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There can be no doubts that operators, suppliers and state transit authorities are starting to recognise the shift in terms of what customers expect from transport providers in the community. There was no shortage of news and some big announcements made within the bus and coach industry in 2017. We are still at least half a decade away from having driverless vehicles sharing actual street space with traditional vehicles, but there are now autonomous trials already happening all around Australia. There were countess operator buyouts as the mum-and-dad-type operators relinquish their holdings to the major players in the market. The largest operators are increasingly showing interest in on-demand services and ways they can provide demand-responsive services to fill public transport gaps. The year started off with some big announcements to…
New South Wales will see an increase in bus services as part of the single largest transformation of public transport in Sydney, with an additional 8600 new weekly train, bus and ferry services announced. Of the 8600 new services, about 7000 will be for bus, with 1500 for train and 140 for ferry. “We have prioritised public transport investment with more than $1.5 billon going into the rail network and have purchased more trains, buses and ferries,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says. Places like the Northern Beaches will have a redesigned bus network with 3200 extra weekly services, including more than 2000 additional weekly services on the brand-new B-Line. Extra weekly bus services are also being introduced on routes in the Macarthur and Hills Districts, Inner West, Eastern Suburbs, Lower…
Millions of trips a week tell us policy needs to change regarding pets and public transport, write University of Sydney Business School Institute for Transport and Logistic Studies professor Corinne Mulley and School of Architecture, Design and Planning’s research fellow Jennifer Kent. Dog owners depend very heavily on their cars to transport and care for their pets. Our recently published study estimates that dog owners make about 2.4 million dog-related trips a week in Sydney. We also found pet owners overwhelmingly want to be able to travel on public transport with their pets. So why are they still excluded? Our study, involving more than 1250 Sydney dog owners, looked at popular activities owners do with their dogs and how often these require a trip by car. On average, we found…
Volgren has received a major export order for 29 Australian-built low-floor city buses from Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Transport. The order is Volgren’s single biggest deal since entering the Japanese market in 2014 with its articulated route bus. This latest partnership with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which operates about 1450 buses in the Greater Tokyo region, is one of four operator relationships that Volgren has established, including its ongoing association with Japan’s largest bus operator, the Nishitetsu Railway Company. Volgren chief executive Peter Dale says the entry of the Volgren low-floor city buses, to be built on a Scania N280UB E6 chassis, would be the first of its kind in Japan. “In a short space of time, Volgren have built a reputation in Japan for manufacturing high-quality, niche vehicles…
A public call has been made for input into a new coach service that will operate between the New South Wales towns of Bourke and Brewarrina, and Dubbo. Starting next year as a trial, new day return services between the centres will be included on the NSW TrainLink coach timetable. Residents from Bourke, Brewarrina and towns along the way will be able to travel safely and comfortably to Dubbo, spend up to four hours in town and return home later that afternoon. A Transport for NSW survey is asking local residents which days and times they would like the trial to operate. For example, people may prefer to leave early in the morning and return home before dark; or leave later and return later. “The additional NSW TrainLink services will…
Following the recent confirmation of Melbourne’s long-awaited North East Link, comes the announcement of a dedicated busway to complement the development. The Doncaster Busway – a fully separated, high-speed bus route – will run from Doncaster to Victoria Park, with Melbourne’s first dedicated busway set to slash travel times and deliver more services to and from the city’s northern suburbs. Using the median in the Eastern Freeway, buses will be able to travel up to 100km/h unimpeded by traffic, slashing travel times by up to an estimated 30 per cent. The new busway will include two separated bus-only lanes (one each way) that provide direct access to and from Doncaster park and ride, and connect to the Victoria Park precinct. The project will also provide more parking for commuters, with…
