Andrew Wilkie (Denison, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Early this year the Tasmanian government-owned bus service Metro made a number of changes to its routes and schedules. Now there is, of course, a need to review and improve bus routes and schedules, but these changes have been rolled out with little consultation or notice and have had some disastrous effects in my electorate. Indeed, my office has heard complaint after complaint—more so, in fact, than any other local issue in my 5½ years as a member of parliament. Since I raised this issue in the media last week, there have been many more complaints coming in—dozens overall.

I have heard from people whose regular bus routes have either been dramatically cut back or no longer exist at all, people with mobility issues who are forced to walk kilometres or up steep hills to get the bus, and people who can now no longer make it to work or appointments without spending a fortune on taxis. Here are some examples. I am told that the bus up St Canice Avenue in Sandy Bay, where there are three very large aged-care facilities, now only operates three times a day. So elderly people are often seen struggling up the very steep hill with their shopping. Another example is that peak-hour buses from Kingston to Hobart have been dramatically scaled back. So they are now incredibly overcrowded and I am told that people are often left on the side of the road. Another constituent tells me that express buses that once travelled from Lenah Valley to the city have become much less frequent, even though I am told that they were always nearly full. It is no wonder this has caused tremendous difficulties for people travelling to the city or to Calvary Hospital in Lenah Valley.

These changes have been poorly communicated to passengers. A constituent tells me that her six and seven-year-old children got on their bus after school one day only to be dropped off in the Glenorchy bus mall, miles from their home, and left to fend for themselves. Countless more people have told me that they have been late for work or missed appointments because they were unaware of these changes.

The state government needs to step up here because, if you take away what is often a person's only means of transportation, it can have enormous detrimental impacts, both socially and financially. But all the state government has done so far is to call critics of these changes, 'sensationalist, 'and to dismiss their concerns. This is not good enough. The state government needs to act and to direct Metro to immediately reinstate lost services, and then to work with the community—genuinely work with the community—on any future changes.