Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-12-01 Daily Xml

Contents

TRAMS

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:31): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the minister representing the Minister for Transport a question regarding Adelaide's tram services.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: Recently a response to a freedom of information request that I made some time ago indicates that every month for the past 18 months tram drivers have reported concerns with traffic light sequencing within the CBD in particular. Their requests for improvement in traffic light sequencing have appeared each month in those reports dating back to January 2008 in the tram on-time running report, but the requests do not appear to have been acted on to this point. Given the poor synchronisation that is recorded in the reports, according to the drivers themselves (some have suggested that it is actually quicker to walk than use the service provided), will the minister provide an undertaking to investigate this matter and rectify it if appropriate?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy) (15:32): I thank the honourable member for his most important question, and I am happy to refer it to the appropriate minister in another place and bring back a response. I would like to take this opportunity to remind honourable members that DTEI's capital program for 2009-10 is $1.1 billion, up $160 million on eight years ago, and that $3 billion will be spent over the next four years on transport alone. This includes work on the rail revitalisation program.

We have a massive capital program for our transport system, with rail revitalisation, the coast to coast rail, additional trams, the rail car depot being relocated, the South Road/Anzac Highway underpass, the Glenelg tram overpass, the bus fleet, and the list goes on. As I said, we have spent unprecedented amounts on our public transport system, but I am happy to take the specific question that the honourable member raises and refer it to the Minister for Transport in another place.