Tonight a lady whom lives in Tregear has issues with both Buses and Trains - that is catching the slow train to Mount Druitt as misses the fast train that apparently only runs hourly at night.
Whilst missing the train - she also missed by approximately 7 minutes the 780 bus connection, she feels it is fair what happens to her - i have advised her to contact 131500 to voice her disapproval.
Her main issue was that are few and far between bus services at night - she feels they should be running every fifteen minutes. Mind you having more efficient bus services - once the community would be aware of this more of the community would catch this bus services and leave the car at home!. She then realised that there are a lack of bus services early in weekday mornings and nights, as well as weekend issues as well. Same story has been heard everywhere!!!!!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Where Do We Go from Here?
Boy, that is easy "Going forward" we will ensure that there is always moving essential, reliable Public Transport all around Mount Druitt
I understand that there needs to be a voice from within the community, actually that voice would be representing hundreds and also thousands of voices that want, need and require transport services in and around Mount Druitt.
Should there not be a voice then Local, State and Federal governments will just 'railroad' transport changes without providing proper community process, advice and feedback. Public 'outcry' reaction through would start splinter groups that would become like us. Thus including a group like ours in the Local Transport Decision process will benefit not just the community, the Transport representatives that run each from of transport and the government officials that make important decisions, paid by the community.
We need to be invited with the bus review process and decisions with City Rail for train time table process and also with the NSW Taxi Council.
Gap buses - what are they and do they work? Flexi bus services will this be the bus of the future: the same cost of your bus fare, you ring up to book your trip to pick you up in your front door - but you have to book your trip at least one hour before.
I'm starting to talk to some people around the area to get a feeling how people would react to it. Everything is negative until you mention the cost is the same as your daily ticket or weekly ticket. It is getting people thinking about new options for public transport. New ventures to look at - something that will make everybody talking and be happy with. We need to ask the local press whether they feel this is what the community needs now . Yet this could be a something that comes in in5 years time!
We will back the community to ensure the correct amount of essential transport meets the demand of supply! We will move the Transport Forward not backwards!
I understand that there needs to be a voice from within the community, actually that voice would be representing hundreds and also thousands of voices that want, need and require transport services in and around Mount Druitt.
Should there not be a voice then Local, State and Federal governments will just 'railroad' transport changes without providing proper community process, advice and feedback. Public 'outcry' reaction through would start splinter groups that would become like us. Thus including a group like ours in the Local Transport Decision process will benefit not just the community, the Transport representatives that run each from of transport and the government officials that make important decisions, paid by the community.
We need to be invited with the bus review process and decisions with City Rail for train time table process and also with the NSW Taxi Council.
Gap buses - what are they and do they work? Flexi bus services will this be the bus of the future: the same cost of your bus fare, you ring up to book your trip to pick you up in your front door - but you have to book your trip at least one hour before.
I'm starting to talk to some people around the area to get a feeling how people would react to it. Everything is negative until you mention the cost is the same as your daily ticket or weekly ticket. It is getting people thinking about new options for public transport. New ventures to look at - something that will make everybody talking and be happy with. We need to ask the local press whether they feel this is what the community needs now . Yet this could be a something that comes in in5 years time!
We will back the community to ensure the correct amount of essential transport meets the demand of supply! We will move the Transport Forward not backwards!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Western Sydney Trasnport Symposium Just Great And Great
Today was my first experience with Western Sydney Transport Symposium, which I have found to be completely interesting, intriguing and also providing a lot of further information than can better our transport community.
WSTUG provided great food throughout the day and we all thank thank Hugh, Amy and Deborah for their assistance in making it a wonderful day.
From our group the following members attended the meeting: Blake,Shayne,Angela, Jacqueline and Pauline. Inclusive of myself the overall representation from our group is a strong representative from our group also which in turn represents a lot of commuters from within the Mount Druitt community.
The total day was relaxing and there was total enjoyment of transport information that I have never heard before especially 'Flexi-bus services' which is a bus service that is looking to be implemented. A bus service that would run 24 hours a day and all you will need to do is book your bus travel one hour before, to be picked up in the front of your door. The cost would be the same as your bus travel tickets. This represented bus planning and the distance gap - Professor Corine Mulley, Chair of Public Transport and Rhonda Daniels,Senior Researcher, Institute Transport Logistics Studies (ITLS).
We also had Vicki Jarvis and Customer Relations Manager - CityRail,'How does CityRail and RailCorp work?' Basically, explained was the complaint process that is used for 131500. What was quashed was that we thought it took 200 complaints to get a resolution - no she advised even one complaint will be looked into.
Thirdly an interesting presentation was made by John Evenden, Access Consultant regarding,'What is important about bus stop infrastructure? Who organises bus stop infrastructure and how is it allocated?'. This topic may have been boring to me many years ago but as we have over 10,500 bus stops around Western Sydney, when we look at each bus stop around Mount Druitt, a majority of them are just bus stop signs. not friendly tot the disabled, vision-impaired or the disable. Some of our bus stops may not be user-friendly; that is no seats for the elderly or disabled and no proper covers. Some bus stops may not even be position properly: shrubs hiding viewing bus arrivals.
