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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-09-10 Daily Xml
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Motions

Regional Bus Services

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. C.M. Scriven:

That this council—

(a) acknowledges the importance of regional city and township bus services to rural communities;

(b) calls on the state government to conduct a review of all regional city and township bus services to ensure they are adequately funded and are providing a transport service that meets the needs of those communities; and

(c) calls on the state government to provide the completed report to this council by 30 October 2020.

(Continued from 22 July 2020.)

The Hon. T.T. NGO (17:14): I rise to support this motion of the Hon. Clare Scriven about regional bus services in South Australia. I bring members' attention to the Hammond electorate. With its closest boundary not far from Adelaide, Hammond includes Murray Bridge. In this regional area, South Australians do not have access to a public transport network and services like there are in Adelaide.

Murray Bridge is at a distance where locals might feasibly want to regularly commute to Adelaide, maybe even daily, for work. Google Maps suggests a car-bound commuter from Murray Bridge reaches Adelaide in about an hour, yet research by my staff suggests that someone living in Murray Bridge wanting to use transport services to Adelaide, perhaps because they do not own a vehicle, needs to catch a privately operated bus, with one-way ticket prices around $24. Or they can choose a train, catching the Overland, which I understand costs around $30 one way and looks to take at least two hours.

My staff might be wrong about the limited transport options for Murray Bridge residents travelling to Adelaide. In fact, I hope they are. It appears that someone living in Gawler driving to Adelaide has a similar travelling time as a Murray Bridge to Adelaide commuter. Google Maps suggests it is about a 50 to 55-minute drive from Gawler to the city, yet the Gawler commuter can pay around $5 for an adult fare on a publicly run train into the city, where they arrive around 50 to 70 minutes later, depending on stops along the way. This suggests to me that, if you live regionally, getting into Adelaide when you do not own a vehicle costs you more time and obviously more money.

The Marshall government's recent attempt to cut bus access in Adelaide highlighted to me that some people build their lives around public transport. For some, these are essential services and the only way they can, and can afford, to travel to school, work, doctors and other services. In our regional communities, without public transport services comparable to Adelaide and suburbs, people without a driver's licence and car likely live near what they need and use.

At this worrying economic time, there may be others living further from amenities, unable to afford to run cars and without public transport networks as a back-up. Again, I hope they can be corrected, but my staff struggled to find information about public transport services in Murray Bridge that could in any way be compared to services that we have in Adelaide. Adequate and affordable transport services are crucial for regional commuters and they are key in helping people move around their communities and into other communities.

If this pandemic has exposed nothing else, it has made it clear that people need to be engaged with those around them. It is part of the human condition. If the Marshall Liberal government cares about regional South Australians it must do more for regional communities and the people living within them. This government must pursue accessible, affordable and available transport for all South Australians so they can get to work, to school and to the services they need no matter where they live.

Furthermore, this government must stop making the few existing services harder to access. No doubt members recall the recent Marshall Liberal government's funding cuts to the Overland train service, which was picked up by the Victorian Labor government that now runs services only twice per week. If you care about regional South Australia then I call on you to accept this motion to review bus services in the regions, with a view to identifying if services are funded adequately and if they meet the needs of locals.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (17:19): I rise to say that we support the motion of the Hon. Clare Scriven and the intent of this motion, because it is clear that our regional communities are at a disadvantage. Only today, I was told of a child who needs to come to Adelaide regularly and has to take an infrequent bus service for hospital treatment. The child and the family must remain in Adelaide for four days before getting a bus to take them back home. I think this is unfair and discriminates against the people who live in our regional areas.

Of course, as members in this place would know, I have often spoken of the need for a visionary government to look at reinvigorating our regional rail, which has been allowed to fall into disrepair. We no longer have regular passenger train services to some areas of our regions, and that really is shameful. Again, the regions are being left at a disadvantage by having to rely on infrequent bus schedules just for things that we take for granted here in the city, when they have to take trips from the country into the city for various reasons, whether they be for health reasons or other business they may have.

Is it any wonder, when we do not have such reliable or frequent transport to our regional areas, that these areas are not able to attract more people to live and work there? I imagine that if we did have a good and reliable system of public transport to these regions we would see a boom in some of these areas, particularly in times such as now when our economy is being torn apart by the coronavirus.

It will not be long now before it comes into the summer fruit picking season, and I am sure that people in the Riverland and other parts of the state are going to be reliant on fruit pickers. The transient workers that they have been used to in the past, such as backpackers, are no longer here, and they are going to be crying out for help. People are going to need to get to those regions. They are going to need to get to those regions on a reliable and frequent basis. These are things that I think the government really should start to address. In saying that, I speak on behalf of my colleague the Hon. Connie Bonaros and we wholeheartedly support the motion.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (17:23): I move to amend the motion as follows:

Delete paragraphs (b) and (c) and insert new paragraphs (b) and (c) as follows:

(b) acknowledges that the state government established the South Australian Public Transport Authority to identify future options for regional public transport; and

(c) notes that the last time such a review was undertaken was more than 20 years ago.

