Northern Rivers Forum Shows Need for Transport Options

Last week’s Northern Rivers Better Transport Forum drew a big crowd to the Byron Bay Community Centre.

The forum was hosted by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union in conjunction with local community group Trains on Our Tracks (TOOT), and highlighted the disadvantage suffered by many regional areas from a lack of investment in transport services

Guest speakers at the forum included Karin Kolbe (TOOT), Kerry Sunderland  (Journey Beyond Road Trauma), Cr Basil Cameron (Deputy Mayor of Byron Shire) and Cr Jenny Dowell (Mayor of Lismore).

The discussion showed how a lack of public transport in regional areas is letting young people down by limiting access to work opportunities and tertiary education and training.

One young woman was forced to hitch-hike to the forum because she had no other way of getting there.  She said that the lack of public transport was making life impossible for young people like herself because there was no way to travel to many workplaces in the area, to uni or to TAFE.

Community members at the forum called for an integrated public transport plan that included re-opening the Casino to Murwillumbah line with regular services.  With the closure of the Casino to Murwillumbah line in 2004, the region lost its key transport service and that loss is still being felt in the community six years down the track.

The RTBU and TOOT also launched a petition to re-introduce rail services on the Casino to Murwillumbah line, and to start planning for a passenger rail link form the Northern River to the Gold Coast.

You can sign the petition by clicking on the button on the right hand side of this page.

The Northern Rivers event was the third Better Transport Forum that the RTBU has hosted this year – following our successful events in Tamworth and Dubbo.  It’s clear that people in regional NSW are desperate to see some real investment in transport.  They better transport services to get around, get together and get ahead.