Dr MARJORIE O'NEILL (Coogee) (18:43:01): I represent all those who have written to my office who are shocked about the removal of buses. Over the past two days my office has received hundreds of emails and calls from locals who are devastated by the Government's plan to cut 16 bus routes from the south‑east region. Add to these the 20,000 signatures on anti-privatisation petitions that we will be debating tomorrow and it is clear that the people of New South Wales and the east want to keep each of their buses in the hands of the government. Sixteen routes are about to be cut, which will remove 1,600 services every day and over 10,000 services every week. Those buses are the 302, the 314, the 317, the 373, the 376, the 377, the 393, the 394, the 395, the 397, the 399, the L98, the M10, the M50, the 891 and the 893. Another 11 routes will be rerouted to truncate the community to the light rail.
Why is the Government doing this? Is it to pay for the outrageous overspend on the South East Light Rail? Is it to force people onto the world's most expensive and slowest light rail, which is an abysmal replacement for some of the best bus services in Sydney? This is infrastructure that was more than $1.3 billion over budget, is up to 20 minutes slower than existing services, has fewer stops, and has more breakdowns and safety concerns across the network. The Government's cuts to these essential buses are clear attempts to streamline the services before it sells them off, forcing people to use the light rail—a mediocre transport system—instead.
Missing from the picture are the stories of the people who will be directly affected by the loss of these buses. On Monday Lindsay, a 76-year-old constituent of mine from Coogee, visited my office to tell her story of what the loss of the 373 bus from Coogee to Circular Quay means for her. Most weeks Lindsay takes the bus to access cultural activities in the city. Because this bus travels to Circular Quay via Museum, she is able to walk to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Museum of Sydney, the Museum of Contemporary Art and performances at the Sydney Opera House. She meets two of her friends there and these trips are a big part of their social life.
Losing this bus service will have big consequences for Lindsay. She will need to take a bus to Randwick, cross several streets and wait for the light rail to take her to Circular Quay. Coming home she will have to make these changes later at night, stretching her journey out by 20 minutes. Lindsay also mentioned that she does not feel safe changing between her bus and the light rail either at Central or Randwick Junction. If the 373 disappears it will have a huge impact on thousands of people just like Lindsay. This is just one bus and there are 16 buses slated for removal, each with thousands of regular customers with their own individual story.
There is Bianca, a small business owner in Randwick, who voiced her concerns at a community rally we hosted in December last year. Bianca's business was directly impacted by the years of light rail construction when Randwick was a no‑go zone. Even now that it has finished she faces cuts to the buses that bring her clients to her hairdresser business and ensure her staff can turn up to work on time. There is Els, a Coogee constituent who came to see me to express her extreme concern and anxiety over the pending removal of her bus services. Els is vision impaired and cannot drive. She is completely reliant upon our local services for her independent travel to access her medical appointments, attend social events and engage with her community.
Perhaps the most poignant moment of our meeting was when Els shared some of the great advocacy work Blind Citizens Australia has done on her behalf. Els mentioned that Blind Citizens Australia works tirelessly to spread the message that public transport is essential in the lives of people who are blind or vision impaired. As Blind Citizens Australia says, "Public transport workers do the driving that we cannot do, taking us to connect with our communities, to our employment, education, medical appointments, as well as our family and friends." The loss of these services will do far more than just inconvenience Els. It will critically impact upon her independence, which will drastically reduce her quality of life. It is for this reason and thousands more that I am fighting to keep these vital services.
These are among the reasons community groups like Save Our Buses have been campaigning for years. They know how essential our local Eastern Suburbs buses are. They know firsthand that the removal of so many bus services will have the greatest impact on the elderly, on parents with prams, on schoolchildren, on those who cannot afford private transport and on the disabled. The buses that the Government is about to cut are our local routes taken by everyday people—buses that take people to the doctor, the supermarket, the library, the hospital and work. If these buses disappear it will be disastrous. The light rail services fewer areas, has significantly less seating capacity than our buses, is unreliable and slow and breaks down on a regular basis. It is the local people who are being put last but it is the local people who are fighting back.
