632 is now permanent

[Fridge]

From the Sushine Coast Daily

http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2009/may/05/hinterland-bus-route-here-stay/

(note the typo of the route number, meant to be 632)

Hinterland bus route here to stay
5 May 2009

The tyranny of distance in Noosa?s isolated hinterland townships looks like easing permanently thanks to a benevolent collaboration between the Sunshine Coast Regional Council and TransLink.

Council?s integrated transport portfolio head, Vivien Griffin, said route 623, the trial Noosa hinterland bus service introduced in March last year, looks set to become a designated, permanent bus route in the next financial year.

Ms Griffin hailed this initiative, which has established the first public transport connection for passengers travelling between Cooran, Pomona, Cooroy and coastal Noosa, as one prime example of smart transport thinking.

?In many ways, Noosa is leading the way on providing better public transport services on the Coast,? Ms Griffin said.

Ms Griffin, mayor Bob Abbot and council CEO John Knaggs are confident of the Coast getting ?the best bang for the public levy transport buck? after meeting with new TransLink CEO Peter Strachan.

Mr Strachan commended the council on its plan to introduce a $20 transport levy to help ease road congestion.

Free holiday buses started running over the Christmas period in 1999, carrying almost 10,000 people. That patronage has grown to more than 55,000. Ms Griffin believed the $100,000 spent by the council and $60,000 by Tourism Noosa for the service, run in conjunction with TransLink and Sunbus, was good value for money.

The former Noosa council?s next foray into filling the public transport gaps was the introduction of the Boreen Point to Tewantin Flexi-Link Taxi Service in November 2005.

?This was an area where there was not enough passengers for a regular bus service, but still a need for some form of public transport,? Ms Griffin said.

The service provides a subsidised taxi service from Boreen Point, Lake Cootharaba and Lake Cooroibah linking to bus services at Tewantin.

Another proposed initiative is the $12 million coastal transit centre in Noosa Junction, of which the council would provide $2 million, the state government $5 million and the federal government $5 million. It is a key plank in encouraging public transport usage by offering a high-quality transit service.