THE end of a Wagga to Albury-Wodonga bus service is disappointing but understandable, according to the region's politicians.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Liberal member for Albury Justin Clancy and Independent member for Wagga Joe McGirr were briefed on the termination of the service, which has been trialled since July, by Transport for NSW acting chief executive Pete Allaway.
The final services will run on June 2.
"While this is disappointing, on average only six customers were using the service each day," Mr Allaway said.
Mr Clancy said: "It's disappointing that with this trial we didn't have the strength of numbers to continue to support the trial."
Dr Girr reflected: "They're talking about six passengers a day and I can understand on those numbers that it's not viable."
Wagga councillor Vanessa Keenan, who has long pushed for a shuttle rail service between the Border and Wagga, was not surprised at the trial flopping.
"It was clear the community asked for a regional train service and were given a bus service - it has all the appearances of a box-ticking exercise," Cr Keenan said.
She wants Mr Clancy and Dr McGirr to support a feasibility study into an intercity train service.
Both politicians said the shift of XPT maintenance from Sydney to Dubbo may open up the possibility of such a service, but Mr Clancy said buses were more flexible and Dr McGirr questioned the difference.
"I'd like to know in a bit more detail why a rail service would be better than a bus service," Dr McGirr said.
"Here was a (bus) service that had pretty low patronage would a different service really increase that patronage, to me there's a bit of a question mark about that."
Dr McGirr noted a trial of a Wagga to Canberra bus service by Transport for NSW has been more successful.
He suggested that the appeal of ACT medical facilities and tourist attractions may make that more viable than Albury-Wodonga to Wagga.
Dr McGirr suggested there were not enough pull factors or work commuters to create a big pool of travellers between Albury-Wodonga and Wagga.