Archive

Transport Planning

Submission to Sydney Metro – Sydenham to Bankstown – Mod 1 – Bankstown Station

By
2020/06/04
Submission, Thoughts

Regarding the Revised station design for Bankstown Station. Includes the provision of a new north-south connection across the rail corridor between Appian Way and Restwell Street.

Reordered Submission June 2020. Dear Sir/Madam,

I am a Transport Analyst and Planner. I was asked to address the NSW Legislative Council to Transport & Customer Service Committee Inquiry regarding the Sydenham to Bankstown Metro Conversion. I have worked extensively on projects with Sydney Trains including on the Responsive Passenger Information System designed for customer congestion management at Town Hall and other important interchange stations.

I will be brief, as I only saw this proposed change on the day submissions closed.

Firstly, the proposed bike parking area is too small. The northern commuter car park only has space for 50 cars, a tiny fraction of possible demand. Central Bankstown is too be redeveloped as Transit-Oriented Developments. Therefore, 40 car spaces should be retained for disabled passengers, and the space on the west of the driveway should be converted to secure covered bike parking. This would significantly increase the station’s passenger catchment.

Secondly, to 1) reduce crowding, congestion, and delays, 2) improve fire and life safety, and 3) increase patronage; I would recommend the instillation of exits on the eastern end of the metro station. These eastern exits would allow quick exit in the event of an emergency. These eastern exits would spread passengers more evenly on the trains. These eastern exits would attract passengers from further afield and connect all passengers quickly to more locations. These eastern exits might allow some bus stops to be relocated to improve network efficiency.

Diagram of proposal
Read More

Public transport union wants face masks mandated but experts remain divided

By
2020/05/23
Covid-19

Public transport experts are calling for the wearing of cloth masks to be mandated on trains, buses and trams as COVID-19 restrictions ease and Australians return to work, but medical experts remain divided on whether they are necessary.

The transport union’s call is in line with a growing push from medical professionals around the world for mandatory face masks, including in Australia where the “Masks for All” campaign protests against the official advice they are not needed.

Associate Professor David Allen, an occupational physician involved in the campaign, said multiple studies around the world showed cloth masks reduced the risk of spreading SARS-CoV-2 through droplets, including by people without symptoms.

“A large proportion of the spread is from people who don’t know they have the virus … It’s a low-cost, simple intervention and, in those countries that do have it, the risk of transmission is measurably lower.”

Australia’s chief nurse, Alison McMillan, said on Friday the advice of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee’s (AHPPC) infection control group remained that “there is no evidence for the need of general use of masks in the community”.

McCauley, Jacks (2020-05-22)
Read More

An hour to get from Newtown to CBD: warnings over impending gridlock

By
2020/05/20
Covid-19

‘Almost 300,000 city workers would need to find a new way to get to work under new physical distancing measures for public transport announced on Monday, which only allow for 12 people on buses and 32 on train carriages.’

Rabe (2020-05-20)

My Quotes

And while Qantas confirmed on Tuesday that it would offer optional face masks to its passengers, Transport for NSW said current health advice still didn’t indicate masks were needed on public transport.

University of Technology Sydney transport expert Mathew Hounsell said one way the government increase density on the network, which is currently at around 20 per cent capacity, was through face masks.

“They are going [for] very strong on the distancing on public transport, there should be some discussion over time whether we can use some infection control measures on public transport to increase capacity,” he said.

Rabe (2020-05-20)
Read More

‘Huge statement’: cycling group wants Harbour Bridge lane for commute

By
2020/05/19
Covid-19

It’s great to see the well-connected lobby groups also calling for improved active transport.

The [Committee for Sydney] is also advocating for the fast-tracking of the state’s planned Greater Sydney cycle network to be completed in three years as a post-COVID-19 economic stimulus initiative.

The Harbour Bridge proposal, by cycling group Bike North, would see the far-western traffic lane of the bridge reserved for south-bound bike users and the existing cycleway restricted for riders heading north to allow space for social distancing in transit.

