← All decisions

1. What was proposed (co-sponsored)Jo ClayGreens · CrossbenchAndrew BraddockGreens · Crossbench
   Read the original wording (500 words)

   That this Assembly: (1) notes that: (a) on 2 February 2026, the Government removed the Route 2 (R2) and Route 3 (R3) rapid bus routes from north and west Belconnen, replacing direct rapid services with less frequent local bus connections from the Belconnen interchange; (b) the changes are disrupting daily travel for a significant number of residents who have planned their lives around these rapid routes; (c) the changes have drawn strong opposition from over 1,400 petitioners, the Belconnen Community Council and affected public transport patrons; (d) Kippax is a designated group centre under the Territory Plan serving west Belconnen; (e) west Belconnen is one of the ACT’s fastest-growing population areas, making reliable rapid transit connections to these areas a matter of strategic planning priority, not operational convenience. Despite this, north and west Belconnen were the only regions in Canberra to have rapid bus services removed under the 2026 network changes; (f) the Government based this decision on patronage data from the decommissioned MyWay system, with decision-grade data having been unavailable since the launch of the MyWay+ ticketing system in 2024; (g) within weeks of the changes taking effect, the Government was required to add additional Route 12 services to accommodate demand that its outdated data had not identified; (h) the Government has not published any assessment of how the removal of these rapid services affects people living with disability, seniors, students and others most dependent on direct rapid routes; and (i) the removal of rapid services from north and west Belconnen is inconsistent with the ACT’s legislated emissions reduction targets and the Government has provided no evidence that it assessed the mode-shift impact of this decision for north and west Belconnen residents before implementation; (2) further notes that: (a) ACT Labor’s election platform: (i) stated that “ACT Labor’s progressive and practical public transport plan will see more rapid services”; (ii) committed to “deliver additional rapid bus services [including] a new rapid service to support growth in West Belconnen”; and (iii) committed to “increase services on the popular R2 rapid from Belconnen to the City to better meet demand”; and (b) fulfilling promises on frequency and extent requires having a plan for bus procurements over the long term which meets the scale of commitments and accounts for expected major disruptions, such as the Commonwealth Avenue bridge works which were announced by the Commonwealth Government in January 2021; and (3) calls on the Government to: (a) restore a rapid bus service to Kippax by the commencement of Term 2 in 2026; (b) restore full R2 and R3 rapid bus services to their previous routes by the commencement of Term 3 in 2026; (c) provide an update to the Assembly with a plan detailing how and when (3)(a) and (3)(b) will be met by the Government by the second-last sitting day of March 2026; and (d) present to the Assembly, by the first sitting day in December, a bus acquisitions and retirements plan for the ACT fleet through to 2040. Debate ensued.

2. Proposed changeChris SteelLabor · Minister25 February 2026

   Moved Kippax from Term 2 to Term 3, and asked to restore R2 and R3 and increase R4 and R5 without reducing overall service levels. Our summary, review in progress

   The exact wording of this change

   together: 1. In paragraph (3)(a), omit “Term 2”, substitute “Term 3”. 2. Omit paragraph (3)(b), substitute: “(b) take all steps possible to restore the full R2 and R3 rapid bus services to their previous routes and increase other services that may be in need, like the northbound R4 and R5, by the commencement of Term 3 2026, without reducing overall service levels across the network; Debate continued.

   Agreed on the voices. No individual votes were recorded. Its wording is in the final text.

3. Change to Chris Steel's changeJo ClayGreens · Crossbench25 February 2026

   Grouped by key words as: added a new call or point.

   The exact wording of this change

   to Mr Steel’s amendments: In paragraph (3)(b), after “take all steps possible”, insert: “, including network scheduling, bus fleet planning, bus leasing and bus acquisitions,”. Debate continued.

   Agreed on the voices. No individual votes were recorded. Its wording is in the final text.

4. What the Assembly decidedAgreed

   Decided on the voices: no individual votes were recorded, so this doesn’t show that every MLA agreed.

