Station Link Observations

[Jurassic_Joke]

StationLink, outside of peak hours, I admit, it's decent. Frequent, can usually get a seat, nice new buses.

But I stress, one of its biggest weaknesses is easily the fact that of seven routes, all but one don't run outside of Monday to Friday peak hours. They really should've made the one (sorry don't know off the route number off the top of my head) between Macquarie Uni and St Leonards full time, both directions - it's heaps more useful than SL1, feels like roughly the same travel time to/from Chatswood, and then a shorter train journey to the City from St Leonards.

[Swift]

Unfortunately, it's primary purpose is to follow where the line runs. The St Leonard route has to play second fiddle.

[BroadGauge]

Unfortunately, it's primary purpose is to follow where the line runs. The St Leonard route has to play second fiddle.

That might be the logic of the planners, but the purpose of the replacement service should be to take people to where they want to go, not to attempt to mimic the same experience of riding on a train.

Usually in Sydney they're actually pretty good in that regard. You don't see, for instance, passengers from Gosford being forced to travel via Woy Woy on replacement buses, just because it's the way that the train normally goes.

[swtt]

Unfortunately, it's primary purpose is to follow where the line runs. The St Leonard route has to play second fiddle.

That might be the logic of the planners, but the purpose of the replacement service should be to take people to where they want to go, not to attempt to mimic the same experience of riding on a train.

Usually in Sydney they're actually pretty good in that regard. You don't see, for instance, passengers from Gosford being forced to travel via Woy Woy on replacement buses, just because it's the way that the train normally goes.

Not on the Northern line! Semi express buses that have run have tried to follow a 1992-2008 train semi express stopping pattern of Strathfield - West Ryde - Eastwood - Epping - all to Hornsby.

To be honest, they really should skip West Ryde. It's a major deviation for the buses, in not being able to head straight up the A3 and on to Blaxland Road and into Eastwood. Denistone passengers also don't miss out - they can go to Eastwood instead of West Ryde to change for a bus (they get a minibus service anyway due to the narrow streets).

On the other hand, they have bothered to remove the silly Nth Strathfield/Concord West station stops in recent years and simply have a replacement stop on Concord Road - which also avoids the narrow streets. I think there needs to be a major restructure of how bustitution operates, and the previous posts about taking people where they want to go is an excellent point made.

e.g. T1 Northern bustitution:

• Strathfield - Nth Strathfield (Concord Rd) - Concord West (Concord Rd) - Rhodes (Concord Rd) - Eastwood - Epping - all to Hornsby (Cheltenham/Beecroft on Beecroft Road)
• Strathfield - Rhodes - Meadowbank - West Ryde - Eastwood - Epping
• Strathfield - Epping - Hornsby
• West Ryde - Denistone - Eastwood minibus/Kia Carnival

Replace Strathfield with Olympic Park if Strathfield is too crowded for whatever reason.

So back to StationLink - if there are plans to improve it midway:

• SL4 St Leonards to Macq Uni should run all days, all hours. On weekends, extend to Epping and reduce the frequency of SL1 slightly.

[moa999]

. You don't see, for instance, passengers from Gosford being forced to travel via Woy Woy.

And yet on T4 replacement the Town Hall - Martin Place - Kings Cross loop there is a ridiculously crazy looping through the city

[swtt]

. You don't see, for instance, passengers from Gosford being forced to travel via Woy Woy.

And yet on T4 replacement the Town Hall - Martin Place - Kings Cross loop there is a ridiculously crazy looping through the city

Does Town Hall - Martin Place even need a rail replacement service?!?

[sunnyyan]

Finally took Station Link for the first time today.
Service was overall decent (run by a Hillsbus Volgren Optimus).
- All door boarding was done at Macquarie Uni and Macquarie Pk
- Having bus marshals does seem to be a bit excessive, given that they didn't do much apart from record the bus on their sheet and tell the driver that the back door is clear. There were actually 2 bus marshals at Macq Uni
- Journey on SL1 from Epping to Chatswood was 20 minutes or so, even though the driver was driving fairly quick (some of those bends on Delhi/Fullers Rd were somewhat scary)

[Swift]

- Having bus marshals does seem to be a bit excessive, given that they didn't do much apart from record the bus on their sheet and tell the driver that the back door is clear. There were actually 2 bus marshals at Macq Uni

Sydney displaying world's best practice as always.
I somehow think their presence is politically driven (as usual with NSW transport) rather than really being needed.

[tonyp]

It depends what the marshalls are doing. In my experience there have always been marshalls at least at major railway stations to generally oversight rail replacement services, as distinct from marshalls who just supervise bus doors. Not sure why they'd need to be checking buses off on paper in these days of GPS tracking but I'm sure there's a reason. Marshalls to supervise doors aren't necessary.

