NOTICE: You Are Invited. Special General Meeting of the WSPTU, Sat, June 1st, 1pm

On Saturday June 1^st at 1pm there will be a Special General Meeting of the Western Sydney Public Transport Users (WSPTU). At Level 4, 146 Marsden St, Parramatta.

 

Please RSVP to wsbustop@gmail.com or leave a message at 9689 0114.

 

If you have been a regular participant in the WSPTU you will be eligible to vote on these matters. In the unlikely event of any dispute about who is eligible to vote, members present of the current WSPTU Steering Committee will adjudicate that.

Following the Special General Meeting will be our regular Policy Forum meeting to talk about happenings in public transport.

The purposes of the Special General Meeting are:

1. To change the constitution to allow individuals to become members of the WSPTU
2. To change the constitution to allow individuals, groups and organisations to become associate members of the WSPTU
3. Elect the Steering Committee

To see more detail go here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Byj1I8NDqFEaM2JNTExSTXFIY1U/edit?usp=sharing

We are still drafting the rest of the changes but will publish them asap.

Mount Druitt Hub Meeting Sparks Good Response From Locals Re- Safety Issues On City Rail Trains!

Last night, as a local public transport advocate and representative for Mount Druitt and the Mount Druitt Commuters Improvement Group Inc., I attended the Safety Meeting for City Rail Commuters that The NSW State Opposition had organised in conjunction with Patricia Hooker. Patricia Hooker is a mother of two sons who were assaulted on a Western Sydney Rail service between St. Marys and Rooty Hill.

Penny Sharpe MLC

NSW Opposition Spokesperson  on Transport, Penny Sharpe MLC, opened the meeting  with the noted reason why public transport is out in the community for the public: to get to schools, work, friends,  shops and relaxation & family events and also to cater the more increasing commuters that cannot drive around for whatever reason.

She explained  that she  knows that we need more of public transport and is a keen to more public transport service whilst there is  more safer public transport to travel on. She would like to see a system of safer travel. A system where you are safe and feel safe  on public transport.  The public transport system needs to work and with importance of safety.

Two years under the previous NSW Government there was 600 State Transit Officer covering City Rail and 300 Commuter Rail Police as support. Claims are the current NSW Government are getting rid of the State Transit Officers and transferring 150 of them as Revenue officers to cover fare evaders and their will be  600 Police Transit Officers covering Trains, buses and ferries.

Recent data shows a 13.2% in Graffiti and vandalism and half the fare evasion fines have been issued in compared to previous times.
She claimed that she receives calls regarding horrific events happening on City Rail Trains, claims there was no safety especially when a lady caught a train early in the morning from Emu Plains to the city one morning and over a hundred  young people entered the train, later destroying it. After 000 was called, it took until Parramatta where Transit Officers took over the situation. Also gets reports in Central Coast where seats are being ripped out and the transit officers arrive after the incident occurs.

Penny concluded that prevention of this behaviour is important.

John Robertson,
NSW Opposition Leader

The leader of The NSW Opposition, John Robertson advised one of his children has been affected  by anti-social behaviour on trains. That the current NSW Government has had 2 years to fix the problem out of 4 years: cuts to budgets, safety issues not being fixed and today asked in the NSW Government in 'Question Time' two questions, to the Minister of Transport take responsibility of antisocial behaviours on City Rail - ( I think this correct).

Claims Graffiti and vandalism is up as the Transit officers will be reduced leaving 600 police outstretched to  working on trains, buses and ferries! We need a Government to meet the needs of safety of all commuters!

Patricia Hooker was the main guest speaker and reflected on what had happen on her two sons: Chris and Stephen, in early February on City Rail Trains between St Marys and Rooty Hill and that they were both assaulted.

Patrcia Hooker, John Roberton,
Penny Sharpe and Richard Amery

She is concerned how many people actually feel safe travelling on our rail network.

She would  a review of  safety on our train system. As a community member and a mum she also wants a safer community on public transport travelling on all journeys. And finally she advised she will be looking a  possible petition  for the NSW Government to review  the current process of reducing transit officers, where they should be increased to provide a safer commuter community.

Comments raised from the community representatives were as follows:

