Media release: Light rail blow-out latest example of transport mismanagement
Revelations that the cost of the Sydney light rail project has blown out by billions is just the latest example of the NSW Government’s mismanagement of the state’s transport services, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union says.
The Auditor-General yesterday revealed that the light rail project, which was slated to cost $1.6 billion, has actually cost $3.1 billion.
David Babineau, Secretary of the Tram and Bus Division of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) NSW said the Berejiklian Government is clearly out of its depth when it comes to management of our state’s transport services.
“Bus privatisation, axing bus services, introducing on-demand buses that cost hundreds of dollars per passenger per trip to run, the attempts to run an unsafe New InterCity Fleet. Every transport project this government touches turns to mud and ends up costing the taxpayer dearly,” Mr Babineau said.
“This light rail project is a classic example of how shambolic this government is when it comes to transport services. The cost to the taxpayer has blown out by billions, people aren’t catching it because the service was poorly designed, and commuters still don’t know what the integrated transport plan around the light rail looks like. But rather than acknowledge its failings and fix the problems, the NSW Government instead tries to spin the numbers and implement cuts to try and force passengers to use the service anyway.
“Commuters deserve a world-class transport system, but instead we’re paying through the nose for something that barely works.
“What’s insulting is that the amount of money the NSW government has over-spent on this light rail project is a large percentage of what it claims it needs to save by freezing public sector workers’ wages.”