• Transport should be within 400 metres
• It should come every 15 minutes
• It should only require 1 ticket
• It is Safe, Clean, Accessible and Affordable

We have mapped the existing network, and shown its limitations. Now, it’s time to take action.

Public Transport and the 2015 NSW Election

Fixing public transport sometimes seems too hard. At every election, parties make promises about major multi-billion dollar projects that will be completed years into the future. We need to make this election different.

Improving the transport network is not just about big infrastructure projects. We can make significant improvements to public transport right now so that it better meets the travel needs of people across Sydney.

For our 2015 election campaign, we have identified three transport solutions that could be delivered sooner rather than later. Combined, they would make a huge difference to the lives of millions of people.

Our solutions are about making better use of the infrastructure that we’ve already got. They’re affordable and achievable, because they build on the foundations we have in place to make public transport accessible to even more people. 

1. Removing the Airport Rail Link access fee.
   

   Our first ask is about making the airport more accessible by public transport. Read our press release on this campaign. We already have a train line to the airport. But only 15% of people travelling to the airport use it, because it’s too expensive. It’s more expensive to get from Town Hall to the airport than it is to get from Town Hall to the Blue Mountains. That’s crazy! But it has a simple solution.

   We want the Premier to remove the extra fees that are charged for using the airport train stations, to make public transport to the airport affordable for everyone.
   
   
2. An M4 'Park and Ride' at Olympic Park.
   

   Our second ask is about creating a park-and-ride alternative to being stuck in traffic on Parramatta Road. Thousands of people travelling between the west and the CBD spend hours a day in traffic on Parramatta Rd, or scramble for limited parking spots around train stations like Granville and Strathfield.

   What can be done about it?

   Well, there is a place where the railway line to Olympic Park crosses over the M4 motorway and Parramatta Road. At this spot, there used to be a little train station called Pippita. Currently, there is a car park, which is empty for most of the week.

   We think there should be a train station right here, with a car park and commuter facilities for people travelling to and from the city. Express trains could run from this station to Strathfield and Central.

   These trains would get people from the end of the M4 to Central in less than 20 minutes – much faster than they could drive in peak hour!

   So, we want the Minister for Transport to commission a public feasibility study into the construction of a 'Park & Ride' interchange where the M4 meets Parramatta Rd, to enable an express train service from there to Central Station.

3. Making Train Stations Accessible
   

   Our third ask is about the accessibility of train stations. There are 175 train stations in Metropolitan Sydney. Only 96 are fully accessible to people in wheelchairs, on crutches, pushing prams, and carrying bikes.

   While the NSW Government has a program of access improvements underway, it is falling behind in meeting its legal requirements to make stations accessible.

   We want the Minister for Transport to make public the process that Transport for NSW is using to determine which stations are upgraded first.

   Most importantly, we ask the Minister for Transport to ensure that all train stations in Metropolitan Sydney are fully accessible by 2020.