Greater Hobart Mayors welcome public transport policies

Published on 28 April 2021

The Greater Hobart Mayors have today welcomed the Labor Party, Liberal Party and Greens Party election commitments to invest in public transport across Greater Hobart.

“The Greater Hobart Mayors have urged candidates in the upcoming State Election to commit to a better public transport system for Tasmania’s capital city,” said Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds speaking on behalf of the Mayors of Greater Hobart. “We are pleased that the Labor Party, the Liberal Party, the Greens and Independent candidate for Clark Sue Hickey have listened to the needs of our community and responded with promises that benefit the residents of Clark, Franklin and Lyons.”

In a joint statement earlier this month, the Greater Hobart Mayors called on candidates of all parties to:

“We have a commitment from Labor and the Greens to progress the Northern Suburbs Passenger Rail and Urban Renewal Project by using the $25 million dollars included in the Hobart City Deal to progress this project to the next stage,” Cr Reynolds said.

“Labor and the Greens have also endorsed our vision for local and state government to work in partnership to fund commuter cycling infrastructure across Greater Hobart. Both Parties have pledged funding for a network of interconnected active transport and commuter routes in the region. Labor and the Greens also commit to the long overdue Hobart Transit Centre, which is an essential infrastructure project in the centre of Hobart.

“The Liberal Party’s and Greens’ responses to our call for more commuter buses in the network is welcomed and much needed. The Liberal Party’s commitment of $81.5 million in new funding for more buses and infrastructure over the next four years will work towards delivering on the Hobart City Deal target to increase the percentage of people commuting to work on public transport from 6.8 per cent to 10 per cent,” said Cr Reynolds.

“Feedback from residents and public transport users in Greater Hobart indicates that increasing the attractiveness of public transport requires more buses, running more frequently across our growing city.

“The Liberal Party’s promise to deliver bus shelter upgrades in priority locations is a welcome investment and will make a real difference to bus passengers. It is pleasing that extra school buses have been committed and a common ticketing system with real time travel information for commuters is also included in the Liberal policy to make public transport easier to use.

“We are also pleased to see the Liberal Party’s commitment to provide for more park and ride facilities in Greater Hobart to encourage more commuters onto buses, rather than in their cars, another key priority of the Hobart City Deal.”

Sue Hickey, Independent candidate for Clark, has also pledged to support the three major public and active transport priorities outlined by the Greater Hobart Mayors.

“With the 1 May state election fast approaching, the Greater Hobart Mayors call on the Liberal Party to match Labor and Green commitments to cycling infrastructure to ensure the residents of Clark, Franklin and Lyons have a comprehensive active transport system. We would also like to see a commitment to funding for more buses in the public transport network from Labor,” Cr Reynolds said.