Lismore Transit Centre at crossroads | Northern Rivers News | Local News in Northern Rivers

Lismore Transit Centre manager Greg Cross pictured outside the centre in Spinks Park yesterday. His contract will not be renewed when it expires on June 30.

Jacklyn Wagner

Poll

Should Lismore Transit Centre be manned?

This poll ended on 31 October 2009.

Yes. People need this service.

84%

No. It's a waste of ratepayers' money.

16%

Maybe. Perhaps just during peak periods.

0%

This is not a scientific poll. The results reflect only the opinions of those who chose to participate.

LISMORE'S Transit Centre may lose its human face under plans being considered by the city's council.

Greg Cross, who has managed the Transit Centre in the CBD for almost 11 years, hangs up his hat on June 30 after Lismore City Council decided not to renew his management contract while it deliberates over how it should operate the centre in future.

Council assets manager Scott Turner said leaving the centre unmanned was one option.

“We're just looking at all the options,” he said. “People buy tickets in all sorts of different ways today.”

But Mr Cross, a licensed travel agent, said he was worried about the impact on the travelling public if the centre was no longer manned by someone able to provide verbal advice and physical assistance.

“At the moment, I'm more concerned about the general public because this building for the last 11 years provided information about public transport to not only the locals, but people around the surrounding area, around Australia,” he said.

“I've even had phone calls from overseas.

“People who don't have credit cards or internet access do buy their tickets here.”

Mr Cross said that in the three months from February this year about 35,000 people had walked through the Transit Centre doors and he had helped many with information beyond the details of a timetable.

He also made travel arrangements for government departments in the area, such as DoCS and the courts, he said.

However, the council had not trained anyone to replace Mr Cross, even temporarily.

“If they are going to continue, no one's been trained,” he said.

Lismore councillors will meet on June 30 for a workshop to discuss what to do with the centre. It will be staffed by other council employees after the end of the month until a decision is made.

Mr Cross said he had no new employment plans from July 1, but was planning on doing his own travel.

“And the wife's going to teach me how to clean the house,” he joked.