The NRSDC Transport Project recently held Car Free Day and RED Ticket challenges- check out some of the stories here!

A Red-Letter Day by Laura Henkel You too can have a red-letter day if you take a trip round Ballina, like I did. And it will only cost you $2.50, even if you catch 8 buses, like I did!

I started the day with a bus to Ballina Central, then off to the library, next a visit to my poor friend who had landed herself in hospital then on to do some shopping in the CBD and check out that special new shop I’d seen advertised. Then off to meet a friend for lunch, followed by a movie at the cinema. We also found time for three ‘joy rides’: one to west Ballina and back, one to Crowley Village and the third to East Ballina with glimpses of beautiful Shelley Beach. Along the way we stopped for a delicious Devonshire tea. We ended the day at Ballina RSL Bowling Club where we enjoyed the Tuesday dinner special deal. They’re a different breed the Ballina bus drivers. On one run the first passenger was an elderly lady who clambered laboriously aboard. “Hello Janet! You’re doing better today”. After that, every passenger who got on or off the bus was greeted or farewelled by name. He knew every one of them. I was new but he soon found out my name and he got it right straight off; he didn’t call me Nora or Lorna! Amazing! The Regional Excursion Daily (RED) ticket let’s you get on and off as many times as you wish on various differently-owned buses for $2.50 per day. You can go to Tweed Heads and back if you like for just $2.50. What my friend and I did today was not exceptional if we had gone by car, but, as I have proved, you can also do that much if you travel by bus and at a fraction of the cost! Why not take advantage of not having to find parking and of beating the rising cost of petrol and oil? Don’t forget: driving a car costs the earth. I believe that public transport is the only sane way forward for our ailing planet. Laura Henkel   laurastory.pdf

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