Local
member for Heffron, Kristina Keneally, says there has been an explosion of
residual dwellings in Sydney’s
south-west and the State Transit Authority must meet the demand for public
transportation.
“The
STA needs to cater more for those people working daily in the city, starting
early every morning. The 301, 370 and 343 could all be greatly improved,” says
Keneally.
The
308 service travelling from Marrickville Metro shopping complex to Circular
Quay, is the only option residents of the area have to reach the city or nearby
suburbs via public transport. Local resident, Alana Murphy, says the 308 is
never on time, is always overcrowded and runs far too infrequently to meet the
needs of people in the area. “On peak hour services, the bus becomes full almost
at the start of the route and passengers further along are left behind because
the driver can’t fit them in. Cabs are the only alternative – which many people
can’t afford,” Murphy says.
Currently
most of the services in Sydney’s
south-west do not run after 7PM on weekdays and have a limited service on
weekends or none at all. “On weekends there is one 308 bus an hour, which makes
overcrowding even worse than it is on weekdays. If the bus service is made more
reliable, people will use it,” Murphy said.
The
352 Marrickville to Bondi run is a very popular service and one of the only
buses to run the full length of Cleveland
St and to surrounding suburbs without travelling
through the congested CBD. Newtown
resident, Paula O’Sullivan, says the service has been successful but it can be
improved so that it benefits the entire community. “The issue is not
overcrowding but the frequency of the service that is available. Currently the
service on weeknights ends fairly early and on weekends there is no service
available at all,” says O’Sullivan.
Jill
Lay, ALP Secretary for Newtown,
has begun a petition to bring about changes to the 352 in order to make the
service more practical and assist people who work outside of traditional office
hours. “We are seeking the start of a service on weekends and extended running
times on weeknights. Support for these changes has been very strong within the
community,” Lay said.
The
petition will be finalised in the next four weeks and than presented to Carmel
Tebbut.
A
petition is also being prepared to improve the 311 bus service from Elizabeth Bay to Eddy Avenue.
Greens
Councillor Chris Harris says the reduction of the 311 service is discouraging
people from using public transport and congesting the inner city with traffic
and pollution.
“We
want Sydney to
promote the use of public transport and make the bus service reliable for
people to use regularly,” Harris said.
Originally
the 311 was a half hour service but it has since been downgraded to a 45 minute
service which no doubt had an affect on the number of people choosing to use the
bus. “If you want people to use the bus you do not reduce the service – it is
that simple”, Harris said.
Media
Officer for State Transit Authority Tony Melham is unavailable for comment at
the present