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

Action for Public Transport (NSW) is a public transport users' advocacy group, active in Sydney since 1975. This submission is in response to the Community Update brochure issued by the RMS in December 2015, detailing proposed changes to bus stops in the above areas.

Summary

On the one hand we see

• the reality of hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on digging up and restoring bus stops, seats, shelters and signs
• the certainty of many peoples' end-to-end journey times being increased, and
• the inestimable loss of convenient connections between bus routes.

And on the other hand, what do we get?

• an ethereal promise of "improved bus journey times", "easier for buses to move in and out of bus stops", and "more reliable travel times".
• a net gain of one, yes just one, parking space along the entire seven kilometre corridor,

And what don't we get?

• any guarantee that other vehicles will not park in the bus stops
• any assistance for buses attempting to enter the traffic flow after leaving a stop.
• any promise that the closed stops will be re-opened if the airy-fairy benefits don't appear.

Rozelle (1)   [The numbers refer to the maps in the brochure]

The relocation of the bus stop in Darling St near Victoria Rd will require a longer walk for people connecting between Darling Street and Victoria Road bus routes. These, and other bus routes, are not just lines randomly drawn on maps. They are part of a system (like the roads) enabling people to get around with a minimum of fuss.

Norton Street North (6)

We welcome the lengthening of this bus stop to accommodate the longer buses now being used.

Norton Street North (7, 8, 9 and 10)

This is the disaster zone.

Yes, the street is only 500 metres long and it has three bus stops each side - one at each end and one in the middle. This probably defies all the standards and guidelines (if any exist).

The proposal seeks to improve bus reliability and speeds by deleting four bus stops, the two at each end, but this will greatly increase end-to-end journey time for hundreds of workers, school children, shoppers and restaurant patrons as they walk the extra distance to the next stop.

The stops in the middle must stay because they service the Norton Plaza shopping centre. Actually, a better way to make the buses go faster would be to build an entry/exit to the Norton Plaza car park in Balmain Road, and close the one in Norton St. Vehicles creeping in and out of the underground car park are a significant cause of delays to buses and other road users in Norton Street. If the project is "fully funded" then perhaps funds could be found for this, even though it is on private property.

The provision of new pedestrian lights at the busy crossing at the Norton Plaza would also improve safety and the traffic flow. The tiny sign pleading with pedestrians to "please cross in groups" is ignored.

The bus stops in this part of Norton Street serve six very busy bus routes full time - M10, 436, 438, 439, 440, 444/445 - and in peak hours the L38 and L39 as well. If the one stop is to accommodate them all, it will have to be a very big one. In normal daytime off-peak running there are 19 buses per hour each way, and 41 buses per hour in the peak. Where will the passengers wait? Where will the seats and the shelters and the timetables be located. While the buses in the stop discharge and take on passengers, where will the buses behind them wait?

The stops under threat in Norton Street are the two (inbound and outbound) at the Marion St corner and the two near the Parramatta Road corner.

If these are removed, the next bus stop outbound is a long way down either Marion Street or Norton Street North, and the next inbound one in Parramatta Rd is 400 metres away at Catherine St.

The RMS brochure says that the reliability of bus services will be improved by "reducing delays for buses at traffic lights". We don't understand how this can be. It will still be necessary for buses to sometimes come to a halt at these abandoned stops because of the traffic lights nearby,

Bus users of the Norton/Marion St bus stop will also lose the connection with the popular 370 bus around the corner in Marion Street.

Generally

While we generally agree with the policy of culling or combining bus stops in the interests of more reliable bus services, we believe that it should be sufficiently flexible to consider special cases such as Norton Street.

We are perplexed as to why this matter is being handled by RMS. We would have thought that any re-organisation of bus services would be handled by Transport for NSW. RMS could help by getting the cars out of Norton St.