Sydney Metro northwest: Plea for Kellyville, Rouse Hill on-demand buses
Commuters are calling on the NSW Government to install on-demand bus services to homes in northwest Sydney after Transport for NSW didn’t include the new mode of transport to access soon-to-be-opened Sydney Metro northwest stations.
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Kellyville residents are calling on the NSW Government to install on-demand bus services to homes at Kellyville, Beaumont Hills and Rouse Hill after Transport for NSW did not include the new mode of transport to access soon-to-be-opened Sydney Metro northwest stations.
In March, the NSW Government announced on-demand bus services would be provided to customers in Norwest, Bella Vista and parts of Baulkham Hills and Castle Hill, with HillsBus operating On Demand services to Norwest, Bella Vista and Hills Showground Metro Station.
Kellyville resident Ming Lau said the government promised bus services for commuters to access the station and leave the car at home — “but left thousands of residents north of Bella Vista off the service”.
“Castle Hill MP Ray Williams mentioned a number of times that buses would be provided for commuters across the entire network,” Mr Lau told the Times.
“There were promises from the State Government and CDC HillsBus of rerouting current services and introducing services to communities that did not currently have them.
“But the missing link in the chain is the lack of services being provided to Kellyville and Rouse Hill.”
While Foxall Rd resident Jon Moran also argued the North Kellyville masterplan “identified the need for buses to service new residents to maximise opportunities to reduce car dependency”.
“For us it is more viable to avoid the Sydney Metro altogether, drive to Sanctuary Drive and catch a single bus to the city because it only takes an hour,” he said.
“So if these on-demand bus services are not made available, the Metro won’t improve anything for people in North Kellyville.
“The NSW Government have a missing link that needs to be filled.”
Mercedes Durante said the number of people moving to the area should have meant Kellyville was made a priority for the services to be rolled out.
“We would love to leave our cars at home and take a bus service,” she said.
Castle Hill state Liberal MP Ray Williams told the Times he was addressing the issue — raising it with Transport Minister Andrew Constance.
“I have contacted the Transport Minister to determine how we can make provisions for these services to be implemented,” he said.
“My focus and priorities are linking our suburbs to the new rail line. I have always called for our bus services to get into the suburbs and get those people either to the Metro or an express bus service to the city.”
Mr Williams said the other transport modes, including on-demand bus services were required due to the restricted amount of parking at Metro stations.
“Buses in the suburbs would spread the pain of parking from Metro stations into the suburbs so they are evenly distributed,” he said.
“This has already been incredibly successful without express bus services to the city.
“We have never had the best transport options in our area but the buses are incredible and I use those services on a weekly basis — I want to get people to catch buses in the suburbs to our stations to get cars off our roads and out of stations.”
Mr Williams said he is working to implement interconnected bus services from suburban streets to stations “as soon as possible”.
IN OTHER NEWS
BUS ROUTE CHANGES FROM MAY 26
Route 604 Castle Hill to Parramatta
Route 604 is adjusted to run via Hills Showground Station
Route no longer serves Carrington Road between Middleton Avenue and Showground Road
Weekday morning and afternoon peak service frequency will be increased to every 15 minutes between Baulkham Hills and Castle Hill Stations
Later weeknight services will be provided
215 additional weekly services
Route 605 Kellyville to Rouse Hill
Weekday service frequency will be increased to every 30 minutes
Later weeknight services will be introduced
200 additional weekly services
Route 617 Rouse Hill to Kellyville Station
New route 617 connects Rouse Hill and Beaumont Hills to Kellyville Station via Mile End Road, Milford Drive, Withers Road, The Parkway, Brampton Drive and Samantha Riley Drive
617 runs every 30 minutes in off peak times when route 617X to the city does not run
200 new weekly services
Route 619 Rouse Hill to Macquarie Park
Route 619 will be adjusted to run via Hills Showground station
Route will no longer serve Carrington Road between Doran Drive and Showground Road
Route 626 Dural to Pennant Hills
Route 626 will be adjusted to run between Pennant Hills Station and Kellyville Station via Cherrybrook, Castle Hill and Hills Showground stations
Route 626 will have increased weekday off peak service frequency, with later services at night
New weekend services will be introduced
Route 626 will replace existing route T71 services between Castle Hill and Kellyville
251 additional weekly services
Route 633 Castle Hill to Pennant Hills
Route 633 will be adjusted to serve Cherrybrook station
Route 633 no longer serves Coonara Ave and Highs Rd in West Pennant Hills.
