Liberal plans on ACTION

[vnguyen]

Canberra Times has recently released an artitle
 about ACTION.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/liberals-plan-action-overhaul-to-boost-public-transport-use-20160329-gntpvt.html

[vnguyen]

You can also see the proposed map with the new "rapids" here.

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-31/canberra-liberals-unveil-overhaul-of-rapid-bus-routes-in-public/7286412

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

Oh boy, here we go...


woah hold on, that 5 route looks similar to something I designed 15 years ago - hope they realise it's a route that takes nearly 3 hours to complete...

[Buzz Killington]

Here's the plan: http://www.canberratransportfuture.com.au/wp-content/pdfs/Canberra_Transport_Future.pdf

As you may have gathered from the above URL, there's also a website at canberratransportfuture.com.au

[King of Buses]

woah hold on, that 5 route looks similar to something I designed 15 years ago - hope they realise it's a route that takes nearly 3 hours to complete...

That would imply route 5 was designed by a 5 year old... well that sums up and explains the whole Liberals plan pretty much.

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

well when I invented it, sure, i was only 5ish too, but I named it route 100 or something, not that dumb single digit nonsense again...

[Barry Drive]

When I was 5 I may have also designed bus routes which featured stops on arterial roads. But I soon realised that they are impractical, to say the least.

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

I'll have a dig in all my stuff to see if I can find the original sheet that I wrote the plan on. It's a long time ago now, but  think it was route 100, from Tuggeranong Plt. 9/10, to Woden, the to Parliament House via the same roads the 300s take, then to the Airport, Fyshwick, Hume, and back to Tuggeranong. I knew straight away it wasn't so good, cause it worked out to be nearly a 2-3 hour trip

I just had another look at the network with all those rapid series, it looks really badly done to be honest. Yes, probably done by a 5 year old in TAMS... - one who hasn't affectively researched his/her timetable history enough.

[The Love Guru]

I'll have a dig in all my stuff to see if I can find the original sheet that I wrote the plan on. It's a long time ago now, but  think it was route 100, from Tuggeranong Plt. 9/10, to Woden, the to Parliament House via the same roads the 300s take, then to the Airport, Fyshwick, Hume, and back to Tuggeranong. I knew straight away it wasn't so good, cause it worked out to be nearly a 2-3 hour trip

I just had another look at the network with all those rapid series, it looks really badly done to be honest. Yes, probably done by a 5 year old in TAMS... - one who hasn't affectively researched his/her timetable history enough.

You wouldn't have a clue as to what a good network would look like. Some of the routes in the plan are actually pretty good. Which ones do you have an issue with?

[Buzz Killington]

Yes, probably done by a 5 year old in TAMS... - one who hasn't affectively researched his/her timetable history enough.

No. TAMS is a Government directorate. It works for the government of the day, not the opposition.

[Bus 503]

I just had another look at the network with all those rapid series, it looks really badly done to be honest. Yes, probably done by a 5 year old in TAMS... - one who hasn't affectively researched his/her timetable history enough.

I disagree with that. The Parkway Express (route 9) seems like very smart idea, as does the new Pink Rapid (we all know why I want that).

I'm not sure if the Green Rapid (Tuggeranong to the Airport) will go ahead. From what I understand, each bus company which runs services there must have a paid contract(?) with the Airport. That's one of the problems in the way of the route.

The Liberals are also keen to develop real-time information, or 'moving dots' at major stops and on phones and devices. They might not realise that there are apps which do just that.

I don't think colour coding buses is a good idea. People can read the destination display so there is no need to waste money and paint on that. They should make sure that all buses have back destination displays though.

And just with the four door articulated buses - aren't there regulations about the amount of doors on a bus? Won't that exceed the amount of doors allowed by regulations?

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

Well let's see now.

1 - pretty much the 300 series.
2 - current red rapid 200 series.
3 - can't read it, but i think it says brown rapid - ew, poo coloured buses? gawd... anyway, why Dunlop to the parliamentary circle? Imo I think it would be better to have an hourly, or every 2 hours a service that ran from the city to Hall, yeah, I mean that - there's quite often things up at hall people without cars need to get to.
4 - Tuggeranong to the Airport? Yeh, I don't quite see that either. Civic or Belconnen (like the 80 in 1998-'99) to the Airport makes more sense, unless, if it were to go from Tuggeranong, I think it would work better to go via Hume and Manaro Highway (possibly via Fyshwick too), and then to the Airport, and surrounding office areas.
5 - Like I said above, not such a good idea - and who would want to drive a loop service that can go up to 2-3 hours, not many drivers would be whiling to do that - I don't think. (sticking to a sort of design with just this post) if my idea of the 4 runs with this, cut off the 2nd part of this route, and just have it going from Tuggeranong to City via Weston Creek and possibly (cause why not ) for the tourists as well, have it go to the Zoo, Arboretum, and Telstra tower and National Museum too before it gets to the City.
6 - Pretty much just looks like the 50 and 55 combined - I have no issues with that.
7 - another combination.
8 - Woden to Manuka via Weston Creek and City rapid express? who thought up that? Oh whatever, would look better as a both way loop though, imo.
9 - lucky last - the number 1 thing I have been complaining to ACTION for the past 10 years.

