THERE will be less Canberra bus services under a new bus timetable beginning next year, the Canberra Liberals claim.

Shadow Transport Minister Mark Parton said the new timetable – which was released without announcement – reveals a significant reduction in the number of bus trips.

He said routes to be affected are 18, 24, 32, 41, 43, 54, 55, 59, 62, 63, 66, 73, 78, 79, R4 and R5.

“Night services will also finish earlier across many routes which will mean that many workers will not be able to get the bus home after 8pm,” Parton said.

“Weekend buses will continue to operate every two hours despite promises from the Labor-Greens government to increase weekend frequency.”

Mr Parton said the the cuts in services are “a slap in the face” for Canberrans who rely on the bus for day to day travel.

“What this demonstrates quite clearly, is that the Labor-Greens government has no ambition to get more Canberrans using public transport,” he said.

A spokesperson for Transport Canberra said that:

“Bus timetables are being updated for term one, 2023 to ensure services can be reliably maintained while construction takes place on large infrastructure projects, including raising London Circuit and the Woden bus interchange.”

The spokesperson said Transport Canberra said disruption associated with construction of major infrastructure projects is the main driver of changes to the timetable, not staff or buses

The spokesperson said Transport Canberra will continue reviewing the impacts of the disruption, with the intention to “implement a service uplift as soon as possible”.

The spokesperson confirmed that most rapid bus services have been reduced to a 30 minute frequency after 7pm and local routes have been reduced to an hourly frequency during off-peak periods.

“And there has been a reduction in operating hours for rapid services at night, with no trips commencing after 11pm,” the spokesperson said.

News all day, every day at CityNews.com.au.