Darcy Byrne calls on the NSW government to ‘come clean’ about travel time data amid Inner West transport delays

By DANIEL LO SURDO

Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne has called for a school special bus service to be introduced following reports of “massive delays” and children arriving late for classes, with the continued closure of the light rail line causing further headaches for students and parents across the area.

He also accused the NSW government of failing to transparently disclose data concerning the delays in journey times, saying that they “must come clean about how long these marathon journeys are now taking”.

With schools across the inner west returning this week following the summer break, increased patronage on buses has left many students waiting for extended periods of time to arrive at school. Cr Byrne said that he had heard accounts of 90-minute travel commutes from Dulwich Hill to Glebe, which generally took about 15 minutes.

Light rail services between Central and Lilyfield are scheduled to return this month, with then Transport Minister Rob Stokes confirming in December that repairs to all 12 trams will be finished by October. Services were suspended in October last year after cracks were discovered on the Spanish-built trams, with Cr Byrne telling City Hub in December that “the new council will need to do everything possible to mitigate the impacts on the Inner West community”.

Deputy Mayor Jessica D’Arienzo has called for the process to be expedited to cater for the increased demand on the inner west transport network following the reopening of schools. Cr D’Arienzo said that “the end of 2022 is simply too long to wait”, warning that “school students, commuters and local businesses will all continue to pay the price until the whole Inner West line is back up and running”.

While speaking late last year, Transport for NSW Chief Operations Officer Howard Collins said that he was “95 per cent absolutely sure” that the light rail would resume in February, with four trams from the CBD line scheduled to operate every 15 minutes between Central and Lilyfield, adding that he expected the trams to be as quick and efficient as the original inner west trams.

When asked if they would support the introduction of school special buses in the Inner West, a Transport for NSW spokesperson told City Hub that they are “monitoring the public transport network and reviewing services based on patronage levels and customer feedback”, adding that school trips should be planned ahead of time, as it “may look different to previous years”, and that no student will be turned away from public transport, regardless of social distancing measures.

Ticking time bomb 

Complications this week come after the replacement buses introduced directly after the suspension of the light rail was called “horrible” and “unpredictable” by residents who previously used the light rail network.

The tram service was replaced by three different bus services running in the inner city, from Central to Lilyfield, or from Lilyfield to Dulwich Hill.  Transport for NSW said that “walking might be an alternative travel option”  for those travelling between Central and Darling Harbour.

The suspension also caused distress for local businesses, with Café Calibre, a Dulwich Hill café neighbouring Arlington light rail station, reporting a 30 to 40 per cent loss in turnover.