Bus Safety At The Forefront Following Greta Wedding Crash

BY OLIVIA DILLON

The state government has accepted all 5 recommendations made in a report into the Hunter Valley bus tragedy

In it's report, the Bus Industry Taskforce is recommending seatbelts be installed in school buses servicing regional and outer-metropolitan areas.  

There's no recommendation to fit seatbelts to city buses, because of the number of passengers who stand. 

The report has also prompted a safety campaign to be rolled out across the state from next week, aiming to educate passengers and bus operators about the importance of enforcing seatbelt use. 

Manager of Port Stephens Coaches Adam Saoullis, says he wants drivers and passengers to be on the same page. 

"The thing we find frustrating is, people wouldn't think twice about putting their seatbelt on in a car, but yet on a bus they won't.

When you look up and see people who haven't got their seatbelt on, you can politely ask them, but they look at us sometimes and think 'wow, why is he asking that?'"

Taskforce Chair John Lee, says they're also calling for a bus speed limitation to be investigated by the government moving forward. 

"On some of those motorways, you can do 100km/h, and we're suggesting that the Centre for Road Safety re-examine that. 

Where there are standees on buses, we're saying it should be capped or maximised at 80km/h," Mr. Lee said. 

Image: Busaways

 

 

Wallsend MP Calls for Review into Keolis Downer's Contract

BY OLIVIA DILLON

It's hoped a review into the state's bus services will improve the public transport situation in the Hunter. 

Transport Minister Jo Haylen says the contracts between the former Liberal government and private bus operators have revealed companies were offered financial incentives to cancel bus services across the state.

The contracts for Sydney buses reportedly imposed financial penalties on companies for failing to meet "on time running" targets, however services which were cancelled did not count as late.

Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery, says she plans to invite the Minster to the region, in order to review the contracts of local operator Keolis Downer. 

The company last month confirmed it had been cancelling more than 100 buses per day across Newcastle, blaming recruitment issues and driver shortages for the changes. 

Minister Haylen has reportedly sought urgent advice about what can legally be done to improve services across the state.

Image: Downer Group

NSW Transport Unveils Newcastle's First Zero Emissions Bus

 BY BELLA MIDDLETON

                                                                                    Picture credit: Australian Manufacturing 

Transport for NSW has launched Newcastle's first zero emission bus at Hamilton Bus Depot. 

The bus is a part of the state government's plan to transition away from diesel-powered vehicles and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. 

NSW Transport North Region Director Anna Zycki, alongside Keolis Downer Hunter General Manager Emmanuel Genlot, unveiled the area's first ZEB before it officially entered passenger service from Customs House on Bond Street. 

"There's a lot of public transport buses in the Hunter area, and the New South Wales government is committed to permanently transitioning away from diesel buses to zero emission technology. This extends that outside of the Sydney region, and into the Hunter," Director Zycki said.

She also said the shift is set to benefit passengers across the region. 

"It's an exciting thing for the Hunter to have. For customers, it's a quieter ride, a smoother ride, and the community will have less noise and better air quality over time." 

Patronage Decline Disputed for Buses

BY BRIANNA PORTER

Newcastle's Transport operator is disputing a reported downturn in passenger numbers.

Opal Card data released this week showed a significant fall in patronage of around 72,000 compared to the same time last year.

However, Keolis Downer says when the stadium park-and-ride and on-demand services are taken into account, 41,000 new passengers are hopping on the bus compared to this time last year.

Director of Corporate Affairs, Andrew Fletcher says Newcastle residents have never been better catered to. 

"Why has the region never been better connected? Well, it's to do with our new network design, frequent routes linking 8 major suburban hubs across metropolitan Newcastle, making it easier for people to get around the city," he said.

"Our aim is to move people further, faster and we're off to a good start with that," Mr Fletcher said.

Cameron Park to Charlestown Buses More Frequent

BY LAUREN FREEMANTLE

The state government have announced additional bus services will be added to Lake Macquarie's arsenal over the next 12 months.

More 262 and 263 buses will operate between Cameron Park and Charlestown, as Transport Minister Andrew Constance rolls out a further 2000 buses across NSW.

It comes ahead of the July 19 State Budget release, with more details expected to follow.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter, Scot MacDonald says the increased services have been selected with future growth in mind.

"When you see the amount of development going in around Cameron Park, you can understand that people are going to want that service down to Charleston - mainly to do their shopping and school runs - but we're only going to see those areas grow," Mr MacDonald said.

Since 2011, the Liberal government has introduced an extra 2300 bus services to the Newcastle and Hunter region.

Labor MPs deliver survey results to Keolis Downer

BY LIAM CALLISTER

The Hunter’s Labor MPs are today delivering the results of a survey into the Newcastle Transport system to bus operator, Keolis Downer.

It comes after Keolis last week announced some changes will be made to key routes on the timetable, however, the MPs believe more consultation needs to be carried out to meet community demand.

Swansea MP Yasmin Catley says she's been calling for greater consultation for a year now.

"And just last Friday, the Government boasted that they'd had 300 responses from the community as part of their review.

"Collectively, we've managed to gather five times as many, which just goes to show that people will engage with an issue if you're genuine about seeking out their views."

Yasmin Catley says the MPs were inspired to ask the community for feedback after Transport Minister Andrew Constance "boasted" about asking 300 Novocastrians to review the network. 

The MPs have gathered 1500 responses and are hoping the information is filtered back into Keolis Downer for changes set to take effect in July. 

Hamilton Bus Depot. Image: Flickr.