It’s hard to believe the problem of the Gong Shuttle is still unsolved.
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Way, way back on the first day of November last year the government said it would be introducing fares in a few months.
By January 29, anyone who wanted to ride the shuttle would have to pay for it – just like they did for other forms of public transport.
The government’s aim was to reduce the subsidy it paid to keep the Gong Shuttle running to 75 per cent, which was the same as other forms of public transport.
There was strong community opposition but Transport Minister Andrew Constance told the region, “you want a free bus, then you cough up some cash for it”.
So the University of Wollongong and Wollongong City Council ponied up $350,000 each, a figure based on government claims the Gong Shuttle cost around $3 million to run.
So the university and council figured $700,000 from their own pockets would be more than enough to keep the shuttle free.
Mr Constance asked them to help pay for it, and that’s exactly what the university and council pledged to do.
This all happened in early December, which means the university and the council got their ducks in a row just over a month after the fare announcement.
Did Mr Constance or Transport for NSW pick up the phone then and say “Umm, hey guys, that’s not going to be enough money. You’ll need to chip in some more”?
Nope. Instead, the government waited six months to say this was the case.
It’s a very, very odd thing to do, especially with the government pledge to continue the 100 per cent subsidy until the end of the financial year just two months away.
The cynics in this city might suggest the government wants to kill off the free shuttle and is dragging the negotiations out until that July 1 deadline.
It would be a horrible thing if the cynics turned out to be correct.