Thompson (2020-05-19)
Read More

Sydney bus drivers told not to enforce strict new COVID-19 measures

By
2020/05/19
Covid-19

Sydney’s bus drivers are being told to accept all passengers, even if they’re at capacity, in spite of the Berejiklian government’s new social distancing measures on public transport.

Rabe, Smith (2020-05-19)

My Quotes

University of Technology transport expert Mathew Hounsell said the government was likely designing its new “cautious” transport strategy to be deliberately prohibitive to force anyone that didn’t have to travel to stay at home.

“I think that might be part of their strategy, and it’s reasonable, sometimes restricting supply for an [oversubscribed] good is a way of getting [people] to do things differently,” Mr Hounsell said.

“You’ll either need five times the buses, or you can only move a fifth of the people. It’s simple math.”

Rabe, Smith (2020-05-19)

I would say the strategy would encourage, induce, or motivate people to change their travel patterns. For example, restricted transport supply would encouraging people to shop locally.

Read More

‘Carmageddon’: Thousands of Sydneysiders to be pushed off public transport

By
2020/05/16
Covid-19

‘Hundreds of thousands of Sydneysiders will have to change their commuting habits over the coming weeks as the state government looks to impose strict controls on the public transport network that may result in traffic havoc on the roads.’

Rabe (2020-05-16)

My Quotes

Transport experts have warned Sydney’s road network is unlikely to cope if everyone swaps their bus or train commute for a car.

“We are looking at basically ‘carmageddon’, where all the roads are full with the people that were on buses and trains [but are now] in cars,” University of Technology transport expert Mathew Hounsell said.

“You’re going to have the underlying problem that the road system cannot support all of the people that will need to come off public transport.”

He said as well as temporary bike lanes and a shake-up to some bus services, the best way the government could maintain some order on the roads would be to keep people working at home or commuting outside of peak hours.

“There will be roughly 800,000 people now needing to travel without using public transport, they can’t all go onto the roads,” Mr Hounsell said.

“We need to make some choices between what people are used to versus what will keep people safe in the long term.”

Rabe (2020-05-16)
Read More

Limits on train commuters, more CBD parking and bike lanes as Sydney returns to work

By
2020/05/15
Covid-19

‘The state government may be forced to open up more city parking and build temporary bike lanes as commuters avoid public transport when offices in the heart of Sydney start to reopen.

Transport experts predict the easing of pandemic restrictions will cause a surge in traffic in the coming weeks as people avoid trains, buses and ferries. The pressure on Sydney’s roads will also be hit by tough social distancing rules imposed at train stations and on buses for those who do choose to take public transport.’

Rabe (2020-05-15)
Read More

The 51 million times Sydneysiders didn’t tap on in March

By
2020/04/08
Covid-19

Sydney’s public transport patronage has fallen by about three-quarters amid the coronavirus pandemic, with the fewest number of people using the network in almost a century.

About 51 million fewer trips were taken on Sydney’s rail, bus and ferry network last month compared to March 2019, as cities across Australia shut down and unemployment rose.

The last time so few people were travelling on the city’s rail network was the 1920s, said University of Technology Sydney transport expert Mathew Hounsell.

“Transport is a derived need. Road and rail usage drop dramatically during recessions,” he said.

Rabe, Singal (2020-04-08)
Read More

Sydney commute times balloon by up to 60 per cent

By
2020/03/16
Transport Planning

People living in 70 per cent of Sydney suburbs have experienced a blowout in commute times over the past five years despite billions of dollars being spent on roads and transport.

A belt of suburbs extending from the city’s west to its south and pockets in the northern suburbs experienced the biggest spike in commute times.

The average trip to work took 22 minutes longer in Rouse Hill, the area with the biggest blowout, last financial year compared to 2013-14, bringing the average journey to an hour and representing a jump of 60 per cent, Transport for NSW’s latest household travel survey has found.

Mathew Hounsell, a researcher at the University of Technology’s Institute for Sustainable Futures, said commute times could be rising because growing population density in many areas is putting additional pressure on road and transport networks.

Singal, Rabe (2020-03-16)
Read More