Month: October 2019

Bus trips across Sydney are soon to get a lot quieter, as the State Government moves ahead with plans that will see over 8000 ageing diesel and CNG powered buses replaced by new fully electric buses. Transport Minister Andrew Constance is enthusiastically pushing electric buses after a recent “study tour/junket” to Europe.

“Making the switch to an entirely electric bus fleet will deliver huge benefits to the community in terms of reducing air and noise pollution, as well as our incredible drivers,” Mr Constance said.

“As part of this process, we will challenge the industry to begin an ambitious transformation of our bus fleet from particulate emitting diesel to zero-emission buses.

“The experience of other leading European cities demonstrates that a rapid transition to zero-emission buses is possible and I have asked Transport for NSW to work with operators and bus suppliers to develop a plan to transition our fleet as part of the tender process.

“Zero-emission buses are becoming the standard with the significant environmental, health and operational cost benefits being experienced now in cities like London, Paris and Amsterdam.  As a truly global city Sydney deserves the same.”

Currently five electric buses are operating from Transit Systems Leichhardt Depot, with a further ten expected to be delivered to State Transit’s Randwick Depot next year. However deliveries will need to speed up if they want to replace all 8000 Sydney buses anytime soon.

The State Government has announced that 13 of the 14 bus contract regions will be put out to tender next year for a takeover date of 1 July 2021. All regions except for Region 6, which is the Inner West region privatised last year, will be out out to a competitive tender.

Controversially, this will include the three State Transit operated regions. The privatisation of these regions will mean an end to government operated bus services in Sydney after nearly 89 years.

Continue reading “Sydney Bus Regions to be Put Out to Contract”

The exact station locations for Sydney Metro West have been revealed by the State Government. The locations of seven proposed Metro stations have been confirmed at Westmead, Parramatta, Sydney Olympic Park, North Strathfield, Burwood North, Five Dock and the Bays Precinct.

Further, the feasibility of building a Metro station in Pyrmont its being investigated, while also assessing a potential station at Rydalmere. Further work is also underway to determine the location of the new Metro station in the Sydney CBD.

These stations are typically well located, however there could be better connectivity at Parramatta and Westmead. The areas surrounding Burwood North and Bays Precinct are rip for redevelopment and gentrification allowing for the metro line to kick start these areas. Five Dock and North Strathfield will both allow for connections into the existing transport network.

With the announcements of the new station locations, there has been some controversy. Around 120 properties will need to be acquired to build the new line, including the Sydney Speedway in Granville. There has already been protests surrounding some of these acquisitions. The line has been further delayed to a 2030 completion and is already looking to break its $20 billion budget. Further, their is criticism of the fact that the line has so few stations, with large 13km and 7km gaps between some stations. It has been suggested by the media and transport analysts that there should be more stations along the line.

Here at Transport NSW Blog, we tend to agree with the criticism that there aren’t enough stations along the line. Metro lines should theoretically have close station spacing and even if station spacing is further apart than a traditional metro, the 13km gap between Parramatta and Olympic Park or the 7km gap between Five Dock and Bays Precinct. Stations at Camellia, Leichhardt North and Pyrmont should be built in order to provide full connectivity and the best outcome for all commuters. This would inevitably lead to a small increase in travel times, but with high service frequencies this would be inconsequential.

It is also concerning that only one CBD station is currently proposed. To get the best possible outcome, there really needs to be more than one CBD station. It is the opinion of Transport NSW Blog that a station under Hunter Street (named and connected to Martin Place), as well as a station under College Street at Hyde Park South, with an entrance at the corner of College, Liverpool and Oxford (named Memorial, after the Hyde Park War Memorial) would be the best outcome. The line should then follow the ridgeline southeast.