Focus on transport problems
Probing access issues
THE distance from one’s front door to the nearest bus stop, poor access to timetables, long waits – these are just some of the obstacles Tasmanians face when using the public transport system.
It’s why Anglicare Tasmania’s Social Action and Research Centre (SARC) is spearheading the new Trips Not Made project.
Led by SARC social researcher Lisa Stafford and a group of young co-researchers, the project is seeking to chart a course for the future of public transport across the state, one in which equity and accessibility are at the forefront.
“For some areas there are some good services, but for people living in the outer suburbs and in our regional urban centres, it’s not as straightforward and easy for someone to use public transport regularly, whether that’s for work, education, catching up with friends, even your health appointments and stuff like that,” Dr Stafford said.
“And that’s something that’s not just specific to young people with disabilities but … that a lot of people living in those areas who want to use or access public transport can find barriers to.”
According to the 2016 Census, just 5 per cent of people in Hobart use public transport to commute to work – the lowest proportion of any capital city in the country.
More than 90 per cent of people across the rest of the state travel to and from work in a private vehicle.
The Trips Not Made project has kicked off with a series of community meetings open to people aged 12 and up. The focus areas of the project are the North West Coast and South-East of the state.
“You can’t just design a system without understanding where the tension points are for people,” Dr Stafford said.
“And that’s why we’re foregrounding the outer suburb
areas and the regional urban centres.”
Transport Minister Michael Ferguson said the state government was working to make Tasmania’s public transport system more accessible, including through a $10m program to improve access and amenity at bus stops.
Trips Not Made will hold community sessions at the Primrose Sands RSL on Saturday,
June 25 from 10am-12pm, the Midway Point Neighbourhood House on Thursday, June 30 from 4.30pm-6.30pm, and at the Brighton Bowls and Community Club on Friday, July 1 from 4pm-6pm.
For more information or to book your place in a session, contact lisa.stafford @utas.edu.au or visit anglicare-tas.org.au/trips-not-made/