Article: Premier Mike Rann announces free off-peak public transport for seniors

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From the Adelaide Advertiser click here!

Premier Mike Rann announces free off-peak public transport for seniors

Premier Mike Rann announces free off-peak public transport for seniors
Article from: The Advertiser

GREG KELTON, STATE EDITOR

March 24, 2009 03:30pm

ADELAIDE seniors will be able to ride off-peak trams, trains and buses for free under a $10 million scheme announced by the State Government today.

All 275,000 holders of the Seniors Card will be able to travel free on trains, buses and trams from 9.30am to 3pm on weekdays, all weekend and public holidays from July 1.

The current 50 per cent ticket concession available to senior's cardholders and other concession groups for peak-hour travel will be maintained.

Premier Mike Rann said it was an initiative that older South Australians deserved.

Transport Minister Patrick Conlon, asked if the election campaign had started early, said it was an idea "people can get their teeth into as opposed to the Liberals' three ideas for a hospital".

"There are things you do for people and there are gimmicks," Mr Conlon said. "We are not going to offer three options about how people catch buses."

Concessions from the State Government - on council rates, water, energy and vehicle registration fees - that directly assist elderly South Australians and pensioners cost, on average, between $300 and $870 a year.

Mr Conlon said the new scheme would cost about $10 million a year.

He said it would help attract even more people to public transport and would improve the situation on peak-hour travel by freeing up more space for those commuters.

Mr Rann said people were being hit hard during the global economic downturn - especially self-funded retirees whose investments were returning very little as interest rates dropped and so much had been wiped off the value of shares and stocks.

"We want older people to keep moving and this scheme offers a good incentive to help them to do so," Mr Rann said.

Opposition spokeswoman on the ageing Isobel Redmond said the plan to offer free public transport to senior citizens was a carbon copy of Liberal policies.

She said the WA Liberal Government had announced an identical plan just a couple of weeks ago.

"Last week, when the state Liberals proposed free public transport during Clipsal, Mr Rann demanded to know how it would be funded," Ms Redmond said.

"Mr Rann must now explain how he will afford his plan and where are his costings?"