In what was certainly not a coincidence, it was announced just days after University of Wollongong students had started their study break for exams.

Students and staff on campus are among the biggest users of the service and to wait until after uni lectures were finished seems like an effort to limit opposition.

It certainly makes it hard to marshal the student population when they’re not all on campus at the same time.

If that was the goverment’s aim it backfired spectacularly. The decision outraged and angered just about everyone in the city.

Hell, even Liberal councillors on Wollongong City Council wouldn't back the decision.

You don’t have to actually use the service to understand its importance to the city.

Tourism groups promote the shuttle as an easy way for visitors to get around the city. 

The shuttle reduces the parking pressure in and around the university by giving students another option to get there.

It also spreads out the accommodation options for university students rather than having them all fight for rentals within walking distance of the campus (which then creates the risk of developers moving to build apartment blocks around the uni).

By having the Gong Shuttle as a free transport option it opens up suburbs like North Wollongong, Fairy Meadow and the area south of Crown Street as genuine accommodation options for students.

It cuts back on congestion because it means people along its route don’t need a car to get into the city.

There are so many benefits to the city that the estimated $3.5 million the Gong Shuttle costs each year actually seems like real value for money.