Fares to rise 25-fold on some regional bus routes

Commuters face paying up to 25 times more to travel between some regional towns as the NSW government says it's working on solutions for the existing "hodgepodge" system. Concession fares were made possible along two bus routes at the northern and southern ends of NSW's coast through subsidies paid to private bus contractors. About 17,000 passengers received a subsidised rate to travel between Eden and Bomaderry, on the south coast, in 2023. Half of those were seniors and pensioners paying a $2.50 regional excursion daily fare to get on the 300km service. But they face fares of up to $65 after the government cut subsidies on the Eden-Bomaderry and Lismore-Tweed Heads routes, the state opposition says. The Eden-Bomaderry subsidy cost about $420,000 per year. Bus operator John King said the majority of the people on the route were heavily reliant on the government support, which was needed to make concession fares available and services viable. "As an operator that works tirelessly to connect south coast communities, this change to a long-standing agreement has come as a shock and was carried out with no operator or community consultation," he said. The subsidy allowing concession fares on the Lismore route is due to be withdrawn on January 1. It follows the abolition of the $250 regional seniors travel card program in 2023. The opposition attacked the latest cuts, saying travelling around was far more difficult for regional communities than those in the cities. "It's not good enough and the government needs to reinstate the funding to give our regional residents what they need," regional transport and roads spokesman Dave Layzell said on Thursday. One of the government's own MPs, South Coast representative Liza Butler, later raised the issue during Question Time, prompting Labor minister Jenny Aitchison to defend the cut. The regional transport minister said the government was working on better solutions after inheriting a "hodgepodge of bespoke and grandfathered, rural and remote bus contracts". Under such contracts, concession fare access was dependent on where you lived, Ms Aitchison said. New strategic integrated transport plans would roll out concession access in a better way. "We are looking at getting real solutions to public transport for communities," she said. "We are the party of the bush."