Greens candidate for the Penrith by-election Suzie Wright said, “Penrith suffers from a transport drought and the Great Community Transport service is starved of funding.
“The rough terrain in some of our suburbs means access to transport is really difficult for people who are frail aged, using a wheelchair or living with a disability.
”Volunteers, who often use their own vehicles, are the lifeblood of this community transport scheme and rising fuel costs risks leaving volunteers out of pocket. This is leading to dwindling numbers of volunteer workers.
“With an aging population the demand for flexible and innovative transport solutions is growing while funding has failed to keep pace.
“Without smart solutions like local community transport which uses small vehicles and buses, many in our community can’t meet medical appointments or engage with their community,” Ms Wright said.
Greens MP and transport spokesperson Lee Rhiannon said,
"The Greens will be campaigning both in and outside of Parliament to increase funding to this community service which gets people with disabilities, the frail aged and their carers to medical appointments, the shops and other essential places.
“The transport scheme, run by volunteer and paid staff and servicing 250,000 residents, receives a grab bag of funding from NSW departments including health, transport, aging and community services.
“Funding for this valuable service has recently dried up while an ageing population is seeing greater demand.
“Programs funded by HACC are key to people being able to stay living at home. They help people stay out of expensive hospitals and nursing homes, increasing their quality of life and saving taxpayers money,” Ms Rhiannon said.