Alternative service in Coonara Avenue provided by route 635 and in Highs Road provided by route 651
There will be no change to the service frequency or span of service
Route 635 Castle Hill to Beecroft
Route 635 adjusted to serve Coonara Avenue, Cherrybrook station and Anglicare Village
Route 635 no longer serves Highs Road, route 651 will provide alternative services
Weekday morning and afternoon peak service frequencies increased to every 15 minutes from Beecroft to Cherrybrook Station during the morning peak and from Cherrybrook Station to Beecroft Station during the afternoon peak
155 additional weekly services
Route 643 Samantha Riley Drive to Kellyville Station
Route 643 will be a new weekday peak hour route connecting Samantha Riley Drive to Kellyville Station during the morning peak and from Kellyville Station to Samantha Riley Drive during the afternoon peak
70 new weekly services
Route 661 (Route 671) Riverstone to Windsor
Route 661 will be renumbered to 671
There will be no change to service frequency or route
Route 662 (Route 741) Oakville to Riverstone
Route 662 will be renumbered to 741
There will be no change to service frequency or route
Route 663 (Route 672) Wisemans Ferry to Windsor
Route 663 will be renumbered to 672
There will be no change to service frequency or route
Route 664 (Route 679) Maraylya to Windsor
Route 664 will be renumbered to 679
There will be no change to service frequency or route
Route 714 Bella Vista to Seven Hills
Route 714 will be extended from Reston Grange to Norwest Station
There will be no change to service frequency or span of service
Route 740 Macquarie Park to Plumpton
Route 740 will be withdrawn
Alternative services between Plumpton and Glenwood provided by route 745
If you are travelling to Macquarie University or Macquarie Park you can transfer from route 745 to Sydney Metro services at Bella Vista metro station
If you are travelling to/from Glenwood you can access route 730 (previously route T70) to Norwest Station and transfer to Sydney Metro services to access Macquarie Park or Macquarie University
Route 742 Riverstone to Rouse Hill
Route 742 will be changed to run via Tallawong Station and Clarke Street, Riverstone, and extended from Riverstone Station to Marsden Park via Carnarvon Road, replacing route 757 trips in this area
Route 742 will provide access to Sydney Metro services at Tallawong and Rouse Hill metro stations and serve new residential development in the Riverstone and Rouse Hill areas
Alternative services on Boundary Road, McCulloch Street and Piccadilly Street are available on route 747
Route 742 will see increased services on weekdays and Saturdays
128 additional weekly trips
Route 745 St Marys to Castle Hill
Route 745 will be changed to run via Bella Vista metro station and terminate at Norwest Private Hospital instead of Castle Hill
Alternative service between Glenwood and Castle Hill is available on route 730 (previously route T70) or by interchanging from route 745 to Sydney Metro services at Bella Vista metro station
Weekday morning and afternoon service frequency will be increased to every 15-20 minutes
Saturday service frequency will be increased to hourly
129 additional weekly trips
Route 746 Rouse Hill Town Centre to Riverstone
Route 746 weekday morning and afternoon peak service frequency will be increased to every 30 minutes between Box Hill (Terry Road) and Rouse Hill Station
35 additional weekly trips
Route 747 Marsden Park to Rouse Hill
Route 747 will be changed to run via Tallawong metro station
No changes to existing service frequency
Route no longer serves Schofields Road between Tallawong Road and Cudgegong Road
Route 749 Marsden Park to Blacktown
Route 749 will no longer operate
Alternative services available on routes 750 and 751 on Richmond Road
Route 751 Rouse Hill Town Centre to Blacktown
Route 751 will be changed to run via Tallawong metro station
Service frequency will be increased across the week, with weekday morning and afternoon peak service frequency between Schofields Station and Rouse Hill to every 15 minutes, and every 30 minutes during off peak times and on weekends. Bus services will be timed to connect to most T1 Western Line trains at Schofields for travel to and from Richmond.
Route 751 will no longer serve Schofields Road between Tallawong Road and Cudgegong Road. You can walk to the next or previous stop along Schofields Road or walk into the Tallawong Station stops in Themeda Avenue, all options around 500m walk from the closed stop
342 additional weekly trips
Route 757 Riverstone to Mount Druitt
Route 757 will be changed to run via a consistent route between Marsden Park and Riverstone at all times. All trips will now run via Richmond Road and Garfield Road West, providing a standard route seven days a week.
Existing route 757 services running via Carnarvon Road will be provided by route 742.
Services will run later on weeknights and on Saturdays, with Sunday services running to and from Riverstone for the first time.
11 additional weekly trips
Route M60 (Route 600) Hornsby to Parramatta
Route M60 will be renumbered to 600
There will be no change to the service frequency or route
Route M61 (Route 610X) Castle Hill to City QVB
Route M61 will be renumbered to 610X
There will be no change to the service frequency or route
Route T60 Castle Hill to Parramatta
Route T60 will be changed to run via Norwest metro station via Barina Downs Road and Norwest Boulevard
There will be no change to the service frequency
Route T70 (Route 730) Castle Hill to Blacktown
Route T70 will be renumbered to 730
Route will be changed to run via Hills Showground station
Route no longer serves Carrington Road between Doran Drive and Showground Road. You can access this route from the stops in Showground Road at Carrington Road
Most evening services will run to and from Castle Hill
There will be no change to the service frequency
Route T71 (Route 731) Castle Hill to Blacktown
Route T71 will be renumbered to 731
Route will change to run between Blacktown and Rouse Hill only. Service replaced by Sydney Metro services and route 626 between Kellyville Station and Castle Hill
Windsor Road between Samantha Riley Drive and Old Windsor Road will no longer be served. Please use route 626 services at Samantha Riley Road at Windsor Road (around 800 metre walk) to access alternative bus routes
There will be no changes to service frequency or the route between Blacktown and Rouse Hill
Route T72 (Route 732) Rouse Hill to Blacktown
Route T72 will be renumbered to 732
Route will be changed to serve Tallawong Station
Increased weekday morning and afternoon peak service frequency between Quakers Hill and Rouse Hill Stations, with buses running every 15 minutes
Route no longer serves Schofields Road between Tallawong Road and Cudgegong Road.
121 additional weekly services
Route T74 (Route 734) Riverstone to Blacktown
Route T74 will be renumbered to 734
There will be no changes to service frequency or route
Route T75 (Route 735) Rouse Hill to Blacktown
Route T75 will be renumbered to 735
There will be no changes to service frequency or route
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