When ABC Stateline asked us who they could interview regarding Gungahlin’s bus services, we suggested they go to the main REDEX stop in Gungahlin town centre one weekday morning, and they did.

Comments from active bus users were quite positive, reflecting growing popularity in both the REDEX express services and the normal routes. But there was understandable surprise when they were told that the ACT Government would take 20 years to roll out the ACTION service model adopted after the recent review.

These are thoughts that echo concerns raised by us at the time the redesign was being canvassed. We said then that it is what we need right now – not in 20 years time – if we are to ensure a successful public transport service in Canberra. And it is what we need now if we are to put the brakes on the huge amounts the Government has to spend on road construction when we all stay in our cars.

There is one enduring myth that continues to be put about on Canberra and public transport, and it comes up again in this article – that it’s a problem that Canberra is widely dispersed. This is not a problem as long as the public transport can connect quickly between the key satellite nodes. And that’s a key problem with ACTION services – almost everything gets channelled through Civic, and the Government continues to sell off land along these major routes, thereby ensuring that they can’t connect the nodes quickly.