MAKE THE 749/705 ALL DAY!!!

This route I definitely approve of, provided there's one for Tuggeranong to Belconnen too, cause they're needed even not during peak. Not sure about the number though...

My opinions only of course.

(edit) Just realised something there,that could make more sense - combine the 3 and 4 and make a not-so-rapid route from hall to the airport via the city

[vnguyen]

3 - can't read it, but i think it says brown rapid - ew, poo coloured buses? gawd...

Rapid 3, 7 and 8 make up the Bronze, Silver and Gold Rapid. Clever naming though. All which passes though National Circuit and Manuka.

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

oh bronze was it, ok cool. Bronze coloured buses I can handle, but not poo coloured - some of these colours will be hard to replicate with my drawings though 

not sure how wasting x10 more money than the already $80mil a year loss on bus paint is going to work, but whatever, at least they'll seem prettier - for a while, till I start disliking the whole thing, till it starts to look like Sydney all over again - lol, this should go well... what year is this planned for again?

[Bus 503]

I had a few questions regarding the proposed bus network and I received responses yesterday from Alistair Coe. I hope these answers answer any of your questions:

Dear (Bus 503),

 

Thank you for your email and your feedback. The Opposition was please to contribute to the debate in a substantial way with the release of our public transport policy.

 

I believe that our plan is superior to light rail in each respect: transportation, financial and planning. Further to this, our plan is for all of Canberra, not just the 3% who live within walking distance of a proposed tram stop. We will be doing all we can over the coming months to demonstrate the benefits of our plan to all Canberrans.

 

As per your questions, please see my responses below.

 

1.     We will not rebrand all ACTION buses. For the foreseeable future, I think there are mechanisms such as coloured LED lights which can be used on the front, sides and rear of buses to differentiate their service. However, some buses, such as the Airport service, would especially benefit from distinct branding.

2.     To help get the new network up and running, the Opposition is proposing to add new buses to the ACTION network. Over time more buses can be added to the network to improve frequencies. However, we will utilise some of the existing fleet too.

3.     We expect that when the rapid is at full capacity, approximately 155 buses will be require for the rapid service. However, the fleet cannot grow overnight so there will have to be some incremental improvements to frequencies as capacity comes available.

4.     The Opposition hasn’t released our plans for Northbourne Avenue yet. However, BRT is a very attractive option. We’ll have more to say on this in the coming months.

5.     The ACT Government’s Transport for Canberra 2012-2031 plan aimed to reduce bus frequencies in the suburbs from every hour to every half hour. We will also aim to achieve this. However, this level of detail is very hard to develop from Opposition. The Government has access to thousands of public servants and billions of dollars for their operations. In Opposition, we are limited to just a few people.

6.     Until we announced specific road improvements, we are not in a position to comment on specific journey times. However, the Blue Rapid will remain in its current form between Tuggeranong and Belconnen. Of course, we are also proposing the Purple and Green rapids in addition to the Parkway Express.

 

Again, thank you for your email.

 

Kind regards,

 

Alistair Coe MLA
Deputy Leader of the Opposition
ACT Legislative Assembly

 

Shadow Minister for Planning & Infrastructure; Transport;
Urban Services; and Heritage

 

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

woah hold on, that 5 route looks similar to something I designed 15 years ago...

well when I invented it, sure, i was only 5ish too, but I named it route 100 or something...

I'll have a dig in all my stuff to see if I can find the original sheet that I wrote the plan on. It's a long time ago now, but I think it was route 100, from Tuggeranong Plt. 9/10, to Woden, the to Parliament House via the same roads the 300s take, then to the Airport, Fyshwick, Hume, and back to Tuggeranong. I knew straight away it wasn't so good, cause it worked out to be nearly a 2-3 hour trip

I know this topic has died off, but I said I would find the old sheets. I was looking through a box of stuff a few moments ago, (looking for something not to do with buses) when at the bottom, I found what I had been looking for. Also, turns out I made 2 copies, dunno why, too long ago now to remember. Turns out I remembered most of it, and it's kinda funny now how there is a 101 loop service, but ironically has nothing to with mine