to work on actions to recruit more bus drivers and deliver expected services on the weekend,” Minister Steel said.
Minister Steel said that the most popular elements of the new transport network are proposed to remain:
- frequent rapid services (rapids make up 70% of boardings on the network)
- services will still start early and run late
- weekend services will run on the same route and same number as the weekday services
While Transport Canberra is still working on the weekend timetable adjustments, it is likely that local route buses will run less frequently, up to every 2 hours.
Network planners will work closely with the Transport Workers Union to agree upon the new bus driver shifts. This will be completed shortly with a revised weekend timetable proposed to be introduced on Saturday 28 September 2019 at the end of the current school term.
Minister Steel said that Government was continuing to work on a plan to improve reliability on the weekend by recruiting more drivers.
“A key action is that Transport Canberra has now moved to a rolling recruitment campaign for bus drivers, rather than just once a year,” Minister Steel said.
Minister Steel welcomed 8 bus drivers at Tuggeranong Bus Depot who graduated from their training on Friday. 12 people have just commenced their training program. Another 16 trainees will start training in the coming weeks.
“It is expected that more services will be returned to the weekend network as driver recruitment progresses.
“I encourage anyone interested in becoming a bus driver, particularly on the weekend, to contact Transport Canberra. More information is available from www.transport.act.gov.au,” said Minister Steel.
- Statement ends -
Chris Steel, MLA | Media Releases
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