Transpo fans and cheapskates were excited to hear the ACT Government’s recent announcement that public transport fares would be free for approximately 6 weeks from 20 September 2024, as they remove old MyWay equipment from our buses, and install new MyWay+ readers and consoles.
But this transition period also means they’re switching off the NXTBUS real-time passenger information system, and the system which collects important data about public transport usage.
PTCBR has written to the Government to seek some clarification about this.
First, we think it’s really important to keep good data about how many people are catching buses. As we’re seeing in Brisbane right now, free and discounted fares attract new people to public transport, and it’s important to know when, where and how often these people are travelling, to plan new services. We want to be sure the Government is doing its best to keep tabs on this.
Second, with the NXTBUS system going down, passengers won’t be able to look up when their bus is coming, or whether they’ve missed it. We know Canberra has a big problem with early running buses, so we’ve told the Government it’s very important they do everything they can do tell the drivers to run on-time, and wait at stops if necessary.
You can read the letter here, we’ll update this when we get a response.