Bus boss urges road fix
Call for dedicated lanes along busy routes
THE chief operator of the Sunbus public bus service in Cairns is aware of reliability problems with the service, but says better road infrastructure is needed for a permanent fix.
Transit Australia Group chief operations officer John Calabro, who spoke at the Australasian Bus Conference in Cairns yesterday, has shared his vision for improved public transport in the city.
Mr Calabro acknowledged traffic congestion across the city had a major impact on bus reliability. He said the best solution would be adding priority bus lanes along the city’s busiest routes, such as the Captain Cook Highway along the northern beaches.
“That would be the solution that fixes everything,” he said.
Cairns Regional Council has had plans in place since the early 2000s to create the Cairns Transit Network – a priority busway extending from Gordonvale to Palm Cove and through the CBD.
The plan identifies a range of bus-priority measures from Smithfield to Edmonton, connecting with the city centre and other major road corridors.
Mr Calabro, who has been advocating the plan, said, ideally, there would also be right-of-way turn signals for buses (B-lights) at the city’s busiest intersections, similar to those installed in Brisbane.
He said there was also scope for adding a bus service between the CBD and Cairns Airport, pointing out the council’s trial late last year of a driverless bus along the Esplanade could be extended to the airport.
TAG recently announced a new partnership with Easy-Mile, the international electric driverless technology company behind the Cairns trial last December.
“That could be a gamechanger for Cairns, especially if they put in right-of-way (signals) – it would help take more cars off the road,” Mr Calabro said.
He said in the short-term, bus users could expect Go Cards to be installed across the local fleet – something the Transport Workers Union has been calling for for years to increase security for drivers.