In between these topics - we had workshops where we try to explain how we all can communicate these ideas to the community. I thoroughly enjoy the Transport Symposium as I met Glen who is concerned of bus services around South Marayong and I can see that although he has obtained 100 petitions, he feels like he is fighting a losing battle. Personally, I would like to assist him with his goals of restoring buses going through important local communities.
Also I met John, from Sefton Park who has issues with a bus services by-passing a shopping centre - I have asked Blake to assist him but I feel I would like to assist him as well.
My heart feels like there are other community members out there wanting to know how we got pour bus service back - so they can get there back as well.
The 2nd Western Symposium was great and great!
WSTUG provided great food throughout the day and we all thank thank Hugh, Amy and Deborah for their assistance in making it a wonderful day.
From our group the following members attended the meeting: Blake,Shayne,Angela, Jacqueline and Pauline. Inclusive of myself the overall representation from our group is a strong representative from our group also which in turn represents a lot of commuters from within the Mount Druitt community.
The total day was relaxing and there was total enjoyment of transport information that I have never heard before especially 'Flexi-bus services' which is a bus service that is looking to be implemented. A bus service that would run 24 hours a day and all you will need to do is book your bus travel one hour before, to be picked up in the front of your door. The cost would be the same as your bus travel tickets. This represented bus planning and the distance gap - Professor Corine Mulley, Chair of Public Transport and Rhonda Daniels,Senior Researcher, Institute Transport Logistics Studies (ITLS).
We also had Vicki Jarvis and Customer Relations Manager - CityRail,'How does CityRail and RailCorp work?' Basically, explained was the complaint process that is used for 131500. What was quashed was that we thought it took 200 complaints to get a resolution - no she advised even one complaint will be looked into.
Thirdly an interesting presentation was made by John Evenden, Access Consultant regarding,'What is important about bus stop infrastructure? Who organises bus stop infrastructure and how is it allocated?'. This topic may have been boring to me many years ago but as we have over 10,500 bus stops around Western Sydney, when we look at each bus stop around Mount Druitt, a majority of them are just bus stop signs. not friendly tot the disabled, vision-impaired or the disable. Some of our bus stops may not be user-friendly; that is no seats for the elderly or disabled and no proper covers. Some bus stops may not even be position properly: shrubs hiding viewing bus arrivals.
In between these topics - we had workshops where we try to explain how we all can communicate these ideas to the community. I thoroughly enjoy the Transport Symposium as I met Glen who is concerned of bus services around South Marayong and I can see that although he has obtained 100 petitions, he feels like he is fighting a losing battle. Personally, I would like to assist him with his goals of restoring buses going through important local communities.
Also I met John, from Sefton Park who has issues with a bus services by-passing a shopping centre - I have asked Blake to assist him but I feel I would like to assist him as well.
My heart feels like there are other community members out there wanting to know how we got pour bus service back - so they can get there back as well.
The 2nd Western Symposium was great and great!
Friday, August 6, 2010
More Wheels Means More Travelling........
Okay, what do I mean by this title? Simply what it says Having more wheels you will travel. Yes but to have more wheels you need to have more people on wheels.
I just had a vision that could sum up what we need in our travelling lives. I'm not a true 'Greenie' to the word but parts of me believe in some aspects of a 'Green' society. In saying this, I do want communities in and around Mount Druitt (and inclusive of all Western Sydney) to have natural gas powered buses - whether they are privately owned or government run based bus services.
How can public bus transport be promoted, when services are not on time, there are limited services, sometimes packed bus on peak time - long waiting times for next bus service and lastly what I have been campaigning for since my existence in Mount Druitt a two-way radio communication between Mount Druitt Trains and the bus drivers, announcing when trains are expected to arrive, when the train commuters have left the barriers of the train station.This allows excellent communication and not allowing bus drivers getting away with leaving early without picking up train passengers.
While some us drive in the comfort of our own cars, so many individual decisions have to be consciously made to ensure individual road safety and also for the safety of others. Yet when catching buses this pressure is alleviated and the responsibility an onus of public safety is completely left with the bus driver. The bus fares are reasonably cheap compared to ongoing running costs on driving your own car or taxis.
So more people getting on more wheel means more faster, efficient and happier travelling for all bus travellers. And yes, bus have more wheels than cars!
I just had a vision that could sum up what we need in our travelling lives. I'm not a true 'Greenie' to the word but parts of me believe in some aspects of a 'Green' society. In saying this, I do want communities in and around Mount Druitt (and inclusive of all Western Sydney) to have natural gas powered buses - whether they are privately owned or government run based bus services.
