Key failings of NSW Transport

Earlier this year I raved about how awesome Sydney's public transport network is but that is not true.  In some parts of the city it's great, the inner suburbs are fine and the buses and trains to Bondi are generally pretty good too but try getting an enjoyable trip on the North Western routes - that's Penrith to Hornsby and its a nightmare.

Aside from not having enough trains, during peak hours they're always crowded and you're lucky to get a seat and if you're standing then you'll be packed in like sardines with absolutely zero personal space.  This is made worse by the fact half of Aussies are overweight or obese so even if you do get a seat and you're little, you're likely to be squashed to the wall.

The NSW Transpory Minister Gladys Berejiklian seems to think that light rail and one level trains will alleviate the problem but it won't.  When you see photos of her have you noticed that she's always at stations during non peak hours and that she probably doesn't have to endure crowded trains so doesn't get a true picture of what it's like to use public transport for long commutes of at least an hour, some purple have to commute for two hours.  And that's just one way.

The NSW Transport Department and NSW Trains need to start talking to people who use public transport on a regular basis.  For the most part it's good and better than other cities like Auckland but there are key areas where it's failing.  That is ignoring the matter of Opal, which will eventually be forced upon us.