The Canberra Liberals have backed in their Woden public transport plan, days after conceding a bus lane on the Commonwealth Avenue bridge was "unlikely", declaring they would not be lectured by a government that could not reveal the price of light rail.
Mark Parton, the party's transport spokesman, has come out in defence of his party's "very comprehensive transport policy" and attacked the government for being unable to answer what he said were basic questions about its plan to extend light rail from the city to Woden.
"This transport policy has been widely supported by Canberrans and a number of stakeholders that is based on getting Canberrans where they want to go when they want to get there with the tram anticipated to take over 30 minutes between Civic and Woden," Mr Parton said.
"Chris Steel knows the tram is losing public support among Canberrans with the project in disarray as highlighted late last week with the announcement a tunnel might now need to be built for stage 2B of the tram."
Transport Minister Chris Steel said the Liberals' had offered a "B-grade bus plan" that did not withstand basic scrutiny, following Mr Parton's concession that the Commonwealth Avenue bridge would not support a bus lane.
"Unlike buses, light rail will run on its own dedicated bridge adding significant capacity to this key North-South transport link, which will become more congested as the city grows," Mr Steel said.
"With four months until the election the Liberals now have no plan for public transport on the south side."
Mr Parton posted on X on Friday evening that it was unlikely a dedicated bus lane would be built on Commonwealth Avenue bridge, despite the party having unveiled a transport policy in March that included a dedicated busway between the city and Woden.
The concession was condemned by the ACT government and the Public Transport Association of Canberra.
But Mr Parton said Mr Steel needed to provide certainty on the route of stage 2B, the estimate travel time and how much the project would cost Canberrans.
"It is incredible that the minister would criticise a small detail of our comprehensive transport policy when he and his government has been unable to provide any detail on stage 2B of the tram," Mr Parton said.
"The Labor-Greens government is spending $100 million of taxpayers' money on a contract with AECOM and they can't even answer basic questions about the project."
Light rail between Commonwealth Park and Woden is due to be completed in 2033, the government announced in February.
The government has not revealed the price, citing commercial negotiations, and is yet to settle on the final route around Parliament House.
