Eastern Suburbs bus cuts cause commuter chaos

A raft of changes to bus services across the Eastern Suburbs has angered commuters and left many without clear paths home after a long day at work.

Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs now has a worse public transport system “than we did 10 years ago” according to a local MP, after a swath of changes to bus routes plunged hundreds of passengers into commuter chaos on Monday.

The long-proposed raft of changes to southeast Sydney bus routes came into effect on Sunday, with 24 routes cut, 24 modified, and nine new routes introduced.

It wasn’t until Monday – the first working day of the changes – that their impact was felt, according to critic of the move, Coogee MP Dr Marjorie O’Neill.

Coogee MP Marjorie O'Neill has slammed changes and cuts to bus routes in the Eastern Suburbs. Image: AAP/Monique Harmer

“We have been inundated with messages from people contacting us saying they couldn’t get to work, or they were late, or couldn’t get to hospital,” she said.

“We’ve been saying this was going to happen, that it was going to be harder for people to get to work, and that’s exactly what has happened.”

She added “we knew these bus cuts were going to be devastating for our community”.

“Today we now have a worse public transport system in the Eastern Suburbs than we did 10 years ago,” she said.

Coogee mother Jenni Dean, who usually catches services from her home to her office in Martin Place, said she was “seething” after struggling to find a return bus on Monday afternoon.

“I’m still seething … it’s such a basic need to go to the office and come home when you want,” she said after walking for roughly a kilometre to find a bus to get home on Monday afternoon.

Sydney bus drivers stand at the picket line as as part of an ongoing workers rights dispute. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

“I was sitting in the office saying ‘I literally don’t know how to get home’.”

While the popular 373 that previously ran from Coogee to Circular Quay was saved, it now terminates at Museum – a hindrance for passengers trying to get to Sydney Eye Hospital, Dr O’Neill said.

A Transport for NSW spokesman said the “new and improved bus services provide much-needed capacity for customers and support existing and emerging travel patterns”.

“Changes have been made to bus services following consultation undertaken on the proposal in mid-2021, delivering more integrated, frequent, and reliable transport services for customers in Sydney’s South East and CBD,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor the performance of the network over the coming months.”

It comes after bus drivers in the Inner West walked off the job on Monday over a pay dispute, with rail workers and teachers also set to strike on Tuesday.