A decade of delivering

City of Mount Gambier mayor Lynette Martin OAM had two word to describe her meeting with South Australian Infrastructure and Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis on March 12 – ‘productive and positive’.

Accompanied by City of Mount Gambier CEO Sarah Philpott, the duo scheduled the face-to-face meeting with Minister Koutsantonis to continue the campaign for an improved public bus service for the city.

“He did acknowledge the current service was outdated,” Mayor Martin said. “He was keen to work with us to resolve the issue so we can offer a better service that will serve our community needs.”

The Minister earmarked a four week period for both the Mount Gambier City Council and his department to start working on options for improvement with another meeting set down to further discuss the best way forward.

Any solutions would have to fit within the current funding parameters.

The meeting also saw Minister Koutsantonis commit to including Mount Gambier in the State Government’s Regional Transport Review which will be kickstarted in July.

“In the short term, my department is assessing existing routes ahead of a broader review to be carried out later this year, as part of a commitment to audit regional transport services across the state,” Minister Koutsantonis said.

“New funding was allocated in the state budget to safeguard regional bus contracts, including in Mount Gambier, to safeguard the ongoing delivery of viable and sustainable transport services for the long-term, and necessitated by the end of the previous contracts.

“There is scope within the new contract to add to the service offering, with the recent tender process giving an opportunity for bidders to provide their ideas and proposals for alternative service designs.

“Those will be further considered as part of the broader review.

The meeting with council representatives was positive and we will continue to work together to ensure Mount Gambier’s public transport needs are met.”

Safe to say, council intends to hold the Minister to his word as they continue the campaign that started in earnest just over four years ago.

The Mayor and CEO entered the meeting with a clear wish list and that was presented to the Minister.

To build greater access throughout the city; to reduce the existing levels of social disadvantage; extending services to key locations across the city; increasing services to include mornings; evenings and weekends and to improve connections to employment were all prominent in the discussion.

“We have wanted to facilitate a review of public bus transport services in and around Mount Gambier to determine the provision of a fit for purpose and a sustainable public transport model for our region and this will happen as a result of our inclusion in the regional transport review,” Mayor Martin said. “They are going to address the shortcomings of the current model – I really believe we have moved forward as a result of this meeting.

“It was in 2020 that we first conducted the city bus service review and at last we’ve made progress. We have recognition that it doesn’t meet the needs of the community today. That is a major shift.”

Part of council’s legwork before the next meeting with Minister Koutsantonis will include the suggestions of new routes that are needed to service areas in Mount Gambier including Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre, the hospital, Woodlands and Hallmont; UniSA and TAFE SA.

“We also need to acknowledge the support we have had from the Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell for the role he has played in advocating with us for an improved bus service for our community,” Mayor Martin said.