Fourteen bus services to the Inner West will be dumped under Sydney Buses’ proposed changes to the bus network.
According to Sydney Buses, the changes, which are part of its first review of bus routes in the area for 20 years, will provide residents with a more direct service to the CBD as well as between the Inner West and Sydney’s south.
The 407, 409, 411, 425, 432, 434, 435, 436, 462, 463, 472, 499, L03 and L40, will all be axed under the current proposal.
Although many will be at least partially replaced by new services or changes to existing routes, there are fears the elderly in particular will be left stranded by the changes.
Ashfield Council is so concerned it has invited Sydney Buses to its next council meeting to discuss the changes, which will result in Sydney Buses taking the knife to its most indirect routes, many of which are the only form of transport available to older people who do not drive.
Leichhardt Council is also unhappy, with Mayor Jamie Parker claiming the changes do not respond to community concerns.
“We welcome improvements to the bus service, but some of the ones proposed are concerning and the ones the community is advocating for haven’t been done,” Cr Parker said.
He said changes to the 445, which meant it no longer serviced the public housing estate or the light rail in Lilyfield, were particularly worrying as was Sydney Buses’s failure to act on residents’ requests to extend the 470 along Mary St to service the new aquatic centre and Leichhardt Oval.
The flyer issued by Sydney Buses, which measures about 1m in length when fully unfolded, has not helped people understand either the changes or the reasons behind them, Cr Parker said.
“I think the biggest problem with Sydney Buses is communication,” he said.
“The purpose of the information given seems to be to make the changes as obscure as possible.”
read more at the Inner West Courier
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