ACT Libs' bus plan has some merit

The good includes proposals to use state of the art - possibly electric - buses and a dedicated bus lane to provide rapid transit between Woden and Civic, more generous fare caps for travellers, the completion of the Belconnen busway, more frequent commuter services and the return of dedicated school bus services.

The bad is that Elizabeth Lee and her transport spokesman Mark Parton are determined to turn this year's ACT election into a referendum on light rail having previously said they will scrap Stage 2b of the project if elected.

And, given that, the truly ugly remains the earlier commitment to press ahead with Stage 2a from Civic to Commonwealth Park. This is easily the most expensive stretch of track in terms of dollars per kilometre.

While there are legitimate concerns about Stage 2b, including the cost, a completion date almost a decade away, disputes about the route and question marks over trip times and timetabling, the point of no return was passed years ago. It's a classic case of "in for a penny, in for a pound".

Light rail has been operating successfully from Gungahlin to Civic since 2019 and, until COVID-19 hit, was attracting more passengers than had been expected. It has generally been well received.

It would also be easy to over-estimate the level of community opposition because light rail's regular critics are highly vocal and just won't let the issue rest.

The Liberals haven't done themselves any favours by flip-flopping over the years either. After having opposed the tram at the 2012 and 2016 ACT elections they supported it - including Stage 2 - in 2020. Then, in 2022 with the election two years away, they changed their minds again.

That seems to be a "hail Mary" ploy given voters have backed the tram in at every election for well over a decade.

Work on Stage 2a, which will cost at least $1 billion, has been under way since late 2022. It is impossible to justify this expenditure, which is on a par with what was spent on Stage 1, unless the line is then extended to the Woden town centre.

The Liberals, who are doing their best to differentiate themselves from ACT Labor and the Greens ahead of the October poll, are caught on the horns of a dilemma. They know that if they did scrap the Commonwealth Park extension at this late date Canberra's ratepayers would have to stump up a staggering amount of compensation to the contractor.

More money would also presumably have to be spent to undo much of the work that had already been done and paid for. Instead of spending billions of dollars on something that would be in service for 50 years or more ACT residents would be asked to fork out what would still be a substantial amount for no return.

It just isn't possible to have it both ways. Stage 2a doesn't make any kind of fiscal sense without Stage 2b. South Canberra residents, who have been helping underwrite the Gungahlin line for more than a decade, would see zilch. That would not go down well.

That said, it is good to see that the Liberals are listening to voters and developing policies. On this occasion they have tapped into genuine concerns that it would take longer to travel from Woden to the City and back using light rail than existing bus services.

A City to Woden bus corridor, to be up and running by 2027 at an estimated cost of $70 million, has merit given Stage 2b is not expected to be finished until 2033 at the earliest.

That's something worth considering Mr Barr.