Hon Ken Travers asks the Minister for Transport to guarantee no bus service reductions due to budget cuts. Hon Simon O’Brien avoids a direct guarantee, emphasizing bus service enhancement and criticizing the previous government's rail focus.

AnsweredQoN 63Legislative Council
Asked
24 November 2008
Portfolio
Transport

QuestionView source ↗

BUS SERVICES — EFFICIENCY DIVIDEND 63. Hon KEN TRAVERS to the Minister for Transport: Can the minister guarantee that there will be no reductions to either off-peak or peak-hour bus services as a result of the three per cent budget cuts imposed by the Treasurer? Hon SIMON O’BRIEN

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the honourable member for the question. I would certainly like to see the enhancement of bus services. Was it only bus services the member was asking about? Hon Ken Travers : Yes. Is the minister cutting train services? Hon SIMON O’BRIEN : No, I am trying to clarify the member’s question because he did not provide me with it. I want to make it clear that what I want as a Minister for Transport dealing with public transport matters is to see an enhancement of Perth’s bus services, because bus services came a very distant second best under the former government, which invested so heavily in rail but had to find the resources from elsewhere to do so. Some of those resources were found at the expense of enhanced bus services. I will certainly be doing everything I can in the context of maintaining services to the public, whether they be peak or off peak, in relation to any efficiency dividends that are demanded of any of the government agencies under my responsibility.
BUS SERVICES — EFFICIENCY DIVIDEND
Can the minister guarantee that there will be no reductions to either off-peak or peak-hour bus services as a result of the three per cent budget cuts imposed by the Treasurer? Hon SIMON O’BRIEN replied: I thank the honourable member for the question. I would certainly like to see the enhancement of bus services. Was it only bus services the member was asking about? Hon Ken Travers : Yes. Is the minister cutting train services? Hon SIMON O’BRIEN : No, I am trying to clarify the member’s question because he did not provide me with it. I want to make it clear that what I want as a Minister for Transport dealing with public transport matters is to see an enhancement of Perth’s bus services, because bus services came a very distant second best under the former government, which invested so heavily in rail but had to find the resources from elsewhere to do so. Some of those resources were found at the expense of enhanced bus services. I will certainly be doing everything I can in the context of maintaining services to the public, whether they be peak or off peak, in relation to any efficiency dividends that are demanded of any of the government agencies under my responsibility.
Hon SIMON O’BRIEN replied: I thank the honourable member for the question. I would certainly like to see the enhancement of bus services. Was it only bus services the member was asking about? Hon Ken Travers : Yes. Is the minister cutting train services? Hon SIMON O’BRIEN : No, I am trying to clarify the member’s question because he did not provide me with it. I want to make it clear that what I want as a Minister for Transport dealing with public transport matters is to see an enhancement of Perth’s bus services, because bus services came a very distant second best under the former government, which invested so heavily in rail but had to find the resources from elsewhere to do so. Some of those resources were found at the expense of enhanced bus services. I will certainly be doing everything I can in the context of maintaining services to the public, whether they be peak or off peak, in relation to any efficiency dividends that are demanded of any of the government agencies under my responsibility.
I thank the honourable member for the question. I would certainly like to see the enhancement of bus services. Was it only bus services the member was asking about? Hon Ken Travers : Yes. Is the minister cutting train services? Hon SIMON O’BRIEN : No, I am trying to clarify the member’s question because he did not provide me with it. I want to make it clear that what I want as a Minister for Transport dealing with public transport matters is to see an enhancement of Perth’s bus services, because bus services came a very distant second best under the former government, which invested so heavily in rail but had to find the resources from elsewhere to do so. Some of those resources were found at the expense of enhanced bus services. I will certainly be doing everything I can in the context of maintaining services to the public, whether they be peak or off peak, in relation to any efficiency dividends that are demanded of any of the government agencies under my responsibility.
I would certainly like to see the enhancement of bus services. Was it only bus services the member was asking about? Hon Ken Travers : Yes. Is the minister cutting train services? Hon SIMON O’BRIEN : No, I am trying to clarify the member’s question because he did not provide me with it. I want to make it clear that what I want as a Minister for Transport dealing with public transport matters is to see an enhancement of Perth’s bus services, because bus services came a very distant second best under the former government, which invested so heavily in rail but had to find the resources from elsewhere to do so. Some of those resources were found at the expense of enhanced bus services. I will certainly be doing everything I can in the context of maintaining services to the public, whether they be peak or off peak, in relation to any efficiency dividends that are demanded of any of the government agencies under my responsibility.
Hon Ken Travers : Yes. Is the minister cutting train services? Hon SIMON O’BRIEN : No, I am trying to clarify the member’s question because he did not provide me with it. I want to make it clear that what I want as a Minister for Transport dealing with public transport matters is to see an enhancement of Perth’s bus services, because bus services came a very distant second best under the former government, which invested so heavily in rail but had to find the resources from elsewhere to do so. Some of those resources were found at the expense of enhanced bus services. I will certainly be doing everything I can in the context of maintaining services to the public, whether they be peak or off peak, in relation to any efficiency dividends that are demanded of any of the government agencies under my responsibility.
Hon SIMON O’BRIEN : No, I am trying to clarify the member’s question because he did not provide me with it. I want to make it clear that what I want as a Minister for Transport dealing with public transport matters is to see an enhancement of Perth’s bus services, because bus services came a very distant second best under the former government, which invested so heavily in rail but had to find the resources from elsewhere to do so. Some of those resources were found at the expense of enhanced bus services. I will certainly be doing everything I can in the context of maintaining services to the public, whether they be peak or off peak, in relation to any efficiency dividends that are demanded of any of the government agencies under my responsibility.
I want to make it clear that what I want as a Minister for Transport dealing with public transport matters is to see an enhancement of Perth’s bus services, because bus services came a very distant second best under the former government, which invested so heavily in rail but had to find the resources from elsewhere to do so. Some of those resources were found at the expense of enhanced bus services. I will certainly be doing everything I can in the context of maintaining services to the public, whether they be peak or off peak, in relation to any efficiency dividends that are demanded of any of the government agencies under my responsibility.

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