Another service has been taken away from rural communities by stealth, with the NSW Government withdrawing the 3 and 6 month NSW TrainLink Discovery Passes was due to the product being under review, and not as claimed because of the introduction of a new booking system.
NSW Upper House member, Aileen MacDonald MLC, has renewed calls for the NSW Labor Government to immediately reinstate the 3- and 6-month NSW TrainLink Discovery Passes, describing the removal as a “quiet cut” that disproportionately hurts regional communities.
Speaking in the Legislative Council last week, Ms MacDonald moved a motion highlighting the significant impact of the change on regional students, seniors, and families, and condemned the lack of public consultation or explanation.
“These passes weren’t a luxury,” Ms MacDonald said.
“They were essential, used by students to get home from university, by older residents staying socially connected, and by working people accessing health care and services in regional hubs.”
“To remove them without warning and call it a ‘pause’ is a cost-of-living hike by stealth.”
A spokesperson for Transport for NSW the sale of the three month and six month Discovery Pass products was paused temporarily while they “reviewed the product offering”, and that they will “update the community soon”.
“The Discovery Pass was and continues to be a discount product promoted for tourism, never intended as a discounted product for commuters or as concessional entitlement.”
The spokesperson also confirmed that the change had not been communicated, only that they had “made our passengers aware of the pause via our website under the banner ‘regional offers’ which is used to promote various tourism related offers”.
Prior to the pause, an Adult Economy Pass was $298 for 3 months while an Adult Economy 6 Month pass was $420. The passes offered unlimited travel across NSW TrainLink’s regional train and coach network. The remaining 14-day and 30-day options are considerably more expensive, effectively doubling the monthly cost for many users.
While the Government claims the change only affects tourist users, Ms MacDonald challenged that characterisation.
“You can call it a tourist product, but real people, regional people used this pass to live their lives affordably and and now they’re left without answers,” she said.
“Meanwhile, metro passengers can tap on and off with regular options, while regional travellers are told to ‘just buy six 30-day passes in a row’. Regional people shouldn’t have to beg for services that are taken for granted in the city.”
During the parliamentary debate last week, Government members confirmed that no consultation or impact modelling was undertaken before removing the passes.
Ms MacDonald called for transparency and fairness in future decisions.
“If the Government is serious about regional equity, it will reinstate the Discovery Pass, fix the broken booking system, and guarantee no further cuts to services.”
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