General News
3 May, 2026
Connecting two towns
A NEW COMMUNITY transport service between Babinda and Innisfail is planned to soon be up and running, after a Cairns-based operator was awarded a small state government contract for two years.
The service plans to operate one day a week as soon as possible with multiple passengers on each trip.
Further down the track, it’s hoped there can be extra trips when festivals and markets are held in the area.
No fares will be charged for eligible passengers, but donations will be welcomed to help fund extra days for the transport.
Cairns-based operator, Which-Way Cultural and Community Care, has put the feelers out in both communities “to hear directly from locals so we can better understand where people need to go (shopping, events, workshop or appointments), what days and times are most needed, and what the biggest transport barriers are,” it said in social media posts.
The service’s founder and president, Rennae Brant, said finding the right day will be one of the biggest challenges – but also being able to find either a 12-seater commuter bus or a smaller, at least five-passenger vehicle, that can be leased for an initial one day per week.
“It’s more so picking people up in Babinda and taking them to Innisfail and giving them a couple of hours to do appointments or shopping,” Ms Brant told The Observer.
“While we’re in Innisfail, we could potentially do some transport around the area, and then after that two hours is done and everyone’s finished, we can take them back to Babinda,” she said.
“So potentially, that’s how it would work once a week to start with, just for this first three months, just to get a feeling.
“If we can get a driver that is potentially willing to also possibly volunteer some of their time to be able to go out a little bit further for pick-ups, that would be amazing as well. But I’m all about paying everyone what they’re worth and what they work.”
The contract for the new service comes under the state government’s Community Transport Program – which supports people who have trouble accessing transport options but is fairly restrictive in its guidelines.
It is not part of the ‘public transport’ service which the state government advertised for Babinda recently (as reported in The Observer’s 22 April edition).
The government website states: “You may be eligible for the program if you are under 65 years of age, have no or limited access to other transport options, including public or private transport or transport funded through other funded/subsidised schemes.”
Other eligible potential passengers are unpaid carers who are not receiving transport services for the same or similar purpose under another government program, for example the NDIS or School Transport Assistance Scheme.
Ms Brant says importantly, she is leaving it up to the communities in Babinda and Innisfail to guide the new service as to the right day of the week, vehicle, regular passengers and also the potential driver or drivers.
“I could potentially come and drive up myself, but I’m not from that area, and I believe that it’s funding for the area, so the money should go back into Babinda and Innisfail.”