Lone Ranger thwarts council policies

Some things just don’t make sense. Waverley Council has done some great things for our municipality over the years: there is now order on our beaches where anarchy once reigned; dog problems are now relatively rare and parking spaces are shared around sensibly, especially in shopping centres.

Council’s policy of support for retailers in the face of a mega-mall at Bondi Junction successfully broke new ground, not only in a major uplift to Oxford Street with its immaculately maintained street mall but also in free professionally-planned guidance on the best street locations for prospective retailers and commercial landowners.

But one long standing policy now seemingly under ranger attack is Council’s support for public transport. Our borough abounds in attractive heritage-style bus waiting sheds built by the council. And there was the recent trial, over two summers, of a beach-hopper bus service, long requested by dedicated surfers.

When Sydney Buses implemented a plan to speed up bus services that relied on small retailers selling pre-paid bus tickets, our municipality ­- like others around Sydney – was promptly festooned with little purple flags outside participating shops informing passengers those shops sold the tickets they needed.

Then the flags suddenly disappeared – but only in Waverley.

The owner of my nearest convenience store sadly showed me a handwritten warning notice he’d been given by a council ranger. Of course the puzzled proprietor took his flag down. A leading newsagent in the municipality received a similar order. He went outside and watched the lone officer walk along the shopping strip, entering other shops, and saw the baffled owners come out and remove their little flags.

The new “pre-pay” limited stop Route 333 buses run on Oxford Street, which has been declared a cash-free zone for all bus routes on weekdays. Occasional passengers, plus countless visitors to Sydney, board buses eagerly with cash in hand, only to be rebuffed by the drivers. And the new red Metro buses are cash-free at all times. So tourists and casual bus users haven’t a clue where to buy tickets!

The Bondi View approached three councillors, one from each party. All were astonished – one refused to believe this was actually happening.

Perhaps a sole enterprising ranger, seeking to remedy the council’s financial woes, combed the yellowing pages of some ancient municipal manual. Maybe some long forgotten by-law forbidding placement of any fixed object, even seven feet above the footpath, was discovered. But the council doesn’t really own the footpaths.  We do.

It’s now up to the elected councillors to remedy this aberration and ensure that staff is briefed on council policies. Then people can once again have access to the bus tickets they need to use public transport!