New "Bus Buzz" from ITLS

The Intstitute of Transport and Logistics Studies (Sydney University) has created a new information newsletter about buses as part of the public transport system. The editors of the newsletter are Dr Rhonda Daniels and Prof Corinne Mulley who presented at the WSPTU Transport Symposium recently.

Read the "Bus Buzz" here.

Transport Performance Information Release

Information about the performance of the Government owned transport service providers was release on Sept 15. It gives a report against a range of performance measures such as on-time running and breakdowns. For CityRail these measures relate to commitments provided in the "Customer Charter". To see the information in full CLICK HERE

At this stage the information about the performance of transport services provided by the private sector (including buses Western Sydney) is not included. To give a full report on the performance of the public transport system, public transport services provided by the private sector need to be included in future reports.

Public Transport Most Important

The Institute of Logistics Studies (ITLS) and Interfleet conduct regular quarterly surveys on transport topics. In the September 2010 survey "over half of Australians (57%) said the highest priority issue for transport in Australia is public transport improvements, almost three times more than those who said road improvements were the highest transport priority (20%)".
To see the information release and the full results CLICK HERE
http://sydney.edu.au/business/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/79608/TOPS-media-1009.pdf

Barriers To Flexible Transport Services in NSW

Flexible Transport Services is an emerging term in passenger transport which covers a range of mobility offers including Demand Responsive Transport, where services are flexible in one or more of the dimensions of route, vehicle allocation, vehicle operator, type of payment and passenger category. Although flexible transport services are used increasingly in Europe and the US as part of the public transport mix in areas where demand is too low to support conventional public transport, there are few sustained examples of these services in Australia. Through a series of semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in NSW including service providers, peak organisations, users, regulators and policy-makers, the paper identifies barriers to greater use of flexible transport services in NSW. Barriers include institutional frameworks such as policy and regulation; economic issues of funding and fares; operational issues of fleet and vehicles; as well as operator and community attitudes; and information and education. The paper makes recommendations to enable and encourage greater use of flexible transport services by transport service planners and providers.
Rhonda Daniels and Corinne Mulley; Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, The University of Sydney NSW 2006
Email for correspondence: corinne.mulley@sydney.edu.au
Publication website: http://www.patrec.org/atrf.aspx
To read the whole paper CLICK HERE

New 'Guardian' Services for Security on Late-night Trains

People that WSPTU members talk to, particularly young people and older people, report that security is an important issue for them - that they feel safe on public transport. Members have made the point that they would rather see the Transit Officers doing more work on keeping people safe than checking tickets.

For these reasons, it is good to see this new announcement for Guardian Services for late night trains announced by the Minister for Transport.

Click on the link for the full information about the service: www.cityrail.info/guardian

Unfortunately, it's a very limited service covering only one or two trains on a Friday or Saturday night. Ideally all late-night trains should have systems in place to ensure security for the passengers. But this is a start and hopefully, if it gets positive feedback from customers, will be extended in the future.

Here are some comments from the Minister:

“Specific Friday and Saturday night train services will be identified as Guardian services based on customer feedback about when they are most likely to be utilised for late night journeys home from the city.

“Guardian services will be marked with a 'G' on the timetable online.

“These specific services are what people have identified as the most suitable – but CityRail will consider altering them if it receives feedback from the community.

“One service a night for each line will be earmarked as ‘Guardian’ to ensure other services continue to have a strong security presence too.

“In addition to the Guardian services, CityRail staff and security guards will be present at Hub stations along each line each Friday and Saturday night when the services arrive. These stations – which will be main stations or interchanges – will be convenient drop-off and collection points for customers who use the Guardian service."

CityRail Timetable Changes 2010

For information about CityRail timetable changes on all lines CLICK HERE

CITYRAIL BLUE MOUNTAINS OCTOBER 2010 TIMETABLE CHANGES

Blue Mountains Line
•Customers will continue to receive the same level of service, frequency and stopping patterns as in the current timetable however some departures times may change.
•2.39pm Central to Lithgow weekday service will make an additional stop at Emu Plains at 3.33pm for school children travelling to Blue Mountains stations.
•On weekdays and weekends, services from the City will depart stations between Woodford and Mount Victoria/Lithgow one to four minutes earlier than in the current timetable.
Check 131500 for details.

EFTPOS on stations

Over the last few months Eftpos has begun being installed on train station ticketing machines. This makes it easier for people to access the machines without needing cash. It's particularly good for people buying expensive tickets such as weeklies and MyZone tickets. The minimum amount, however, has been removed so even small transactions are now accepted.

The downside of this is that, in the future, there may be a push to reduce the number of station staff.

APT - "FARE GO" FOR PASSENGERS ON CASHLESS BUSES

A consumer group says State Transit must revise its policies and practices for PrePay bus routes because people are being irritated by difficulties in buying a ticket.

Allan Miles, spokesman for Action for Public Transport, said that the rapid spread of PrePay bus zones is catching more people out.

"People can be stranded without a ticket for various reasons," Mr Miles said, " - ignorance, current ticket expired, no local agents, agent out of stock, ticket in the other handbag, etc."

"While most regular travellers on these routes have a prepaid ticket (MyZone, MyBus, PET or other)," Mr Miles said, "a large number of casual travellers and visitors are having their travel disrupted."

"New Prepay zones commencing on 20th September will extend the no-cash fares area from Newtown and Leichhardt in the west to Bondi Junction in the east and Maroubra Junction in the south-east," Mr Miles said, "plus zones at Parramatta, Epping and Chatswood stations".

Mr Miles said that the no-cash policy applies not only to the special PrePay only routes, but to all routes passing through those areas between 7 am and 7 pm Monday to Friday.

Some people are perplexed by the whole ticketing system," Mr Miles said, "and need the bus driver's advice, information which often cannot be supplied by an agent."

Mr Miles said that the booklet explaining the inner-west conversion from 20th September contains 24 pages of mostly microscopic print.

"If it needs twenty-four pages to tell you how to buy a bus ticket, perhaps someone should re-think the system," Mr Miles said.

"While we approve of the general strategy behind the PrePay move," Mr Miles said, "State Transit needs to both allow for exceptions and to improve its ticket distribution practices."

Hills Transport Group

WSPTU members have created a Hills Transport Group to work on developing ideas to improve transport for people in the Hills and surrounding areas. They have the support of the Green Travel Club at the Rouse Hill Town Centre and will be meeting there regularly. If you are interested in this group contact Amy via wsbustop@gmail.com or on 9687 8937.

Green Travel Club - Rouse Hill Town Centre

The Green Travel Club is an interesting outcome from the development of the Rouse Hill Town Centre. Funds mandated through the DA process have gone into creating the Green Travel Club which is actively involved with promoting sustainable transport options for the people who use the Rouse Hill Town Centre.

Here is the blurb from GPT, who is the Town Centre developer:
"As the developer, owner and manager of Rouse Hill Town Centre, the GPT Group is committed to reducing the ecological impact of our business. We believe that a healthy environment and community can be achieved through long-term commitment and shared responsibility."
Click here for the website

Car Park and Access at Warwick Farm

The new car park at Warwick Farm train station is well underway and the new access to the station, with lifts and new stairs is also progressing.




For the Transport Construction Authority information about Car Parks click here

Transport NSW Media Release about Glenfield Car Park and others: click here