Labor MLC Amanda Fazio today in Parliament accusing The Greens and the Liberals of having “no idea” about public transport and planning was funny enough given Labor’s track record but she managed to outdo herself immediately afterwards.
During a debate over a motion calling on the Government to reinstate a bus service from Elizabeth Bay to Circular Quay, Fazio declared:
Anyone who can afford to buy a ticket to the Opera House can afford to get a taxi to Elizabeth Bay.
It’s been apparent that the Government has had this sort of medieval attitude towards public transport for a while, but it’s always nice to get confirmation.
Indeed – that’s why so many bus services run from there – its all for people going to the opera…
There would be people who could afford a ticket to the opera house or a taxi to it.
Do they have different pricing of tickets depending on the location in the Opera House?
The main point is that public transport is not only about people with low incomes. If the government perceives it as that, it explains a lot.
I know that PT is not just for people with low incomes and I was just pointing out another flaw in the argument.
There are plenty of wealthy professionals in Elizabeth Bay. Some wouldn’t be seen dead on PT but many would.
The real significance of the comments is that it belies their true attitude to PT in Sydney’s northwest and other “wealthy” parts of town. As if (as you rightly suggest) the socioeconomic status of the residents is some sort of excuse to do nothing.
I’m with Amanda on this one. Inner Sydney IS overserviced when it comes to public transport.
We should move some of those buses out to Greater Western Sydney, where there actually exists a genuine need.
I can’t believe any time was wasted debating whether the inner city required more buses. If this is the most pressing transport issue for the opposition and the greens to take up in the parliament, then it just goes to show that the people of NSW are screwed regardless of which government they end up electing.
@ZoomZoom
The situation in Greater Western Sydney and specifically the North-West is deplorable. But it doesn’t help the problem to allow other areas of Sydney to be reduced to the same level.
Reminds me of a classic GWB quote:
“What will I do for public transport? I’ll give you all tax cuts so you can afford to buy a car”
ZoomZoom, transport policy does not have to be a zero sum game.
It’s completely feasible that a properly planned and integrated transport policy can allow residents of inner Sydney and the western suburbs enjoy good quality public transport services.
Sadly, zoomzoom’s remarks are not unlike Fazio’s (not that he is necessarily a Fazio fan or whatever). The Eastern Suburbs, City & Inner West may be well-serviced by Sydney Buses, but that has more to do with poor transport planning elsewhere, and a lack of viable train services (and the east doesn’t get trains except to Bondi or on the ridiculously priced Airport line). There has been an ongoing push to shove more people into these areas (note the medium and high rise developments still springing up all over the east), so what looks good on a map can still be stuffed full of people or thoroughly unreliable due to traffic congestion. And then you have the ancient buses which are also concentrated in the east at the Bondi Junction depot.
But of course, poeple always like to complain about the Eastern Suburbs as if only the wealth live there, who have of course been given all these lovely public services. Which most wouldn’t use BECAUSE they are wealthy. But then, there are plenty of low income people across the east & south east (which remember goes to La Perouse & Botany), including the aged.
All this means is that the ongoing degradation of Sydney public transport – which began 40 years ago when they pulled up the tram tracks to make way for personal car use – is effecting everyone. Yes Western Sydney & the NorthWest are woefully serviced, but I don’t see this Govt doing anything about that either.
I’m no fan of Fazio, but I fail to see the point in parliamentarians wasting time in parliament to have a whinge about a problem that in the grand scheme of things is pretty minor and shouldn’t be a priority.
The real transport problems are in Western Sydney. That is what the Greens and the opposition should be debating in parliament and pressuring the government over.
How can so much parliamentary time be wasted whinging about one bus route to an area that is already a short walking distance away from a train station? Even Circular Quay is within walking distance to Elizabeth Bay.
Why not attack Westbus and the rest of the private bus operators and the shitty infrequent and unreliable routes that they run? Why focus on one bus route that covers the journey between Elizabeth Bay and Circular Quay of all places?
All this shows is that all sides of politics, be they conservative, Labor or Green are out of touch with the people of NSW.
ZoomZoom,
Couple of big misconceptions. You seem to think Parliament was used to discuss only important things, whatever they are. The fact is most of what goes on in Parliament is procedural stuff and all the actually deals and debates go on behind the scenes.
And I don’t know why you think “so much” time was “wasted”. Less than hour was spent debating this and The Greens, Coalition, Shooters and Labor all spoke. There was a lot of legislation to get through that evening but the fact that it wasn’t dealt with was not the fault of The Greens, the Coalition or The Shooters, but because the Government shut down the Legislative Council because they didn’t want to lose. So I think your angst is misdirected.
I also don’t know why you think it was wasted. It might not impact on you in any way whatsoever but residents of the area had made representations to MP’s on all sides of the political fence and they had a responsibility to raise that issue with the government and lobby on their behalf, which is exactly what they did.
Transport issues in the Western suburbs are an enormous issue. And I guarantee you that a search in Hansard would demonstrate that they had been talked about many, many times more than this particular bus route, so it’s not as though this was sucking up any oxygen.
Both The Greens and the Coalition have a policy of scrapping the CBD Metro and building the NW and SW rail links. They talk about this a lot, in Parliament and in the media. They can spare an hour lobbying on behalf of their constituents in Elizabeth Bay.
I wish the Legislative Council would adopt a motion to fix my local Westbus bus route.
Zoomzoom – private buses in Western Sydney are a whole issue to themselves. And I have no particular praise for Hillsbus/Westbus, who are both well able to look after themselves and seem to have good support in the Hills Council and even in State Parliament. In my experience, the actual drivers are a bit friendlier than their STA counterparts, and also a bit keener to keep to timetable. But that’s just my experience.
The more important point is that control of how many buses the private operators such as Westbus get funded for and who does what in what region have been, since 2004, completely within the control of the Ministry of Transport.
I haven’t seen a “Bus Service Contract” under the Passenger Transport Act so I don’t know what they restrict. Can the private operators for example run other routes as long as it’s in their region? Can they buy extra buses? I don’t know, but I would guess that it is likely the contracts discourage imaginative thinking whether through an outright ban on doing anything other than the Ministry dictates, or ensuring there’s a financial penalty for going beyond what the Ministry has laid down.
In short, I think it’s a reasonable assumption that they are doing the bidding of the Ministry.