News

Better Public Transport

Kingborough Mayor, Paula Wriedt is a big fan of free bus rides.

“I am a regular bus commuter, and I really loved the initiative of free buses,” Cr Wriedt said.

“I would like to see this initiative continued, or at least see a reduction of fares to encourage more people to take up public transport.

“At the moment only 6.4% of people in greater Hobart use the bus to get to work and 62.6% of car trips are single occupancy.

“There are many residents in our community who find the cost of travelling on buses prohibitive, especially from further out areas like the Channel.

“To encourage less cars on the road we need incentives like free bus travel, reduced fares, free peak hour travel or, at a minimum, free fares for concession card holders.

“I recently asked the Minister for Infrastructure, Michael Ferguson if the free trial could be extended but he ruled it out, stating that the State Government already subsidises bus travel to a large degree.

“As a Council we welcomed the announcement by the State Government of additional express bus services from Kingborough back in January this year, although like many routes these services have been impacted by COVID and a lack of drivers, resulting in many being cancelled.

“Kingborough Council has been a strong advocate for the municipality on congestion issues, approaching it in a multipronged way.

“Through our strong readiness to engage in the City Deal we have secured investment in park and ride facilities at Huntingfield and Firthside as well as in our Transform Kingston Project, which focuses on increasing the number of people who work, eat and play in Kingston, reducing traffic flow through to Hobart.