03/09/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19kyGxFBi3/
For all the anti-rail brigade who believe everything the Liberal State Government says, here’s a reminder of just what they are planning to do.
The ‘busway’ will destroy 4km of the railway line (the red part on the map), and the rest of it will not be a busway at all but simply another bus route.
This means that with only a short distance of the busway ‘isolated’ from the rest of the road network, it will NOT be ‘Rapid’ nor will it have any chance of avoiding serious traffic congestion.
The total cost of the entire Bus ‘Rapid’ Network is at least $860 million! (rail will be LESS than $300m). The Northern Suburbs part will be the most expensive section, thanks to the plan to destroy part of the railway. If the busway used more of the railway corridor, that cost would increase further.
So, you know what to do! Sign the petition!
https://haepetitions.parliament.tas.gov.au/haepet/Home/PetitionDetails/150?title=Petition%20Details
The McKell report commissioned by the RTBU shows that buses will not be able to cope with large crowds from the planned stadium, and the PWC report shows that the busway will generate less than a quarter of the benefits that rail does. For the busway to be ‘viable’ it needs to cost a quarter of the amount that rail does, and even then you will still only get those lesser benefits.
A reminder the Benefit-Cost ratio identified in the BRN business case is just 0.28, just 28 cents worth of benefits for every dollar spent!
There is only TWO choices here. Keep rail, and use it as a commuter railway, or destroy it for no particularly good reason just for the sake of it (or if you really want a third option -nothing -which is what has happened for the last 12 years!).
We have heard all of the arguments against rail. The most common gripe is the alleged cost of rail.
Well, are you all happy with the cost of the busway?
Always silence, of course.
Oh and putting extra lanes on the Brooker? Even more ($1billion+)
And as we have previously pointed out, the state government has lied about the cost of rail, their reports have deliberately exaggerated the cost of rail, and now their plan is to destroy the railway line at great expense, even though what we get from that won’t achieve any of the things we need it to do.
Josh Willie MP
Peter George - Independent Member for Franklin
Rebecca White
Helen Burnet MP - Independent Member for Clark
David O'Byrne MP
Ella Haddad MP
Cassy O'Connor MLC, Tasmanian Greens Member for Hobart
Sue Hickey
Anna Reynolds, Hobart Lord Mayor
Vica Bayley MP
Jen Butler MP
Deputy Lord Mayor - Dr Zelinda Sherlock
Andrew Wilkie MP - Independent Member for Clark
Kristie Johnston - Independent Member for Clark
