The Canberra Liberals’ proposed transit lane to expedite bus travel between Civic and Woden might not include a dedicated bus lane on Commonwealth Avenue bridge, according to shadow transport minister Mark Parton.

Asked on X (Twitter) how the Canberra Liberals would get buses across the lake now that the National Capital Authority had ruled out converting a traffic lane, Mr Parton replied: “That indicative map was drawn up more than a year ago. At the time it was not clear to us whether the NCA bridge renewal would provide an additional transport lane. That’s not going to happen, so it’s not likely that there will be a dedicated bus lane on the bridge.”

A member of the public wanted to know why the Canberra Liberals had released a policy this year with an outdated map; the Commonwealth Bridge update had been announced in October 2022.

Mr Parton deflected the blame: “The govt has 10 times more outdated maps out there than me. And their machine is at least 100 times bigger than mine.”

“The busway to Woden is the centrepiece of your alternative to light rail,” Mark Dando wrote. “And the most congested section of this route is Commonwealth Ave, for which you now concede the busway isn’t viable – & this would have been obvious well before you released your public transport policy.”

“I’m focused on outcomes. And I believe we’ll achieve them,” Mr Parton replied.

ACT transport minister Chris Steel criticised the Liberals’ plan, stating it lacked viability and that light rail offered a more effective solution with its own dedicated bridge.

“It was meant to be an alternative to light rail but now the Liberals have admitted their busway isn’t viable,” Mr Steel wrote on Facebook. “The Liberals B-grade bus plan was always light on detail but it has now failed the most basic scrutiny. Unlike buses, light rail will run on its own dedicated bridge adding significant capacity to this key North-South transport link, which will become more congested as the city grows. With four months until the election the Liberals now have no plan for public transport on the Southside.”

Despite this, Mr Parton issued a media release this morning, in which he maintained that the Canberra Liberals’ transport policy would improve travel times, criticised Mr Steel’s focus on minor details, and urged transparency regarding the ACT Government’s light rail project, questioning its route, travel time estimates, and costs.

“Currently, Canberrans are able to travel by bus from Civic to Woden in under 20 minutes which will become even quicker under the Canberra Liberals dedicated bus lanes and bus priority measures,” Mr Parton said.

“The Canberra Liberals have released a very comprehensive transport policy that includes a number of measures that will improve public transport frequency for Canberrans which has long been neglected by Labor and the Greens.

“This transport policy has been widely supported by Canberrans and a number of stakeholders that is based on getting Canberrans where they want to go when they want to get there with the tram anticipated to take over 30 minutes between Civic and Woden.

“Chris Steel knows the tram is losing public support among Canberrans with the project in disarray as highlighted late last week with the announcement a tunnel might now need to be built for stage 2B to Woden.”

Major Projects Canberra has suggested a light rail tunnel between Commonwealth Avenue and State Circle, local media reported last week.

“The Canberra Liberals will not be lectured to about transport policy by a Minister and a government that has been talking about building a tram to Woden for over 12 years but is still unable to tell Canberrans what the route will be, how many tunnels they will need to build and ultimately how much it will cost,” Mr Parton said.

“It is incredible that the Minister would criticise a small detail of our comprehensive transport policy when he and his government has been unable to provide any detail on stage 2B of the tram.

“The Labor-Greens government is spending $100 million of taxpayers’ money on a contract with AECOM and they can’t even answer basic questions about the project.

“The real questions Chris Steel must answer before even debating the Canberra Liberals transport policy are:

• What is the final route of stage 2B?
• What is the estimated travel time between Civic and Woden by tram?
• How much will stage 2B of the tram cost Canberra taxpayers?

“If Chris Steel is serious about public transport transparency, he must answer these questions immediately and also be upfront about the true cost of stage 2A which will be $1.42 billion, considerably more than the $577 million he has claimed.”