Governing the City State - Chief Minister and Treasury Directorate ...

ACTION staff and management are acutely aware of the importance of accessible publictransport to the ACT community and are committed to improving the efficiency andeffectiveness of the business. The Review understands TAMS and ACTION Managementhave already taken steps to address many of the issues raised in the Performance Audit.The Review notes and endorses the recommendation that TAMS “should ensure thatactivities of the various business units associated with the planning for, and delivery of, busservices and relevant infrastructure are well coordinated.” 414Both TAMS and ACTION have confirmed that corporate systems, governance and capabilityin the business have been somewhat compromised over the past three to four years.Management prerogative has also been compromised by the industrial relations environment.The current enterprise agreement negotiations represent a first step in the reform of andcontinued improvement of ACTION. It will be imperative that ACTION reclaims itsmanagement prerogative to make the business decisions for which it will ultimately be heldresponsible.TimetablingRegular timetabling and route planning changes for ACTION can be highly disruptive topassengers and ultimately self defeating as customers lose confidence in the transportprovider and system itself. The Review suggests there would be significant benefits to servicedelivery from further embedding of detailed peer review of proposed approaches, and closecollaboration with other transport providers in the region in pursuit of passenger centred,rather than operator centred networks.The Review notes recent positive changes to bus services, such as the trial of the REDEXservice, which recently became a permanent part of the bus network as Red Rapid,complemented by a new service Blue Rapid.Red Rapid Route 200 is a limited stop service between Gungahlin Town Centre, NorthbourneAvenue, City Bus Station, Russell, Barton, the Canberra Railway Station and Fyshwick. Itoperates every 15 minutes between 7am and 7pm weekdays. The service commenced on 16November 2009 under the name Redex (Rapid Express Direct) as a trial service betweenGungahlin and the Railway Station. The service has recently been extended to the DirectFactory Outlets centre in Fyshwick. All Red Rapid services are operated by wheelchairaccessible buses fitted with bicycle racks.The Blue Rapid services provide a high-frequency (departures every 5-8 minutes between7am and 7pm on weekdays) link between the City and the bus stations at Belconnen, Wodenand Tuggeranong Town Centres. The Blue Rapid services consist of the 300 series routes onweekdays and route 900 on weekends and public holidays.414 ACT Auditor-General (2010a).Sustainability, Housing Affordability and Transport: 314