{"id":54672,"date":"2014-01-21T22:16:37","date_gmt":"2014-01-21T12:16:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=54672"},"modified":"2020-12-07T13:05:29","modified_gmt":"2020-12-07T03:05:29","slug":"group-to-press-government-on-bus-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2014\/01\/21\/group-to-press-government-on-bus-run\/","title":{"rendered":"Group To Press Government On Bus Run"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Harvy Dascombe (Purser’s Coaches), John Robinson (Murgon News & Wondai News), South Burnett Mayor Wayne Kratzmann, Cherbourg Council CEO Warren Collins and Cherbourg Mayor Ken Bone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

January 22, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

A strategy to ensure the South Burnett continues to be serviced by a regular bus run after June was discussed at a meeting in Kingaroy on Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

The meeting, held at the South Burnett Council Chambers, was attended by about a dozen people, including representatives from the South Burnett and Cherbourg councils, local businesspeople and welfare groups.<\/p>\n

Also in attendance was Ian Mitchell, the managing director of Brisbane Bus Lines, who announced in November that his company would be discontinuing its Brisbane-Murgon-Brisbane run from February 1 this year as it was no longer economically viable.<\/p>\n

After public dismay, the South Burnett Regional Council voted to subsidise the run until June 30 as a stop-gap measure until alternative solutions to the problem were found.<\/p>\n

Today’s meeting provided an opportunity for local businesses and community groups to detail exactly why the bus run is important to the region.<\/p>\n

South Burnett Mayor Wayne Kratzmann said the meeting had gathered feedback from the community about who is using the service, and why.<\/p>\n

He said one of the participants, Maree Anderson from Murgon’s Graham House Community Centre, had gone as far as surveying people at bus stops.<\/p>\n

SBRC Economic Development Manager Phil Harding would now collate all the information gathered to prepare a submission “as soon as possible” to the State Government.<\/p>\n

Mayor Kratzmann said he would take the submission to local MPs Deb Frecklington and Jeff Seeney as the first step of a campaign to gain government support for the service.<\/p>\n

Mr Mitchell said it was a “good meeting” and he was keen to see a good outcome for the community.<\/p>\n

However, he would not comment on whether he believed the State Government would put the route out to tender as a subsidised run: “It’s pure speculation, it’s anybody’s guess.”<\/p>\n

He also would not be drawn on whether his company would put in a bid for the run if it was.<\/p>\n

“We’re a bus company. We run buses,” he said.<\/p>\n

South Burnett Regional Council has approached Cherbourg, Toowoomba and Somerset councils to chip in towards the cost of the interim subsidy which is keeping the run going.<\/p>\n

Mayor Kratzmann said Cherbourg had been “very, very supportive” and he expected to hear back from them next week; he also planned to speak to Toowoomba Mayor Paul Antonio and Somerset Mayor Graeme Lehmann soon.<\/p>\n

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