I have to say that when I listen to speeches from members of the Australian Labor Party, such as the Hon. Ms Scriven and the Hon. Mr Ngo, on regional services and regional bus services, I nearly gag on the hypocrisy I hear dripping from every word they utter from their well-prepared speeches on the issue.

The Australian Labor Party, the former Labor government, could not give a stuff about regional services. They did nothing. They did stuff all for 16 years in government and they sit there on the opposition benches pontificating about the need for regional bus services to here, there and everywhere, when for 16 years they steadfastly ignored every single plea, every single submission, every single request from regional areas to have a look at it.

It is the wonderful joy of being in opposition that they can enjoy the joy of pretending to care, but they can also accept the criticism that will rightfully come, not just from the government but from people in regional areas because, as I said, they know the hypocrisy of the Australian Labor Party when it comes to regional services. They know the hypocrisy of the Australian Labor Party when it comes to regional bus services in this particular case, but a whole variety of other services as well.

The government is committed to supporting public transport services in regional areas and currently provides $6.1 million in operating subsidies to operators and $5.3 million in concession reimbursements for concession fares as provided to eligible passengers. The Department for Infrastructure and Transport currently administers 28 contracts for public transport bus services in regional South Australia, with varying contracting and financial models.

Regional public transport services include long-distance services between Adelaide and regional centres (Country Bus Services) and localised services that provide access in and between towns (Provincial City and Integrated Services). These arrangements were borne out of a review done in the early 2000s—more than 20 years ago.

After the 16 long years of hard Labor, of the Labor Party ignoring the regions and its services, today's motion is a fig leaf of care for the regions—political pointscoring at its worst. The regions are undoubtedly better off with a Liberal government on the Treasury benches and are already reaping the rewards.

The government is continuously working with service providers to ensure services remain viable and improvements can be introduced wherever possible. This process includes regularly reviewing all services across the regional network with regard to resource allocation, route design, service frequency and patronage demand. All contractors are encouraged to review services regularly to determine if the services are continuing to meet the requirements of the community and to see whether there are any opportunities to change these services to increase patronage.

Given the diverse range of transport needs of regional communities, the government also supports different models of service provision. This includes on-demand transport services which are operating in Port Lincoln, Victor Harbor and the Barossa Valley. This flexible, demand-responsive model is effective in meeting specific needs of communities, particularly for people with mobility constraints or people with disabilities.

While on-demand transport services have been in place for some time, technological advancements that allow online booking, payment and real-time vehicle tracking have prompted investment in trialling this technology in both the regional and metropolitan context. In Renmark, in May 2018, the Future Mobility Lab Fund invested in a two-year trial to utilise fully electric EZ10 autonomous shuttles. That was put on pause because of COVID, but it is hoped that the trial can start again soon.

Further, in 2019, as part of this investment, $857,893 to be precise, from the Future Mobility Lab, administered by the Department for Infrastructure and Transport, was allocated for a trial of an on-demand transport service in the Barossa Valley for a six-month period. This trial was a temporary upgrade of the existing dial-a-ride service operating in that region, however enhanced the service through additional vehicles, lower fares and increased operating hours.

Ticket prices were reduced from the dial-a-ride price of $11.60 for an adult and $5.80 for concessions to $6 for adults and $3 for concessions, including seniors. The trial introduced the Via app to the service where passengers could book their travel, track their vehicle and pay for their trip through the app. Telephone bookings and cash payments were maintained in parallel to the trial to maintain these options for those passengers who were not confident or comfortable to transition to the app.

The trial ended on 13 August 2020 and while the service parameters and operating hours have reverted back to pre-trial levels, the Department for Infrastructure and Transport was able to secure the reduced fares and the use of the app as permanent features of the existing on-demand transport service. The government is committed to continually identifying new and innovative service models that meet the diverse and changing needs of our regional communities that were left in the cold too long.

The government also supports 16 community passenger networks in South Australia across the regions. These community passenger networks provide a resource to enable the community to make better use of existing passenger transport services in the region and ensure that all people who are transport disadvantaged, including the frail aged and people with disabilities, can access community services, facilities and social activities.

From 1 July 2020, the government established the South Australian Public Transport Authority with one of its key responsibilities to identify future options for regional public transport to ensure services continue to remain viable, while also providing affordable and accessible services to their communities. The government and the South Australian Public Transport Authority remain committed to exploring strategies to ensure regional services remain viable and will continue to advocate for funding to enable a detailed review to be undertaken.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (17:29): I indicate that the opposition opposes the amendment moved by the Treasurer. More on that in a moment, but I would like to thank the Hon. Mr Ngo, the Hon. Mr Pangallo and the Treasurer for their contributions. Since moving this motion in our last sitting week, I have been appointed as Labor's shadow minister for regional development, so it becomes even more important in terms of those new responsibilities to ensure that there is a widespread review of regional public transport.

The amendments the Treasurer has moved I would suggest to this chamber cannot be supported simply because they are not true. His first amendment acknowledges that the state government supposedly established the South Australian Public Transport Authority to identify future options for regional public transport. If that were the case, given that the Public Transport Authority was a promise of the Liberals when they were in opposition, I would have thought we would find such a thing in their policy document.

