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Letter to the editor concerning closure of bus stops

Letter to the editor, published in The Advertiser, 26 June 2020

It’s very disappointing to read on the front page of The Advertiser (“Bus stops set to go from more than 100 suburbs”, June 25) that 1069 bus stops will be cut by the State Government.

Each week, an average of 150,000 older people uses the state’s public transport network.

COTA SA is very concerned that older people will be forced to abandon activities on which they relied upon public transport for, such as volunteering, visiting family and friends, and shopping and attending appointments by themselves. The 800-metre threshold for accessing a bus stop is simply not a safe and manageable proximity to their home.

Many older people do not, and cannot, use technology to ride on-demand bus services or to buy tickets and access timetables and route information.

This decision is ill-informed and shows lack of consultation with our state’s older population, who are the fastest growing demographic and one of the most prolific users of public transport.

Jane Mussared,
COTA SA Chief Executive

 

 

COTA SA acknowledges the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains as the traditional custodians of the land our headquarters occupy. We also acknowledge all Aboriginal nations throughout South Australia. We honour Aboriginal peoples’ continuing connection to Country and recognise that their sovereignty was never ceded. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and extend that respect to all Aboriginal people.