Government considers ‘solutions’ to eastern suburbs bus overhaul amid community outrage

The NSW government has been swamped with thousands of responses to its proposed cuts to bus routes in Sydney’s eastern suburbs and indicated some changes could be made to the original plan as community opposition grows.

More than 6200 submissions have been made to the government over its planned overhaul of eastern suburbs public transport, which includes cutting more than 20 bus routes, modifying another 23 and adding 11.

Local residents attend a rally in Randwick to oppose plans by the state government to cut bus routes.Credit: James Alcock

The government on Friday will extend the public consultation period for the changes to June 30 as it is inundated with responses. Two separate petitions to save the routes have grown to 11,000 and 7000 respectively.

NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance said the changes, announced last month, were not yet finalised, and the government was already considering amending the original plan, including how it impacted access to both Taylor Square and St Vincent’s Hospital.

“That’s the type of thing which we tease out and see if there is a solution there. This is a legitimate process for people to come forward with their concerns,” he said.

“The key point is that nothing in these proposed changes is concrete.”

A Transport for NSW spokesman said the government was reviewing whether the changes would adversely affect eastern suburbs commuters before finalising the plan.

“Where we hear from residents about a proposed route change that will make it harder for them to catch the same bus for example, we are taking that on board and considering that information before finalising the proposed plan,” the spokesman said.

The overhaul will funnel more people onto the new CBD light rail and involve more interchanges for people living in the south-east.

Member for Coogee Marjorie O’Neill said her community was outraged and the government should establish an independent inquiry into the proposed changes, as well as the slated privatisation of the service in 2022.

“I have lived in the eastern suburbs my entire life and have never seen or felt my community as angry as they are right now over these proposed cuts,” she said.

Hundreds of locals gathered in Randwick on Sunday to protest, including Ms O’Neill and Labor leadership aspirant Michael Daley.

The Transport for NSW spokesman said that, for every route being cancelled, the government planned to offer an alternative.

“We know from listening to our customers that there is a lot of misleading information out there,” he said.

The spokesman said continued off-peak services to Taylor Square had emerged as a “very important” aspect of any changes to the eastern suburbs public transport system.

“They have let us know off-peak services to Taylor Square are very important and that it is vital we ensure bus routes can help our customers, particularly the elderly and vulnerable, make their way between suburbs in the south-east and into the CBD,” he said.

As the government cuts bus services across the east, it will divert more towards the Green Square region, where patronage grew by 50 per cent between 2016 and 2019.

Mr Constance in May said the changes would mean capacity for the region would be boosted by 40 per cent for commuters heading to the city during peak hour.

Full details over the proposed changes can be found here.

Bus services cut

300, 301, 302, 309X, 310X, 314, 316, 317, 338, 353, 357, 372, 373, 376, 377, 391, 393, 394, 395, 400, 400N, L94, X40, X93, X99 

Bus services modified

303, 304, 307, 309, 313, 320, 339, 339X, 343, 347, 355, 362, 370, 373X, 374, 374X, 377X, 392, 397, 399, 418, 420, 420N

New Bus Routes

306, 310, 350, 350N, 356, 358, 373N, 375, 390X, 392N, 469

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