Residents of South Australia's second biggest city are worried they'll be left with a second-rate public transport system. The SA government has signed another contract with the current private bus operator in Mount Gambier but many locals say the service hasn't kept up with the city's growth.
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00:00 Ali Finnis has a disability that makes it hard to walk long distances and struggles
00:06 to get around Mount Gambier without a driver's license.
00:09 But the bus isn't an option either.
00:11 I, instead of using the bus, rely very heavily on my family to drive me around.
00:20 I've also relied on friends and even the kindness of strangers in the past.
00:26 On the northern edge of town, the Holmont Estate retirement village is a long way from
00:29 a bus stop.
00:30 A kilometre and it's not flat ground, they've got to go uphill, downhill and then to get
00:35 there and get the bus, where it's just so inconvenient.
00:39 The community had to raise the funds for its own bus service.
00:42 We feel like we're beating our head against a brick wall, you know, we feel like we're
00:46 the poor cousins in the country.
00:49 A council report said the bus system was contributing to high levels of social exclusion experienced
00:54 by the most vulnerable in the Mount Gambier community and called for major improvements.
00:59 Private operator Keolis Downer has signed on to manage the network for another eight
01:02 years and the Mayor wants to see it expanded and start running after hours and on weekends.
01:07 I hope, between the two of us, we can advocate to the government for a more comprehensive
01:14 service to suit the needs of the community today.
01:17 The Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis was highly critical of Keolis Downer when it was
01:21 bidding to run Adelaide's train services.
01:23 But the Transport Department says Keolis Downer has worked well with the government to run
01:27 country services in South Australia for many years.
01:29 [BLANK_AUDIO]