What do Sydneysiders actually think about the new $2.9b Light Rail system? Has the project lived up to commuters' expectations?

What Sydney commuters think of the new $2.9b Light Rail

Up to 16 of Sydney’s most popular bus services – used by thousands of commuters every day – are facing the axe because of the new light rail, a leaked report shows.

The draft document, dated January 2020 and seen by news.com.au, show at-risk services in the city’s east could be replaced by four new services that would take commuters from Coogee, Maroubra and the city’s south to Randwick’s light rail.

The move would be a bid to reduce peak time bus services to the CBD and “remove duplications” in transport services.

Basically, transport authorities want people to start using the light rail – which has been criticised by some for being far too slow – instead of jumping on buses to get to the city.

Other services may be altered to fit around the light rail, whereas others would be “discontinued” under the plans, with the “introduction of light rail, with alternate travel options in place”.

Some of the services that face being cut are the 373 from Coogee to Circular Quay and the 393 from Little Bay to Central.

No express services are outlined to be cut, but the 373X, 377X and 393X could be modified to “retain local network coverage”.

Labor member for Coogee Marjorie O’Neill said cutting public transport, when the city’s need for it is growing, is “simply insane”.

“This government clearly has no plan to deal with this level of public transport growth, if they did they would be working to ensure that buses and the light rail operate together, not replacing one with the other,” she said.

“The under patronage of the light rail is a consequence of the low and slow service quality. After years of disruption during construction, the government is further punishing our local community by forcing them onto a sub-par service.”

Rail, Tram and Bus Union NSW has also blasted the plans today, saying it will “inevitably result in passengers being left inconvenienced”.

Secretary, David Babineau, said: “It’s clear that what’s happened is that the NSW Government has realised that it needs to drive people onto the light rail in order to justify the exorbitant amount of money it has blown on the project, and it doesn’t seem to care about the inconvenience that will cause for commuters.”

However, the government says a final decision on buses won’t be made until several months after the Kingsford light rail line opens next month.

“Bus services in the south east will be adjusted to reflect changed customer travel patterns, while express bus services will be retained to complement the light rail,” a Transport for NSW spokeswoman said.

“Planning for these changes is still in the early stages and will be informed by Opal data, changed customer travel patterns, and feedback. The detailed plan has not been finalised.”

She added that changes will be released for public feedback and adjustments will include new additional bus routes, modifications to existing routes and more express services.

“Early modelling of bus changes will retain most existing transport connections as well as improving how customers travel around the local area and move between major hubs such as Central, Randwick, Kingsford and Taylor Square,” she said.

Here are the services earmarked for the chop in the leaked report: 302, 314, 317, 373, 376, 377, 393, 394, 395, 397, 399, L94, M10, M50, 891 and 893

These services which could be modified to align with the light rail: 303, 307, 313, 316, 348, 370, 374, 377, 391, 392, 396 and 400

There were no changes proposed to the following services: 338, 339, 343, 357, 372 and 418