How can public bus transport be promoted, when services are not on time, there are limited services, sometimes packed bus on peak time - long waiting times for next bus service and lastly what I have been campaigning for since my existence in Mount Druitt a two-way radio communication between Mount Druitt Trains and the bus drivers, announcing when trains are expected to arrive, when the train commuters have left the barriers of the train station.This allows excellent communication and not allowing bus drivers getting away with leaving early without picking up train passengers.
While some us drive in the comfort of our own cars, so many individual decisions have to be consciously made to ensure individual road safety and also for the safety of others. Yet when catching buses this pressure is alleviated and the responsibility an onus of public safety is completely left with the bus driver. The bus fares are reasonably cheap compared to ongoing running costs on driving your own car or taxis.
So more people getting on more wheel means more faster, efficient and happier travelling for all bus travellers. And yes, bus have more wheels than cars!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
More Irate Bus Commuters
Boy did I cop an ear blasting from a lady that was very relaxed and very composite, prior to handing her a flyer for the Western Sydney Transport Symposium.
She wasn't upset with me she was upset that it took her 2 hours to get from Tregear to Penrith last Sunday, she said it is longer than getting from the Blue Mountains to Penrith. Apparently with Sunday services her bus went early to Penrith thus she had to wait an hour for next bus service - she was told - then went to Mount Druitt via another bus to catch the other bus at St. Marys (by train) and missed then the same bus connection.
So here we are another person not happy with the bus changes that were implemented by the NSW Government for bus changes within Group 1 area!!!!!
What more can we ask for?
She wasn't upset with me she was upset that it took her 2 hours to get from Tregear to Penrith last Sunday, she said it is longer than getting from the Blue Mountains to Penrith. Apparently with Sunday services her bus went early to Penrith thus she had to wait an hour for next bus service - she was told - then went to Mount Druitt via another bus to catch the other bus at St. Marys (by train) and missed then the same bus connection.
So here we are another person not happy with the bus changes that were implemented by the NSW Government for bus changes within Group 1 area!!!!!
What more can we ask for?
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Feed Back From Community
As I spread the news of the Transport Symposium travelling between Mount Druitt and Parramatta, I have found more than mixed feeling from all public transport commuters.
Most of them will accept the flyer's that I provide to each one of them with calling it a book mark and advising this is a free meeting regarding buses and trains in Western Sydney. Although our group is based within the boundaries of Mount Druitt, we would find it hard to expand our group to St Mary's area and Blacktown area's, yet will support local lobby groups in these areas, if and when they commence.
What was amazing was a lady who I met at Parramatta, who travelled from Dean Park - 2 buses and onetrain to work at Ryde (each way) - and connects on the 754 bus service which is now a half an hour service. She knows that her life is a little more difficult and understands our lobby group. She was keen to learn more of WSTUG.
A lot of locals have offered their 'thank yous' and support for something that is close to their hearts. It is I thank thank them to give me the opportunity to assist them in restoring proper bus services.
Most of them will accept the flyer's that I provide to each one of them with calling it a book mark and advising this is a free meeting regarding buses and trains in Western Sydney. Although our group is based within the boundaries of Mount Druitt, we would find it hard to expand our group to St Mary's area and Blacktown area's, yet will support local lobby groups in these areas, if and when they commence.
What was amazing was a lady who I met at Parramatta, who travelled from Dean Park - 2 buses and onetrain to work at Ryde (each way) - and connects on the 754 bus service which is now a half an hour service. She knows that her life is a little more difficult and understands our lobby group. She was keen to learn more of WSTUG.
A lot of locals have offered their 'thank yous' and support for something that is close to their hearts. It is I thank thank them to give me the opportunity to assist them in restoring proper bus services.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
More People Waiting And Waiting For Bus Services
A young nice man I spoke to on the 780 bus stop was going to wait 40 minutes for the next Westbus 780 bus service at 6.52pm - he used to get Busways 755 but this doesn't run on this time of a Sunday night anymore and this young man was going to Whalan, Luxford Road.
I managed to get Busways 758 at 6.32pm but felt for the young man who waited more than 30 minutes. What can we ask of the new the NSW Transport Minister, Mr John Robertson other than to restore weekend services so that the peoples lives in the west are catered for. Surely more efficient services can create the community to change heart and maybe leave their cars at home and take public transport to all of Sydney's destinations. So help this young nice man to not wait long for bus services create an atmosphere of trust with the NSW Government, a feeling of belief on a much needed upgrade of vital bus services for the betterment of our community!
I managed to get Busways 758 at 6.32pm but felt for the young man who waited more than 30 minutes. What can we ask of the new the NSW Transport Minister, Mr John Robertson other than to restore weekend services so that the peoples lives in the west are catered for. Surely more efficient services can create the community to change heart and maybe leave their cars at home and take public transport to all of Sydney's destinations. So help this young nice man to not wait long for bus services create an atmosphere of trust with the NSW Government, a feeling of belief on a much needed upgrade of vital bus services for the betterment of our community!
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