Network 2010 - Media coverage

[Barry Drive]

ACT Chief Minister's Press Release:

Released 08/11/2010

Canberrans can now pick up a copy of the new ACTION bus timetables, Chief Minister and Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Jon Stanhope, said today.

"The new timetable comes into effect on Monday, 15 November and includes a range of new and improved services," Mr Stanhope said.

"These include those introduced as part of the Belconnen Town Centre improvements which will see new bus stations at Westfield and the Belconnen Community Centre."

The new network includes services to West Macgregor and Gungahlin and improvements to the spacing and departure times from Kippax.

It will also see the introduction of the Rapid bus routes. Red Rapid 200 (formerly Redex 727) will become a permanent part of the ACTION network and will be extended to DFO in Fyshwick. Red Rapid provides buses every 15 minutes from 7 am to 7 pm on weekdays from Gungahlin.

The Intertown buses (300 series routes) have been re-branded as the Blue Rapid, allowing the public to easily identify their service between Belconnen and Tuggeranong.

Central Canberra services have been aligned to a Green and Gold lines to provide improved frequency between the City and the Parliamentary Zone of 20 minutes or less each weekday. There are changes to departure platforms in the City to coincide with these route changes.

Additional trips have been added to routes 2 in Dickson, route 17 through Hawker, the 300 series routes between Woden and Belconnen, 757 from Gungahlin and 785 from Tuggeranong.

There have been changes to times on many school route services. Visit the ACTION website or your school for details.

"This new network has been designed to better service the needs of Canberrans and encourage more people to use ACTION buses," Mr Stanhope said. "I welcome residents to come along to the Belconnen Community Festival on Saturday, 13 November to look at the new bus stations before they open to traffic on Monday 15 November."

The new timetables are available at all bus stations, Canberra Connect Shopfronts and online at www.action.act.gov.au. A brochure outlining the changes in the new network is also available at bus stations and Canberra Connect Shopfronts. It will also be posted to all ACT households.

From ABC Online:

Chief Minister Jon Stanhope is challenging more Canberrans to use the new ACTION bus network being launched next week.

The updated network will include more rapid routes and extra services to west Macgregor and Gungahlin.

A new timetable has been sent to every house in the ACT.

Mr Stanhope says the updated network will include more reliable and frequent services.

"We're incrementally increasing them, it's quite expensive but we'll continue to invest in ACTION transport," he said.

"We want to continue to enhance frequencies, to improve the timetable and we'll be doing that over the next couple of years."

Mr Stanhope says the Government is committed to boosting patronage.

"I'm sure Canberrans if they looked at their timetables they would find regular, reliable, frequent buses," he said.

"We do have targets, we're doing it slowly but we do have targets that we intend to meet."

[Barry Drive]

"Regular, reliable, frequent buses" - How does one show reliability in a timetable? How does a service once an hour (in many suburbs), if you're lucky, equate to frequent? How does a few extra runs on route 2 (and virtually no changes anywhere else) equate to "We're incrementally increasing them"? How can the CM expect to encourage addtional bus patronage when new suburbs (Casey, Bonner, Crace) don't have any service and other suburbs (Forde, Franklin, West macgregor) don't have a service on weekends -- not to mention that route 57 ceases after 7pm.

Rant over.

[CNG]

also improved services to kippax, the times have just been changed. Improvments to kippax would have been the re introduction of the 317/316 to tuggers and back or 117/116 to woden and back. Even a run from kippax to civic at peak periods of the day would have been reasonable.

[Barry Drive]

also improved services to kippax, the times have just been changed. Improvments to kippax would have been the re introduction of the 317/316 to tuggers and back or 117/116 to woden and back. Even a run from kippax to civic at peak periods of the day would have been reasonable.

No. The Kippax services have improved since they are more evenly spread out. Having the 16 or 17 extended beyond Belconnen would not be an improvement - that's what Blue Rapid is for.

What would be an improvement would be a Direct, Frequent (Rapid even) service to Belconnen and Beyond - even during peak times only. Then the Kippax Park & Ride could be re-established (the timetable maps show a Park & Ride at Kippax, but good luck finding it!).

