MEDIA STATEMENT 05: 19 FEB 2008
By David White : Candidate for Central Ward
2008 Brisbane City Council Election
Supported by Socialist Alliance
After years of neglecting Council’s public transport services, the major parties are now desperately engaged in a bidding war, both trying to outdo each other with extravagant promises of new buses and new services.
In the 13 years prior to 2004, Labor-controlled Councils added less than 400 buses to the Council fleet. A Council move in 2000, to encourage more residents to use the buses by reducing fares for six weeks was never repeated, despite achieving its limited aim. The neglect of public transport services by the new Council under Campbell Newman continued in 2004 and 2005, while Council voted to start diverting millions of dollars of ratepayer’s funds into Newman’s Transapex dream of more roads and tunnels.
The anger and despair of commuters increased in 2006, forcing Labor councillors to act to take over Council administration of public transport from the Liberals.
Nothing has changed.
Hundreds of commuters continue to be stranded every week as full buses drive by. Many more are inconvenienced as buses arrive late or don’t appear at all.
While the quality and standard of services continues to decline, the major parties argue about who is to blame for this deplorable situation, rather than taking decisive action.
Labor says there will be “sweeper” buses to collect stranded commuters, but won’t say how they are going to find the buses. It says that every bus is already being used, so how can we believe promises of extra “sweeper” services?
The Lord Mayor promises many more buses, but he said last year that there’s no depot space to store any more buses, and that the manufacturers cannot supply any more!
Council’s financial state is now so precarious that Translink is now providing the funds to enable Council to purchase new buses! And the Lord Mayor has failed to acknowledge that the current bus fleet includes many decrepit buses that are nearly 25 years old and should have been scrapped already!
The major parties continue to deny this appalling record of lies, deception and failure, despite all of the evidence. Now in a cynical move just 30 days before the election, they are promising the new buses that should have been ordered four years ago, while neither has the honesty to admit that Council cannot afford to fund them while it continues to pursue the TransApex fantasy.
Meanwhile, traffic congestion is getting worse as many commuters, denied quality public transport services, have no practical choice but to drive to and from work. The costs to the whole community of this neglect and incompetence are enormous.
Brisbane residents deserve to have a better Council after March 15.
CONTACT PHONE 0403 871 082
Media Release also published at candobetter.wikispaces.com/Bus+bidding+war
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