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RELATED COVERAGE: Two state MPs have met with University of Wollongong officials over the overcrowding issues on a bus route running to and from Campbelltown. Wollongong MP Paul Scully and Campbelltown MP Greg Warren have concerns about the 887 bus route that is used by University of Wollongong students who live in the Macarthur region. The core of the problem, the MPs say, is that there is a three-hour gap in the middle of the day when no services run from Wollongong to Campbelltown. On a weekday, an 887 bus leaves the Wollongong campus at 12.45pm and there is not another bus until 3.45pm. “Fundamentally, there is a problem of demand exceeding supply and, to date, the government’s unwillingness to have a serious look at how they might address it,” Mr Scully said. “There’s about 1200 students from the Macarthur area who attend the University of Wollongong. On most days there’s almost a bus load of people who are missed on each bus run, who can’t get on because the bus is already full.” Mr Scully said that then led to overcrowding on the buses, with some students forced to stand until at least Appin – the first stop after the University of Wollongong according to the 887 timetable. “The services don’t in any way reflect demand in terms of number of people wanting to use it, or in terms of the timing of when the services are,” Mr Scully said “Come the June budget we would expect to see this addressed with some more services supported by the Berejiklian government.” A Transport for NSW spokesman said 20 weekly trips had been added to the 887 route since March 2011. He said Transport for NSW undertook annual reviews of bus services. “We’re now looking closely at demand on all Campbelltown bus routes so we can ensure any future network improvements put bus services when and where they’re needed,” the spokesman said. The story, Uni bus route concern for MPs, first appeared on the Illawarra Mercury.

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