The Premier, Kristina Keneally, the Transport Minister, John Robertson, and Labor's member for Mount Druitt, Richard Amery, yesterday announced another three Metrobus services for Sydney's west.
They will take the total routes in Sydney to 16 - a rapid increase since their first trial in October 2008. Metrobuses are larger than regular State Transit buses, are scheduled to run every 10 minutes in peak hour, and operate without a timetable.
Planners say the services are useful but add to a complex bus system. A public transport consultant, Jarrett Walker, said it was welcome that the government was putting on more frequent services, including, for the first time, routes that flowed across the CBD without terminating there.
But he said the government should start redesigning other bus routes so they connected with Metrobus and rail lines.
''Sydney has one of the most complicated bus networks in the developed world, and right now Metrobus is adding to that complexity. The next step has to be in the other direction.''
Oxford Street to Bondi Junction, where there are four standard bus lines and one Metrobus route, was one example where the two could be better integrated.
''Eventually, the routes on Oxford Street will need to be reorganised so that most of the service is a simple Metrobus line running every couple of minutes - so frequently that it's not much of a hassle to transfer to it,'' Mr Walker said.
But that would require a fare structure that did not make commuters pay more to change buses. The government has not detailed the fare structure for its smart-card system, scheduled to start next year.
The opposition transport spokeswoman, Gladys Berejiklian, said she supported the Metrobuses but the government was making transport announcements for electoral gain, rather than as part of an overall strategy. ''To make the Metrobus concept work you need to look at how it links with existing services and that means other bus services, but also rail, ferry and transport interchanges,'' she said. The routes announced yesterday were: No. 65, from Rouse Hill to Parramatta; 71, from Mount Druitt to Castle Hill; and 80, from Liverpool to Parramatta.