[Barry Drive]

From ABC News Online, 15 November 2010

Canberra's bus service ACTION says there has been a smooth changeover to its new timetable.

Network 10 starts today and includes a number of changes to services and departure times.

It includes new routes to West Macgregor and Gungahlin as well as changes to spacing and departure times in Kippax.

The Redex 727 service has been renamed Red Rapid and extended.

Red Rapid buses run every 15 minutes between 7:00am and 7:00pm weekdays from Gungahlin to Fyshwick.

Buses between Belconnen and Tuggeranong have been rebranded as Blue Rapid buses, departing every 5 to 8 minutes on weekdays.

Services between the city and parliamentary zone have increased and there are changes to school bus times.

ACTION general manager James Roncon says the new network offers more buses more often.

"Buses will be coming more frequently and more rapid and as we develop the network over the coming years that will certainly be a highlight of what we try to do," he said.

Mr Roncon says the network is running smoothly so far.

"Obviously a little bit of confusion which there always will be with new platforms and buses departing from different platforms," he said.

"But by and large we've had a really good presence of staff out on the platforms to be able to help people and it seems to have gone very smoothly."

[Barry Drive]

From The Canberra Times online

Mixed feelings on ACTION changes
ACTION buses launched new services and new stations yesterday in one of the biggest shake-ups to the network since June 2008.

New timetabling includes the Blue Rapid, a high frequency service running between the major network hubs, and the Red Rapid, which replaces the old Redex service and extends its run to Fyshwick.

A new service combines old routes through the Parliamentary Triangle and carries the unusual title of the Gold Line, while Barton remains an oasis of free parking.

The raft of timetable and platform changes brought a mixed response from commuters in Civic interchange yesterday.

Griffith resident Alex Bower was frustrated by delays of up to half an hour for route 4, which travels through the inner south, including Red Hill.

''It's a bit annoying, because I've got gym and touch footy so now I've got to skip one, nothing you can do,'' Mr Bower said.

''They didn't really put anything out, even the bus drivers didn't know, I asked one [about the changes] on Friday,'' he said.

Mr Bower was eventually forced to give up on waiting for the bus and caught a taxi instead.

Other passengers were frustrated by changes to route 5, which travels through to Manuka, Kingston and Russell.

Narrabundah resident Katheryne McCrudden was annoyed at the cutting of the 5.07pm route 5 service from Civic.

''Everytime they [make] timetable changes, the number 5 gets cut again,'' Mrs McCrudden said.

ACTION said extra staff were manning all affected interchanges to answer questions and shepherd confused commuters to their new stops.

New stations opened at the Belconnen town centre including the refurbished Belconnen Community Station and the plush Westfield Station.

The ACT Government spent $15.5 million on the upgrades, while Westfield Belconnen spent more than $120 million on extending the shopping centre and constructing the Westfield Station.

Full details of changes to ACTION timetables and routes are available at ACTION's website, by phoning 13 17 10 or via any Canberra Connect shop front.

[743]

There was a tiny spot on the 7.30pm mini-news thing on Prime about it last night (or, as I like to call it, the very distressing empty time between Home And Away and Heartbeat  )  There was all the vision they always use of the Renault Route 36 to Watson and a 53 or 55 to Gungahlin leaving City Interchange...time for some new footage methinks...and the voiceover describing how there are "extra services to the Parliamentary Triangle, Macgregor and Gungahlin".

How does a few extra runs on route 2 (and virtually no changes anywhere else) equate to "We're incrementally increasing them"?

Agreed on that point. As for Macgregor, the diversion of one bus route via WEST Macgregor doesn't really increase the number of services. And as for Gungahlin, service coverage has increased in the Franklin area, but it wouldn't surprise me if the total number of Route 50 and 57 journeys equates to the number of old Route 5 journeys in the same area.

Don't get me wrong, I think ACTION have made some decent improvements in this new network. However it's more a matter of better spacing of services in common areas and service coverage / diversions, not so much a matter of "extra services", excluding the additional trip here and there on the 2, 300, 757, 785 etc.