Comments closed‘Transport experts warn there could be a tough road ahead as Australians take to private transport in their return to work;
It’s led authorities to urge for staggered commutes, and plans to bolster car parking capacity in major CBDs.’
Coote (2020-05-18)
Tag: Sydney
‘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
Comments closedTransport 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)
‘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)
Continue readingLimits on train commuters, more CBD parking and bike lanes as Sydney returns to work
Comments closed Comments closedSydney’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)
Comments closedPeople 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)
Growth on the [NSW] public transport network has hurtled past long-term government predictions, with 93 million more trips taken on buses and trains last year [FY 2018-19] than what was forecast for 2031.
A report used by the NSW government as the “framework” for investing tens of billions in transport projects over the coming decades predicted rail growth would increase by 26% between 2011 and 2031.
However, the rail network reached and then exceeded that predicted figure by 2017, more than a decade early.
Rabe, Singhal (2020-02-19)
Several people have highlighted the government’s response.
Asked how it would respond to the patronage, the state’s transport agency said the department was “delighted” that demand was outpacing population growth.
Rabe, Singhal (2020-02-19)
This story in the SMH is based on research I conducted and brought to Mr Rabe’s attention, back in November 2019. It took awhile to get the all the planets aligned.
Most commuters travelling from stations west of Bankstown will be able to use direct services to get to Sydney’s CBD and avoid having to switch trains if a “preferred option” for a shake up of the rail network to accommodate a new metro rail line is adopted.
O’Sullivan (2020-02-09)
My Quotes
Comments closed“The preferred option is the best option for customers because it allows for faster trips to the city and connects the west with the inner west,” said Mathew Hounsell, a transport expert at the University of Technology’s Institute for Sustainable Futures.
But Mr Hounsell said the complexity involved in funnelling more trains through the western rail corridor between Lidcombe and Homebush risks a reduction in the reliability of services.
“It could lead to a less reliable network if investment is not undertaken,” he said.
“It is essential that the government builds the missing two tracks between Lidcombe and Homebush to keep our western rail network reliable. It has to be fixed and it has to be fixed soon.”
O’Sullivan (2020-02-09)
Buried deep below Sydney’s tallest buildings, giant caverns have been churned out of sandstone and other rock. On the streets above, tens of thousands of people go about their daily lives, oblivious to the work underground on this mega transport project.
Twin tunnels spanning more than 15 kilometres in each direction from Chatswood in the north to Sydenham in the south, link these underground cathedrals. They will become the train stations for the second stage of Sydney’s automated metro train network.
Yet the metro rail project is at risk of quickly becoming a political and financial headache for the Berejiklian government. A highly confidential budget review, completed more than 18 months ago, forecasts the government’s signature public transport project will cost up to $16.8 billion to complete by 2024 – more than $4 billion above what had been budgeted.
O’Sullivan (2020-02-08)
My Quotes
Comments closedMathew Hounsell, a transport expert at the University of Technology’s Institute for Sustainable Futures, says demand on Sydney’s transport system is already well ahead of long-term forecasts. “The transport system is essential to keeping the city pumping. Without it flowing properly, the transport network will end up clogged and inefficient,” he says.
“There is a significant risk that the government will delay the essential projects such as Metro West and the upgrade of the signalling on the heavy rail network in order to keep the budget looking good. But if we don’t invest in the transport system, the city will become less attractive and we will lose our global competitiveness. The transport system is the arteries of the city.” [emphasis added]
O’Sullivan (2020-02-08)
Trams in Sydney’s CBD will pick up their first passengers in over half a century today, as a project plagued by delays, legal disputes and a $1.3 billion budget blowout reaches fruition.
The light rail will carry tourists and commuters from Circular Quay to Randwick, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, but covers only a fraction of the ground of the old tram network, which was ripped out in the late 1950s.
Whitehead (2019-12-14)
I was interviewed for a piece broadcast on the AM program on ABC Radio National for the opening of the CBD South-East Light Rail. I’m quite glad Whitehead picked up on the importance of the urban layer and kept that comment in the piece.
“The trams provide that urban layer between railways and between walking.”
Mathew Hounsell
Comments closedPassenger crowding on trains travelling along Sydney’s western rail spine to the city during the morning peak has worsened significantly over the past year, underscoring the need for major investment in the ageing network.
Half of suburban lines have at least some trains unable to fit more passengers on during the busiest hour of the peak from 8am to 9am, figures from the state’s transport agency show.
Trains on the busiest line, the T1 Western, recorded average passenger loads of 150 per cent during the morning peak in March, up from 139 per cent a year earlier.
O’Sullivan, Gladstone (2019-10-25)