• Transit Police  are taking Police off roads.
• Better accessibility to commuters by providing lifts at Doonside, Rooty Hill, Pendle Hill, Toongabbie train stations
• One community members has issues with dealing with police officers/safety officers
•  Need to have safe and clean transport,  no need to make a profit to provide public transport service
• quoted by a police officer ( as mentioned by a community member), 'We have real jobs to go to no time to fix Graffiti crime!'
• a commuter with disability claims that dislike Waratah trains as  the guard is in the eighth carriage not close to the commuters near the middle of the trains and they therefore cannot react immediately on  any issue that needs to be addressed
• former Transit police Officer advised he now trains on trains and  claims transit officers are required to provide comfort for commuters as he, himself is petrified of any negative impact from commuters
•  I stated that I agree for Police Transit Officers to have  more powers and that will reduce the  the time a person can be taken and arrested as a Transit officer can only hold the person down waiting for the police to arrive for them to exercise their powers.
•  I also said, move the Transit officers to buses and  trains and even have more police officers to cover shortfalls
• And I said ensure each train CCTV's that enable police investigations to be conducted and completed as it is on public transport  and this should not provide and privacy issues or discrimination to one's right - as it will always be good substantial evidence.
• From my heart I apologised for happened to her and her sons
• That Rooty Hill and Doonside have no taxi stands which allows commuters a safer trip home in a different mode of transport
•  a community member involved as a social councillor, that you can have the best public transport system in the world but  thee are a lot of Western Sydney people that are sad, unresolved anxiety and depression and look into reason and cures to get people out of this behaviour. This type of behaviour should be looked at and researched as this could start anti-social behaviours not wanted in our community!
• One of Patrcia's son's stood up and said thank  you  but what is need  in people's lives is the simple ' please' and 'thank you'. If everyone was like that we would not be like here tonight. Thank you everyone for your support tonight!

Click Here for recent story on Channel 7 announcing last nights meeting!

Public invited to White Paper Forums - New Planning system for NSW

NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure   26 April 2013 Public invited to White Paper forums Community forums have been announced for 17 metropolitan and regional locations around NSW, to listen to the community’s feedback on the NSW Government’s White Paper – A new planning system for NSW. The sessions will be held in nine regional centres across NSW and eight metropolitan Sydney locations. The first two community sessions will be held next week at Hornsby RSL Club and Castle Hill RSL Club on Thursday 2 May 2013 from 6pm to 7.30pm. Online registration is also now available for all other locations. For a list of events and to register, click here.

Interesting Parking at Bankstown Station

CityRail Trackworks This Week Up To 21st April 2013

Monday 15 until Sunday 21 April On Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 April trackwork means buses replace all trains on the City Circle. This will impact travel on other lines, so please check the website or pick up an Operation CBD brochure from your local station. See where buses are replacing trains: - This week's trackwork map (15 - 21 April) What's happening today  (trackwork information for the next two weeks on all lines) View upcoming trackwork (scheduled trackwork for the next six months) Western Line Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 AprilTrains start and terminate at Central (platforms 4-14) due to City Circle trackwork.  Some trains will operate to an amended timetable.

Veola Buses Strike Traffic Jam - Mount Druitt Commuter!

Greg, from Lethbridge park one of the commuters that has been travelling for years commuting on public transport has told me a true story that has frustrated him travelling back home from Bankstown from work.

The situation delayed the bus trip for up to an hour as he caught the Veola 907 around 5pm from Bankstown to Parramatta reaching corner of Parramatta Road and Woodville Road Parramatta, that  it took hour to reach the end of Church Street and Argyle Streets. This problem and time delay was caused by traffic jams with private cars exiting Westfield Parramatta continuously. So  this means that private car  drivers were preventing  buses to run as per timetable. 

According to Greg, a lot of commuters were frustrated - maybe someone from Westfields can  do something to prevent traffic jams along the same stretch of road in the future!

WSPTU Special General Meeting: Saturday June 1st, 1pm.

Special General Meeting of the WSPTU
Saturday June 1st at 1pm.
At Western Sydney Community Forum
Level 4, 146 Marsden St, Parramatta.

RSVP before 5pm Friday May 31.
email: wsbustop@gmail.com . phone: 9689 0114 and leave a message (with a return number).

At the Policy Forum meeting on Saturday we decided to hold this Special General Meeting of the WSPTU to change the constitution and elect a committee.

The Purpose.

We want to make it possible for individuals to become members of the WSPTU. The current constitution of the WSPTU only allows 'groups' to be members.

After a few years of experience we now find that it is too hard to operate the WSPTU with this restriction and it is too hard for local people to form groups to be part of the WSPTU. It is also very difficult to adjudicate when a 'group' is really a group because people have different ways of operating groups these days (eg Facebook). We want to make it easier for people to join the WSPTU and easier for the WSPTU to operate.

We also need to strengthen the Steering Committee.

It has been very difficult for local people to form groups to be elligible to be part of the WSPTU and a lot of the burden of running the WSPTU has fallen on too few people. This means that the Steering Committee has not been sufficiently constituted by elligible group representatives. To reconstitute the Steering Committee under the new rules we will call for people to stand on this same day.

We will produce the proposed constitution changes, as well as the explanations, on this WSPTU blog site, soon.

On that day, we can follow that meeting with a Policy Forum meeting.

Please Note:
In the unlikely event that there is a need to ensure that the people voting at the Special General Meeting are regular WSPTU participants, the current working Steering Committee (John Svoboda, Sue Day, Paul Falzon and John Seedsman) will be consulted.