A meeting of Transport NSW, University of Wollongong and Wollongong City Council tomorrow will likely decide the future of the free Gong Shuttle service as the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Andrew Constance MP, again threatens that failure will mean that Opal fares are imposed from 1 July 2018.
Ahead of the negotiations tomorrow, Illawarra Labor MPs, Paul Scully and Ryan Park, have revealed they have been working closely with all parties and have put forward a proposal to Parliamentary Secretary for the Illawarra and South Coast, Gareth Ward MP, to ensure the Gong Shuttle remains a free service.
The proposal, developed after discussions with the drivers of the service, involves small timetable changes for the Gong Shuttle service on weekends, which, if part of successful negotiations, could close the funding gap required to keep the Gong Shuttle service free.
While it was thought that a financial contribution from the University of Wollongong and Wollongong City Council towards the cost of the Gong Shuttle had saved it from Opal fares, Transport for NSW revealed recently that there was still a short-fall in total funding for the service.
The Minister told Channel 9 News last night that Opal fares would be imposed from 1 July 2018 unless the funding gap could be closed.
This followed a surprise decision by the Berejiklian Government to impose Opal fares on the Gong Shuttle service last November from January 1 this year.
The Labor MPs organised petitions and community rallies to force the Government to reverse its decision, while Mr Ward accused commuters of feeling “entitled to pay nothing”.
The Labor MPs have again pointed out that these negotiations would not have been needed had the Berejiklian Government not decided to scrap this highly successful free service.
Comments attributable to Ryan Park MP:
“Paul Scully and I have developed a proposal for the negotiations with Transport for NSW, which, we believe will close the gap in funding and saves the Gong Shuttle service from Opal fares.
“We could have just walked away and said this is a problem for the Government to solve, but the free Gong Shuttle is vital to people movement in Wollongong and helping reduce congestion that we rolled up our sleeves and have tried to help close the differences between the parties.
“Hopefully all the parties now negotiate in good faith and resolve as a matter of consensus to keep the Gong Shuttle free.”
Comments attributable to Paul Scully MP:
“We need to remember that none of this would have been necessary if the Minister had only consulted with Wollongong University, Wollongong Council and the local community before approving the plan by bureaucrats to impose Opal fares on this service.
“However, I’m very hopeful that the proposals Ryan Park and I have working on will secure the future of the Free Gong Shuttle service and stop any threat of Opal fares being introduced by the Minister.
“We put our proposals, developed in consultation with all the parties, to Gareth Ward who agreed they were sensible and worth putting into the mix as part of the negotiations tomorrow.
“All that is required now is for some common sense and flexibility from the Minister to negotiate in good-faith, drop the treat of imposing Opal fares, and keep the Gong Shuttle free.
