ACT Taxpayers have been footing the bill to upgrade bus stops that are reportedly not serviced by regular route buses, at a cost of more than $1700 each.
The upgrades are part of the ACT Government’s program to upgrade transport infrastructure across the territory, with $1.2million allocated to improve seating, mobility access and relocation of shelters that have been replaced with the newer AdShel funded structures.
Four bus stops along Badimara Street in Weston Creek have had works halted after The Canberra Times inquired with Territory and Municipal Services as to the need to upgrade facilities that were not in use. A spokesman responded that the bus stops were ‘identified by either ACTION or Roads ACT’ for an upgrade.
A list was not provided by The Canberra Times however a stop located just south of the northern end of Nemarang Crescent on Badimara Street pictured in their article noted as not being serviced is in fact covered, albeit by the off-peak weekday Route 75. There are three stops between the southern end of Nemarang Crescent and Kalgoorlie Crescent that are not serviced by route buses, however are utilised by school services.
700 other bus stops across the territory are currently scheduled for upgrades this year. It is unknown how many of those are currently not in use.
Following last August’s report into ACTION’s inefficiencies by the ACT Auditor General it was revealed that whilst ACTION advised that it had 4,652 bus stops in Canberra, TAMS (through Roads ACT) stated their were 2,950.
The report stated that “Bus infrastructure development, upgrading and maintenance were managed by a number of TAMS business units and Government agencies, and these activities were not well coordinated or managed.”
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This page was last updated on 26 April 2021