My funniest marshall experience was on a bustitution at Hornsby station. I came out of the station into a crowd waiting at the bus stop, some marshalls leaning against a fence doing nothing in particular and two or three empty buses waiting with the drivers not knowing what they were supposed to be doing. The crowd was getting restless until out of the middle of them appeared a uniformed RAAF officer who said something along the lines of let's get this show on the road, spoke to the first bus driver to establish where he was supposed to go and then loaded the crowd onto the bus before joining it himself. The marshalls just stood there in the background talking to each other. Thank heavens TfNSW is not tasked with defending Australia!

[boronia]

- Having bus marshals does seem to be a bit excessive, given that they didn't do much apart from record the bus on their sheet and tell the driver that the back door is clear. There were actually 2 bus marshals at Macq Uni

Sydney displaying world's best practice as always.
I somehow think their presence is politically driven (as usual with NSW transport) rather than really being needed.

More likely union driven: "we won't let our members do this unless there is someone there to take the blame if something goes wrong"

[neilrex]

Finally took Station Link for the first time today.
Service was overall decent (run by a Hillsbus Volgren Optimus).
- All door boarding was done at Macquarie Uni and Macquarie Pk
- Having bus marshals does seem to be a bit excessive, given that they didn't do much apart from record the bus on their sheet and tell the driver that the back door is clear. There were actually 2 bus marshals at Macq Uni
- Journey on SL1 from Epping to Chatswood was 20 minutes or so, even though the driver was driving fairly quick (some of those bends on Delhi/Fullers Rd were somewhat scary)

That's remarkably quick. I caught it a few times with absolutely zero crowds or traffic, and the best I got was 29 minutes.

[Richard290]

• SL4 St Leonards to Macq Uni should run all days, all hours. On weekends, extend to Epping and reduce the frequency of SL1 slightly.

Your weekend extension of SL4 to Epping largely duplicates STA's route 291 service (Epping to McMahons Point), which only runs hourly on weekends and in the off-peak during weekdays. I'm surprised that the 291 didn't receive a weekday frequency increase in line with the wholesale service changes/additions from September 30 - it provides an alternate direct connection between Epping/Macquarie Park and St Leonards/North Sydney via Lane Cove - even moreso now the ECRL is temporarily shut.

[Swift]

That's remarkably quick. I caught it a few times with absolutely zero crowds or traffic, and the best I got was 29 minutes.

There must have been no one getting on and off and no red traffic lights!

[Swift]

Your weekend extension of SL4 to Epping largely duplicates STA's route 291 service (Epping to McMahons Point), which only runs hourly on weekends and in the off-peak during weekdays.

No STA service has any business having a frequency like that on a trunk. That is country operator territory.

[Daniel]

The Station Link fleet is gearing up to operate 76T1 tomorrow and Friday, which is scheduled to run Wynyard, Macquarie Uni and Macquarie Park & return.

[rogf24]

It seems like some drivers still have trouble opening the back door.

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

[Swift]

^ which means most are, but all should be doing it by now.
There is an end to this mediocre service in sight at least.

[Glen]

Not sure why they'd need to be checking buses off on paper in these days of GPS tracking but I'm sure there's a reason.

On many large weekend closures a number of small sub-contractors are used.

[Swift]

Not sure why they'd need to be checking buses off on paper in these days of GPS tracking but I'm sure there's a reason.

On many large weekend closures a number of small sub-contractors are used.

As soon as that nasty word contractor is in use, my cynical meter goes off!

[Glen]

As soon as that nasty word contractor is in use, my cynical meter goes off!

Why so?

[Swift]

Contractors to governments have a shady history of not meeting their side of the bargain with their primary concern being the $$$ rather than doing a proper job.
They just aren't as invested in doing the job well compared to in house. I don't like it and that's that.

[Glen]

Contractors to governments have a shady history of not meeting their side of the bargain with their primary concern being the $$$ rather than doing a proper job.
They just aren't as invested in doing the job well compared to in house. I don't like it and that's that.

You are of course welcome to your opinion but I do think you generalise.

Much of the public transport industry around Australia and indeed the world is provided by private operators under contract to governments.

In the heyday of big government operations, I'm sure many here could remember some classic examples of things done in house which weren't very efficient or effective.

[Swift]

Every time I see a garbage truck with a private company logo that says under contract to ----------- clown-cil, I roll my eyes. Generalisations have some basis in fact.

[Fleet Lists]

Why, what is wrong with that???

[Swift]

??? Personal belief that government and private enterprise should know their place and that is segregated! That's my ideology and it will continue!