Labor, the Greens and the Liberals have agreed to back more planning work to improve the bus corridor between Belconnen and the city and committed to completing improvements by October 2028 in the second time the issue was debated this year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The government agreed to deliver an updated feasibility study for the Belconnen Bus transitway and committed to finishing "bus priority" before the 2028 territory election.
All three parties had agreed the bus connection needed to be improved, but could not find a way to agree on the wording when a similar motion was debated in the Assembly in September.
The government at the time said it would still put forward an updated case for project funding to the federal government.
Labor had sought to have the fresh motion thrown out on the basis the Assembly cannot debate the same issue more than once, but Speaker Joy Burch ruled the Liberals' motion was in order.
Transport Minister Chris Steel amended the motion to include consideration of other transport modes and deliver a feasibility study rather than investigating delivering the upgrades by 2027.
The Liberals' Mark Parton, who moved the original motion, moved an amendment to include a commitment to deliver bus priority between Belconnen and the city before the 2028 election, due in October that year.
MORE A.C.T. POLITICS NEWS:
The amended motion was supported by Labor, the Greens and the Liberals.
Public Transport Association of Canberra chair Ryan Hemsley said the commitment to finish the Belconnen transitway before the 2028 election was fantastic news for the 30 per cent of daily bus passengers who travel through the corridor.
"When complete, this project will make a real difference to the speed and reliability of transport services along one of Canberra's busiest bus corridors, and will lay some important groundwork for the future delivery of light rail stage three to Belconnen," Mr Hemsley said.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
