House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2) 52 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Bus Shelter Program BUS SHELTER PROGRAM Ms THOMPSON House of Assembly Reynell BUS SHELTER PROGRAM Ms THOMPSON (Reynell) (14:36): Thank you, sir. My question is to the Minister for Transport Services. Can the minister update the house on the progress made in installing new bus shelters along metropolitan bus routes? The Hon. C.C. FOX House of Assembly Bright Minister for Transport Services Minister Assisting the Minister for the Arts BUS SHELTER PROGRAM The Hon. C.C. FOX (Bright—Minister for Transport Services, Minister Assisting the Minister for the Arts) (14:37): I thank the member for Reynell for her question, and I would like to congratulate her on her success in advocating strongly for her electorate, which actually has the highest number of new bus shelters established by this fantastic program. The Hon. S.W. Key interjecting: The Hon. C.C. FOX House of Assembly The Hon. C.C. FOX: No, it's true, although you were a pretty strong advocate yourself—a very robust discussion there. The new bus shelter program was established three years ago by this government, and it committed about $5.2 million over a four-year period to build new as well as upgrade existing bus shelters to benefit commuters across Adelaide. The investment has complemented the broader modernisation of our public transport network. The initiative involved the development of a sustainable partnership with local government to build these bus shelters and provide more comfortable, functional shelters for all passengers, particularly the aged and people with disabilities, ensuring compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act. It might be of interest to the members of this house to know that there are approximately 8,100 bus stops in the Adelaide metropolitan area, and we have an estimated 3,500 shelters. The majority of those shelters are owned by the council, following a transfer in 2004, so councils are co-funding this program by procuring and installing the shelters and undertaking all the associated works. I would like to thank the great majority of councils for being extremely— The Hon. L.W.K. Bignell interjecting: The Hon. C.C. FOX House of Assembly The Hon. C.C. FOX: I said 'the great majority'—for being extremely helpful in this process. In the second year of the program, regional councils were also eligible to submit applications, and in total 118 metropolitan applications and 24 regional applications have been assessed and approved. Additional funding will be made available to selected councils for another 22 shelters. To date, 162 bus shelters under the year 2 program have been installed, with the remaining two due for installation by the end of 2013. Funding applications for the 2013 round of the current program have recently been requested from councils, and the funding will be allocated by August. It is anticipated that more than 190 requests will be made by council. The installation of around 700 new disability-compliant bus shelters all across the Adelaide metropolitan bus network is a clear demonstration of the investment this government is making in a modern, safe, comfortable and reliable public transport network for the commuters of Adelaide.