Bagala Beswick Bus starts April 7
People in the communities of Barunga and Beswick are standing by for the new bus service to start on April 7. The bus stops are in place, timetable set, and drivers are ready for this exciting service to begin. All we need now is for the wheels on the bus to go round and round!
“We are really excited” said Danielle Bush from the Bagala Aboriginal Corporation. “From Barunga to Katherine in a taxi we would normally pay $180 or $260 there and back. And $280 from Beswick to Katherine. From here to Katherine with the new bus service its only $25 one way or $50 return”
Classified as an official public transport service, the bus seats nine passengers and employs four drivers. Operating Monday – Saturday, the service will take people between Beswick and Barunga and the town of Katherine. Head to the Bagala Bus Facebook page for the timetable https://www.facebook.com/bagalabus
Smarter way to manage services in community
As far as AIG is aware, this bus service is unique, particularly in the way it is managed. Bagala Aboriginal Corporation is managing the service, with assistance from AIG and funding from the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics (DIPL). We believe it’s ideal for the local Aboriginal corporation to manage the service because its helps to create jobs for locals and those on the ground can handle the logistics far better.
“This project will create five jobs for drivers which will help tackle the biggest barrier to Aboriginal employment in communities – availability of jobs.” says Steve Smith, AIG CEO. The project will be owned by Bagala Aboriginal Corporation and profits from the sale of tickets will be reinvested for sustainability of the bus service.
The bus service has funding for three years of operational costs from the DIPL which is really exciting because it means we will have the time to get the service running well, explained Lewis Knibbs, project officer at AIG. It’s a huge relief to all project staff to have wages, repairs and operation costs covered by the DIPL grant while the business gets established.
Bus stops, tickets and timetables
There are three bus stops: one in Barunga at the basketball courts, one in Beswick at the basketball courts and one in Katherine at the BP in the main street. According to the contract and regulations set by the Public Transport Act, the bus cannot stop anywhere other than the designated stops. No home drop offs for this service!
A key challenge will be helping the communities understand this isn’t like buses in the past, it has a specific route, runs to a timetable and has a ticketing system. All drivers have had extensive training in how to manage the rules of the bus, so the service is in line with the Public Transport Act.
For more information
Information about the service can be found on the Bagala Bus Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/bagalabus
