Dear Mr O'Farrell,
Yesterday morning on 2UE a caller rang complaining about buses in the Penrith - Richmond area. Shortly after this call John Stanley said that you had heard the caller and were going to pass the caller's complaint on to Gladys Berejiklian. We, the residents of north St Marys, are asking for your help too.
I live in the north St Marys area and this area used to be serviced by route 782 between St Marys and Penrith stations. When the current timetable began (11.10.09) the bus service through our area was stopped and the 782 now terminates at Werrington station 25 times a day. Route 745 (St Marys to Casle Hill) was diverted to service a part of this area, but residents who are able to use the 745 will tell you that they don't want the 745. Everyone wants the 782 back, even with a reduced number of buses.
Apparently it was claimed that the north St Marys leg of the 782 route was not profitable enough so the decision was made to cancel buses through our area. What kind of saving would the then Government have expected to make when at the same time as cancelling the north St Marys leg of the 782 a 10 minute service (102 buses daily Monday to Friday) is introduced between St Marys and Penrith stations on the south side of the railway line. Three routes are providing this number of buses, 774, 775 and 776, all doing an identical route. Other services here provide either a half-hourly or hourly service through the day Monday to Friday. It's easy enough to see that this excessive number of departures is created as the result of a very badly planned timetable. Look at the Sunday timetable. Other routes have an hourly service but there is a 20 minute service from St Marys to Penrith provided by these three routes. This has to be corrected now.
What's so special about this route? It does pass the Nepean hospital, but a 10 minute service is not needed for anyone wishing to go there. There has never been a 10 minute service previously. It does pass the university but students there are screaming out for more car parking spaces and there is a free shuttle bus between Kingswood station and the university, so it is not needed for the university. Kingswood station is also a lot closer to the university than St Marys station. It does pass the TAFE and there again the number of students using the service is extremely poor. A 10 MNUTE SERVICE IS JUST NOT NEEDED AND IS A WASTE OF MONEY SUBSIDISING THIS NUMBER OF BUSES.
It just doesn't make sense to cancel buses in one area and over-service in another area. Any savings made by cancelling the 782 through north St Marys was wiped out by the introduction of the 10 minute service provided by 774, 775 and 776. The subsidy for the 774, 775 and 776 is, I'm sure, a lot more than the subsidy for a service through North St Marys be.
Residents from here have been in touch with Bart Bassett. We met him on 19 May and as yet we have had no word. I've written to Gladys Berejilkian on behalf of the residents and her last response said "We will consider your comments during the next timetable review." That's what David Campbell used to tell me. He would say "The matters raised by you are presently receiving attention" or "Your comments have been referred for consideration in future reviews of services in Region 1."
There are two ways this number of buses can be reduced and I've passed them on to Gladys Berijiklian. Reduce this number of buses now, don't wait for the 'next timetablereview'. The subsidy paid to Westbus to keep this number of buses running is robbing other areas of their right to a bus service. I've lived here since 1985 and one of the reasons for buying here, apart from affordability, was that there was a bus service. I don' t drive. Others who have lived here longer than me have known a bus service for longer. It doesn't make sense to take away a service at a time when residents are more likely to need it compared to 26 plus years ago.
We are not asking for the return of the 22 buses a day we used to have - we are asking for the return of some kind of service. What should have been done was to reduce the number of buses not cancel them altogether.
The red metro buses don't run every 10 minutes through the day. They run every 15 or 20 minutes. Even if a red metro bus runs every 15 minutes over a 16 hour period (6.30 am to 10.30 pm) that would be 64 buses a day which is a lot less than the 102 buses a day between St Marys and Penrith which is a lot less populated than where the red buses run. The number of red buses a day I've suggested would be close to the actual number of red metro buses a day even taking into account that they run more frequently in peak hours and less frequently after 8.30 pm if they do happen to run after 8.30 pm. Yet here in St Marys/Penrith there is a 10 minute service (102 buses) all through the day. IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE.
I know that walking is good for you, but there is a difference between walking for pleasure, which I like to do, and walking when you shouldn't have to because there is no bus. Many residents here are pensioners and taxi rides are not the answer.
I've also spoken to Tanya Davies and Stuart Ayres about the ridiculous number of buses between their electorates. We've pursued other avenues and now we're asking for your help.
Thanking you.
Yours sincerely,
The reply I had from Gladys Berejiklian was, I would say, a standard reply as it didn't refer to anything I had mentioned.
Regards
Patricia