'What we'll do', in their policy document on the first page is: 'We want a public transport system that ranks with the best in the world for a city of Adelaide's size'—and I quote that. There is no mention there of any regional services.

Looking at SAPTA, the South Australian Public Transport Authority, the Liberals said that they needed a public transport system which 'increases the number of people who can get around our city and suburbs more efficiently'. It then talks about the various functions of SAPTA, and there are about seven of them. Seven functions of SAPTA, but none of them, not one, mention regional services, so it is a little hard to see how the Treasurer can move that first part of the amendment.

Looking further into that document, it talks about the 'City centre tram services', the city being Adelaide, just in case anyone was wondering—I do not think anyone was in any doubt, but just in case; the O-Bahn; the north-south rail connection, which is not connecting the north and south of the state, I might add; and the north-western suburbs. All of those no doubt have merit, but none of them relate to regional services.

So I went to the Department for Infrastructure and Transport website—because again, if this was one of the purposes of SAPTA, I am sure we would be able to find reference to it in detail on the website. When one browses by topic under public transport, we get Adelaide Metro; ferries—I do acknowledge ferries are regional, but perhaps not what most people think of in terms of public transport; taxi and chauffeur car review; and taxis.

Then, under the public transport projects there is the city tram extension; the electrification of public trains in Adelaide; Flinders Link, which is referring to the Flinders University area, not anywhere else in the state; Gawler; north-east; Port dock; O-Bahn; Hove; and Ovingham. So there is no reference there at all to this supposed role of SAPTA to identify future options for regional public transport. The second part of the amendment says that this council:

…notes that the last time such a review was undertaken was more than 20 years ago.

Again, that cannot be supported because it is not true. The Environment, Resources and Development Committee of this very chamber did a review of public transport, including regional public transport, commencing in April 2008 and published on 1 December 2009. So I put to the chamber that for those reasons the amendment cannot be supported, because we would be acknowledging and noting things that were simply incorrect.

To sum up the overall reason for the motion, we are looking at a number of issues for regional residents when we are talking about public transport. A number of contributors have quite rightly mentioned the difficulty, or in some cases inability, to get from a regional area to Adelaide, be it for medical reasons, study or other reasons, unless one has a car—that people cannot use public transport options because they are either non-existent or very minimal.

The bus companies that currently have contracts to provide services within regional towns and regional cities on the whole do a very good job, considering the constraints they are under, but because of those constraints the services that are provided do not meet the needs of regional residents.

I mentioned when I moved this motion that even people in major population centres such as Mount Gambier cannot use the public bus service to get to a job within the city that perhaps starts at 8.30 or 9 o'clock. It is a major barrier to employment if you cannot get to your job using anything other than your own vehicle. If you do not have a vehicle or you cannot drive, then that is simply an impossibility for you.

If we are to succeed in the plan to grow the regions, to attract people to our regional areas, to increase populations in regional towns and to stem the decrease and contraction of smaller townships, we need to ensure that basic services are available such as public transport. In the major population centres, that needs to be transport where people can get around the towns or regional cities in a way that enables them to access the services they need and to attend things such as study and employment. In the small, outlying areas there needs to be some option to access major towns in the area.

An example relatively close to Adelaide is the member for Mawson's advocacy for the town of Myponga to be connected to regular and reliable public transport. The member for Giles has raised the issue of being able to travel between Port Augusta and Whyalla. Each of those two regional cities have specific services that are available only in those two cities in that region and yet there is no viable option to travel between them. That might be to access health services or study options or other purposes.

The member for Frome has spoken with me about the difficulty of people, for example, who live in Gladstone or Laura who cannot get to Port Pirie for medical appointments or TAFE or for other such matters. In the Riverland we find that, again, there is a bus service but it starts at around 9.30 in the morning. It does connect Loxton, Berri, Renmark and Paringa but it is not able to be used if the reasons you need to be in those towns are for reasons before 9.30 in the morning—work being an obvious one for many people.

There is a Red Cross bus for medical transport but, again, that is the type of service that we see has risen in many regional areas which does not work for everyone. It is valuable where it is but there should be a more integrated and coordinated system available so that people are not disadvantaged because they are living in a regional area. I have mentioned on a number of occasions the difficulties within Mount Gambier and, for example, trying to move between Mount Gambier and Millicent for work or study, and other townships as well.

I will briefly address a couple of other problems in the Treasurer's response and draw to his attention that there were improvements, for example, in 2016-17 to services in Port Pirie. The criticism that he is levelling at Labor is simply a shield to try to avoid supporting this review now. If, indeed, as the Liberals often say, they support regions, why would they not support a simple review into the public transport options that are available, the needs of regional residents and, therefore, support this motion in its original form? The answer is that they only pretend to care about regions. I urge the council to support the original motion as moved by me and to reject the amendments, which are untrue, of the Treasurer.

Amendment negatived; motion carried.

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