Outback Businesses Struggle Due to Inaccurate Road Information Online

Living and working in the outback can be isolating, but for small businesses dependent on tourism, long-term damage to major roads can spell the end.

Lately, the problem has been further exacerbated by incorrect information on traffic websites that tell travellers if roads and highways are open, business owners say.

Mia Degoumois, who has owned the Packsaddle Roadhouse for the past 24 years, said a lack of tourists was causing "a massive downturn in business".

Located 175 kilometres north of Broken Hill, Ms Degoumois said the Live Traffic NSW website and app were confusing people.

"Information doesn't seem to catch up," she said.

Her visitation figures are down by about an eighth this winter, usually the peak tourism season for the outback.

And with her sales from the past six months down by about $200,000, Ms Degoumois and other remotely located small businesses are partially attributing the revenue loss to incorrect information on Live Traffic NSW.

"I don't really know what the problem is. I can't see why it is a problem, like, why they can't fix it and make it easy," she said.

"A lot of times it feels like you're so far outback that no-one really cares unless they want to travel [here]."

Major roads finally reopen after heavy rainfall

Following months of record rainfall in remote parts of New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland, major roads in far west NSW, including the Silver City Highway between Broken Hill and Tibooburra, have only just fully reopened for the first time since March.

But Live Traffic NSW is taking a while to reflect these updates.

Additionally, due to the website and app only having two options — open or closed — roads and highways that are open to 4WD only are incorrectly listed as "closed".

According to Transport for NSW, roads will only show as being open when they are accessible to all vehicles.

A Transport for NSW spokesperson said safety was its highest priority and that both sealed and unsealed roads throughout the far west had been damaged due to extensive rainfall, with several roads remaining closed.

They added that crews were continuing to actively inspect and repair the roads and the department was continually looking for ways to improve the disruption information provided to the public.

Outback business on the brink

In the 26 years Rebecca Young has owned the Milparinka Hotel, she said this season has been her worst year of trade.

She has blamed inaccurate road information.

With her pub located located 125km north of Packsaddle, most of her revenue comes from travellers passing through the Silver City Highway, but this year, traffic has been down 80 to 90 per cent, and she is unsure if she will still be open in six months.

"It's going to be very tough getting through the summer months not having that income during the tourist season," Ms Young said.

It is a similar story for Kathy Brown, owner of Wanaaring Store and Caravan Park, 230km east of Tibooburra, who said in the past few months the inaccuracies online have led to her getting hundreds of calls from confused drivers.

She said updates and emails from Transport NSW also differed from the electronic road condition signs and travellers were changing their plans because they believed certain roads were closed, with Google Maps, which uses Live Traffic NSW information, sending them on longer routes.

"It would be good if those that control Live Traffic NSW would actually check and make sure why the roads are closed or if it isn't," Ms Brown said.

Travellers left confused

Tony Bond from Yass has been trying to plan a trip to Cameron Corner, specifically from Wanaaring to Tibooburra, and up to Innamincka in South Australia, to support the struggling businesses who rely on tourism.

But he said the discrepancy between the Live Traffic NSW site and local reports had made it hard to plan.

"Some roads aren't even actually on [Live Traffic NSW] that we know are there for one, and they're saying they are not necessarily open when they are, and vice versa," Mr Bond said.

"We will look at those live sites anyway just in case there is something that's missed.

"But we pretty much rely these days on social media; on various groups like the Grey Nomads [Facebook page], various caravanning groups [and] four-wheel drive groups, because they are the people out there doing it, and [with] the roadhouses themselves, we will call ahead."

Grazier and president of the Pastoralists' Association of West Darling (PAWD) Sam Beven agreed, saying Live Traffic NSW was "problematic at best" and Transport NSW could do more to provide accurate information.

"I know there are a lot of roads in the unincorporated area [which are not managed by a local government], but whenever you see any roadworks getting done, there's a lot of people sitting in cars watching graters and watching loaders work," Mr Beven said.

"These people could maybe be driving around the district checking the roads so we can get a bit more [of an] accurate reading."