ACT government considers making public transport free for more Canberrans
The change would add to the existing "Fare free Fridays" for all Canberra bus and light rail travel. (ABC News: Simon Beardsell)
In short:
The ACT government says a plan to make public transport free for students, seniors and concession card holders may compromise other budget priorities.
The proposal also calls for leftover funding from the "Fare free Fridays" trial to be used to reduce concession fare prices after the pilot ends this month.
What's next?
The government will review the proposal, which passed in the ACT Legislative Assembly.
The ACT government will consider a proposal to make public transport free for students, seniors and concession card holders, but argues improving the quality of services is its priority.
The proposal is part of an ACT Greens motion, passed in the ACT Legislative Assembly today, which also calls on the government to extend concession fares to part-time students.
The proposal, brought by Greens MLA Andrew Braddock, also proposes the use of any remaining funding for the government's "Fare free Fridays" pilot to reduce concession fare prices when the trial concludes at the end of the month.
Andrew Braddock of the Greens brought the motion to the ACT Legislative Assembly. (ABC News: Callum Flinn)
Free public transport is already available all day in Canberra to children under five who do not attend school, ACT seniors aged 70 and over, people with permanent disabilities, and Companion Card holders.
Health Care, Pension, ACT Services Access, Veterans Gold, ACT and interstate seniors card holders can all travel for free during weekday off-peak times, on weekends and public holidays.
Cost-of-living relief measure
Greens MLA Andrew Braddock said extending the concessions for public transport would be a simple cost-of-living relief measure.
"For most people, it's just a couple of dollars, but someone really struggling with the cost-of-living shouldn't have to choose between a third meal in the day or getting where they need to go," Mr Braddock said.
"This would give parents a cost-free way to get their kids to school, and it would expand free travel to part-time uni students who are juggling work to make ends meet."
The proposed change is hoped to help reduce the cost-of-living pressures for those struggling most. (ABC News: Simon Beardsell)
Mr Braddock also argued that it would encourage public transport use by reducing the need for families and older people to top up or link bank or credit cards to MyWay+ ticketing system accounts.
"As part of the MyWay+ implementation people actually started to be trained not to tap on and off — which is to the detriment of the system because we don't know exactly where people are riding the network to," Mr Braddock said.
"This way, people don't have to worry about the cost of fares or uploading those onto the card.
"They can simply tap on and know that they won't be charged a fare, and we can still have that data to be able to tell us where people are utilising our public transport network."
Proposal could jeopardise budget priorities
Transport Minister Chris Steel said he supported the "progressive intent" of the motion, but warned it could compromise current budget priorities.
ACT Treasurer Chris Steel says the government will consider the motion. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)
"The government's priority is to increase the frequency of public transport services and deliver on our election commitments — not cut revenue — to be able to fund better bus services," Mr Steel said.
"However, we are willing to consider the motion in the context of the budget."
He said during this sitting week, several motions had been introduced by other parties, including the Liberals and the Greens, calling for the government to spend "tens of millions of dollars more".
"We are in pretty tight fiscal circumstances and so it really is incumbent on every member of the assembly to take responsibility for the territory's finances at this time," he said.
Mr Braddock argued the problematic rollout and implementation of MyWay+ had seen much more lost revenue than the proposed changes would cause.
"That is of greater detriment to the budget than providing targeted cost-of-living relief to a small cohort of Canberrans," he said.
The year-long pilot for free public transport on Fridays will come to an end in November. (Facebook: ACT government)
ACT government reviewing 'Fare free Fridays'
The ACT government is still evaluating the success of its “Fare free Fridays” public transport trial.
"We have anecdotally seen more people using public transport on Fridays," Mr Steel said.
He said because many people were not tapping on and off during those days, the government was unable to collect the data it needed to understand how public transport was being used and to plan better services in the future.
The government plans to complete its evaluation once the trial reaches the one-year mark in November, with further announcements expected after its completion.
Mr Steel said the government already offers a concession scheme for students, seniors, pensioners and other people with disabilities, providing them with discounted travel and, in some cases, free travel during the day.
"But it is really important that people are able to pay for public transport to help fund and deliver better services."
'Should have been done years ago'
The Council on the Aging ACT's Jenny Mobbs says she thinks the proposal should be implemented as soon as possible. (ABC News: Harry Frost)
From the rollout of the MyWay+ ticketing system last year, older Canberrans simply had to show their seniors card when boarding public transport — without needing to tap on or off.
Council on the Ageing ACT CEO Jenny Mobbs said the proposal to expand free public transport to all concession card holders was a "no-brainer" that "should be done tomorrow".
"It should have been done years ago," she said.
"Other states have done it [and] it's very successful getting people onto public transport."
Ms Mobbs said the council received calls every day from senior Canberrans having difficulty using MyWay+, and removing fees would provide them with significant relief.
"Seniors get very little from the ACT government, so this could be a really good gift to them," she said.
"Anyone over 60 who's got a seniors card should have free transport.
"[Maybe] their sight is not as good, there are health issues, so getting people on public transport just makes complete sense."