Competing Public Transport Policies

The Steering Committee of the WSPTU met last week. One of the matters discussed was how to evaluate the competing rail policies which have been proposed by the different polical parties. These policies include the Western Express, the North West and South West Rail Links and the Epping to Parramatta Rail Link.

The Policy Forum of the WSPTU is meeting on Saturday Feb 5th so the committee is currently gathering information from the political parties about these proposals and asking for advice from some technical experts. Hopefully this will enable the WSPTU to advise it's member groups and make some public positions available before the State Election.

WSPTU currently has 3 policy positions published (click here).

For other information from local groups check the links on the left of this page.

New Free Liverpool and Campbelltown CBD Shuttle Buses

Transport NSW has announced two new free shuttle bus routes; one for Liverpool and one for Campbelltown.

This is a terrific innovation for these areas. The Liverpool Transport Taskforce has been asking for a shuttle to be established because of the difficulties getting between the important places in the Liverpool CBD, particularly for older people and people with difficulties walking. So this is great news.

There is some potential to adjust the route to take in the new Collimore parking station when it is completed and maybe to try and extend the times and improve the frequency.

Liverpool Shuttle Route Map

Campbelltown Shuttle Route Map

World Streets - Liveable Cities Blog

Here is a blog about creating liveable, sustainable cities and an empowered, participating citizenry.
Click this link: http://worldstreets.wordpress.com/

Proposal To Improve Transport For South-West Sydney

Information from EcoTransit:

"Recently, EcoTransit Sydney and the Australian Conservation Foundation launched an initiative aimed at improving public transport access from South-West Sydney to Central and South-East Sydney.

These areas are major trip generators and include Sydney Airport, the Central Industrial Area (Botany and Mascot), and the educational and health precincts around UNSW and Prince of Wales Hospital. At the present time, for the overwhelming majority of people commuting to these destinations from Western and South-West Sydney, the only realistic option is to drive along the M5.

The Ecotransit and Australian Conservation Foundation plan covers a broad area of Sydney, and seeks to combine improvements to disparate public transport modes (heavy rail, light rail and cycling) with changes to transport policy (buying out the stations on the Airport Line). The outcome will be better transport options for people in South-West Sydney at a fraction of the cost of the M5 Extension. (And it ticks the boxes for addressing Climate Change and Peak Oil.)"

To see the full plan click below:
http://www.ecotransit.org.au/ets/ets_acf_nine_point_plan