OVERCROWDED BUSES * Australia - Over the Hills on
..."Since first year it has been getting slower and slower" ...
Sydney,Australia -The Sydney Mornig Herald, by Linton Besser -30 June 2008: -- In February 2005, Vijay Bhatia climbed aboard the Hillsbus 610X from Castle Hill to the city for his first day at university. Since then, the 21-year-old nanotechnology student has taken the bright yellow bus to Central more than 1000 times... "It was pretty good back then," he said. "But since first year it has been getting slower and slower.".. The veteran commuter has watched demand for the service explode - and the peak-hour travel time double in length... Since 2001 the population in the north-west has ballooned, thanks to a series of land releases that offer Sydney perhaps its final glimpse of the big backyard that was once the suburban staple. More than 19,000 new residents flocked to the Baulkham Hills local government area in the five years to 2006... With more than 157,000 residents, it has swollen by 14 per cent - more than triple the rate of growth across the rest of the city... It is one of the few major housing catchments in Sydney without a rail link. With the region booming, buses have had to carry out the long-haul transport task normally required of an express train. But, while a CityRail line can carry up to 20,000 people an hour, to carry the same number by bus would require 250 buses anhour... In September 2005, patronage in the morning peak was about 170,000 a month. That figure has now topped 300,000, with growth between 15 and 30 per cent occurring over the past two years... In the past two years the State Government has bought 60 additional buses for the company under a standard bus operating contract that was implemented in Sydney several years ago - and most have been put on the M2 service into the city... (Photo by Brendan Esposito/ - Hard trip . . . waiting for a bus in Castle Hill. North-western Sydney's population has grown rapidly, but there is no rail line) Labels: overcrowded buses
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