City of Mount Gambier continues to advocate for improved public bus services, following the State Government’s decision to award a new bus tender contract until 2035 with no improvement to vastly inadequate service levels.
“I was incredibly disappointed to hear that despite the comprehensive review of the local bus service that was undertaken by Council in late 2020 highlighting significant inadequacies in the existing model, and our ongoing advocacy to the State Government since, we’ve been advised that the new bus service is being offered without change,” Mayor Lynette Martin said.
“Council has been very vocal on this issue for several years now. The current level of service and bus routes are woefully inadequate and have not been reviewed for 30 years. The comparative expenditure allocated to the local service is more appropriate to a community of around 3000 to 6000 people, rather than a regional capital of around 28,000.”
The service currently doesn’t allow people to access employment and/or education facilities given its restricted hours of operation, does not adequately service facilities such as the Mount Gambier Hospital, Foodbank, the newly developed Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre and senior lifestyle villages of Woodlands and Hallmont. It also has lengthy wait times for servicing stops along each route and is lacking service to residential growth areas.
Councillor Max Bruins posed a question with notice at the October Council meeting regarding plans for ongoing advocacy work on behalf of the community.
