Action for Public Transport (N.S.W.) Inc.

APT attended a planning workshop on 22 March 2006, at the invitation of the NSW Ministry of Transport. The following is a report on what APT found interesting.

The N-W T-way will run from Parramatta to Rouse Hill via Parklea, with a branch from Parklea to Blacktown. Unlike Sydney’s first T-way, between Liverpool and Parramatta, which carries only end – to – end “trunk” services, the new T-way will also be used by collector / distributor bus routes from the outset. This, combined with the “T” shaped layout of the T-way itself, presents complexities for bus operators, in modifying existing routes, but also for passengers, who will have to come to terms with what may well be a more complex route network.

A planning forum organised by the NSW Ministry of Transport on 22 March was addressed by the T-way builder, the two bus operating companies involved, and Ministry planners. Some 60 attendees represented other NSW government agencies, local government, Non-Government organisations and community groups. The purpose of the forum was to gain feedback from stakeholders to help develop a broad strategy for planning bus service changes in this rapidly developing region. Future forums, armed with specific route proposals, will reach deeper into the community for comment.

Planning will incorporate the recommendations of what is known as the “Unsworth” review of bus services in NSW. That review divided Sydney into some 15 “Regions” for the purposes of service planning. Region 1 lies generally to the west of Windsor Road and is served by the Busways company. Region 4 lies to the east of the same road and is contracted to ComfortDelGro-Cabcharge (formerly Westbus), which is presently providing services under the brand name Hillsbus. Both companies are among Australia’s largest bus operators. These operators will combine to provide services on the T-way and to the region.

Action for Public Transport reports that a number of challenges for planners were identified at the forum. Thousands of school children, many residing outside the region, attend hundreds of schools within the region and represent about half of the transport task. Their movement, unhappily, coincides with the morning commuter peak. The M2-M7 Motorway slashes right across the middle of the N-W T-way. It encourages private car use and, by default, makes it more difficult to attract customers to any new bus services. The few bridges across it make bus route-planning more difficult and its broad swathe reduces residential density and potential bus patronage.

APT Convener, Kevin Eadie, concludes that a major difficulty will be the provision of customer-attractive services in the off-peak, especially late at night, given the combination of diverse trip origins and destinations with low patronage demand. ComfortDelGro’s strong links to non-route public transport provision has considerable potential to serve this segment of the market, but he gathers that innovative non-route services are unlikely to become operational within the short lead time available before the opening of the T-way.