The Minister for Transport, Meegan Fitzharris, has announced that the new bus network for the ACT has been designed to encourage more school students to use public transport to travel to and from school on time and give families greater choices.
Ms Fitzharris said that currently most Canberra students did not use public transport, with the majority travelling to school by car.
“The new network will provide a better mix of dedicated school and regular buses, depending on the needs of local school communities,” Ms Fitzharris said.
“We really want to encourage more students to catch public transport to and from school, and have worked extensively over the past few months with schools and the education sector to deliver a balanced network that will encourage more students onto buses and light rail.”
She said 60 per cent of students who caught a bus to school used the regular network, so they were happy to catch regular buses, which were safe, flexible and easy to use.
“By changing the network so more regular buses and light rail serve schools, we give families more options and reduce travel times for students so they can get to school on time,” Ms Fitzharris said.
“Plus if they miss one bus, there will be another one along very soon, which is not always the case with dedicated school services.”
She said improvements to the regular bus network, including the introduction of light rail and new rapid services, had removed the need for some dedicated school services.
“The new network will also make it easier for students to get to events, sports matches, after-school activities, weekend work and catching up with friends and family during the evening and weekends,” the Minister said.
