Council steps up as state government axes local bus service in Newcastle

As the government prepares to axe Newcastle’s park and ride service, Newcastle Council has stepped up and announced they will fund the service for a further month, in hope that it buys more time to convince the state government to keep the important and valued local service.

The Tram and Bus Division believe the axing of the park and ride service is just another case of this NSW Government showing absolute contempt for commuters and workers in Newcastle. They continue to erode public transport and cancel services with zero consultation with the community. The Government is paid for by the tax payer to represent the tax payer, they continue to disregard local workers at every turn.

This Government boasts about creating a world class transport network, but here they are scrapping a service that the public love and use. If this Government wanted to improve public transport, they could start at a bare minimum by retaining the current services that are valued instead of cutting them off.

Tram and Bus Division President, Daniel Jaggers said “The NSW Government seem to only care about making deals with the big end of town, instead of supporting our community and investing in the local services they need. Whether it’s Sydney’s Inner West, Newcastle, or regional NSW – this Government continues to make decisions that leave commuters worse off and out of pocket.

“The axing of the park and ride service is just another show of disrespect for the commuters and workers of Newcastle. Enough is enough.” Mr Jaggers said.

You can read more about this story on Bus Express.