   Final agreed wording, with changes marked

   That this Assembly: (1) notes that: (a) on 2 February 2026, the Government removed the Route 2 (R2) and Route 3 (R3) rapid bus routes from north and west Belconnen, replacing direct rapid services with less frequent local bus connections from the Belconnen interchange; (b) the changes are disrupting daily travel for a significant number of residents who have planned their lives around these rapid routes; (c) the changes have drawn strong opposition from over 1,400 petitioners, the Belconnen Community Council and affected public transport patrons; (d) Kippax is a designated group centre under the Territory Plan serving west Belconnen; (e) west Belconnen is one of the ACT’s fastest-growing population areas, making reliable rapid transit connections to these areas a matter of strategic planning priority, not operational convenience. Despite this, north and west Belconnen were the only regions in Canberra to have rapid bus services removed under the 2026 network changes; (f) the Government based this decision on patronage data from the decommissioned MyWay system, with decision-grade data having been unavailable since the launch of the MyWay+ ticketing system in 2024; (g) within weeks of the changes taking effect, the Government was required to add additional Route 12 services to accommodate demand that its outdated data had not identified; (h) the Government has not published any assessment of how the removal of these rapid services affects people living with disability, seniors, students and others most dependent on direct rapid routes; and (i) the removal of rapid services from north and west Belconnen is inconsistent with the ACT’s legislated emissions reduction targets and the Government has provided no evidence that it assessed the mode-shift impact of this decision for north and west Belconnen residents before implementation; (2) further notes that: (a) ACT Labor’s election platform: (i) stated that ‘ACT Labor’s progressive and practical public transport plan will see more rapid services’; (ii) committed to ‘deliver additional rapid bus services [including] a new rapid service to support growth in West Belconnen’; and (iii) committed to ‘increase services on the popular R2 rapid from Belconnen to the City to better meet demand’; and (b) fulfilling promises on frequency and extent requires having a plan for bus procurements over the long term which meets the scale of commitments and accounts for expected major disruptions, such as the Commonwealth Avenue bridge works which were announced by the Commonwealth Government in January 2021; and (3) calls on the Government to: (a) restore a rapid bus service to Kippax by the commencement of Term 3 in 2026; (b) take all steps possible, including network scheduling, bus fleet planning, bus leasing and bus acquisitionsClay, to restore the full R2 and R3 rapid bus services to their previous routes and increase other services that may be in need, like the northbound R4 and R5, by the commencement of Term 3 2026, without reducing overall service levels across the network; (c) provide an update to the Assembly with a plan detailing how and when (3)(a) and (3)(b) will be met by the Government by the second-last sitting day of March 2026; and (d) present to the Assembly, by the first sitting day in December, a bus acquisitions and retirements plan for the ACT fleet through to 2040.

   Original and final wording compared

   taken out put in

   That this Assembly: (1) notes that: (a) on 2 February 2026, the Government removed the Route 2 (R2) and Route 3 (R3) rapid bus routes from north and west Belconnen, replacing direct rapid services with less frequent local bus connections from the Belconnen interchange; (b) the changes are disrupting daily travel for a significant number of residents who have planned their lives around these rapid routes; (c) the changes have drawn strong opposition from over 1,400 petitioners, the Belconnen Community Council and affected public transport patrons; (d) Kippax is a designated group centre under the Territory Plan serving west Belconnen; (e) west Belconnen is one of the ACT’s fastest-growing population areas, making reliable rapid transit connections to these areas a matter of strategic planning priority, not operational convenience. Despite this, north and west Belconnen were the only regions in Canberra to have rapid bus services removed under the 2026 network changes; (f) the Government based this decision on patronage data from the decommissioned MyWay system, with decision-grade data having been unavailable since the launch of the MyWay+ ticketing system in 2024; (g) within weeks of the changes taking effect, the Government was required to add additional Route 12 services to accommodate demand that its outdated data had not identified; (h) the Government has not published any assessment of how the removal of these rapid services affects people living with disability, seniors, students and others most dependent on direct rapid routes; and (i) the removal of rapid services from north and west Belconnen is inconsistent with the ACT’s legislated emissions reduction targets and the Government has provided no evidence that it assessed the mode-shift impact of this decision for north and west Belconnen residents before implementation; (2) further notes that: (a) ACT Labor’s election platform: (i) stated that ‘ACT Labor’s progressive and practical public transport plan will see more rapid services’; (ii) committed to ‘deliver additional rapid bus services [including] a new rapid service to support growth in West Belconnen’; and (iii) committed to ‘increase services on the popular R2 rapid from Belconnen to the City to better meet demand’; and (b) fulfilling promises on frequency and extent requires having a plan for bus procurements over the long term which meets the scale of commitments and accounts for expected major disruptions, such as the Commonwealth Avenue bridge works which were announced by the Commonwealth Government in January 2021; and (3) calls on the Government to: (a) restore a rapid bus service to Kippax by the commencement of Term [taken out: 2][put in: 3]in 2026; (b) [put in: take all steps possible, including network scheduling, bus fleet planning, bus leasing and bus acquisitions, to]restore [put in: the]full R2 and R3 rapid bus services to their previous routes [put in: and increase other services that may be in need, like the northbound R4 and R5,]by the commencement of Term 3 [taken out: in]2026, [put in: without reducing overall service levels across the network;](c) provide an update to the Assembly with a plan detailing how and when (3)(a) and (3)(b) will be met by the Government by the second-last sitting day of March 2026; and (d) present to the Assembly, by the first sitting day in December, a bus acquisitions and retirements plan for the ACT fleet through to 2040. [taken out: Debate ensued.]

   Compared word by word by computer, ignoring punctuation. It shows what differs, not which change made each difference; the steps above show that.