THERE are few experiences more frustrating than waiting for a bus that fails to appear, or finding that gaps in the timetable can make even a convenient route untenable for simple appointments.
Unfortunately these are often the realities associated with Hunter public transport, which too often proves a lottery based on location and the time of day. City of Newcastle deputy lord mayor Declan Clausen, discussing the final stage of the inner city bypass, encapsulates the issue succinctly.
"We're building a new road right next to the uni and John Hunter Hospital but not actually connecting either of those two hubs with anything other than cars," Cr Clausen told the Newcastle Herald late last week.
Roads remain king in this region, which offers a chicken or the egg conundrum for public transport advocates - must we wait until patronage improves to justify fixing issues, or is fixing issues the only way to boost patronage on existing services?
Sunday's state government announcement of more than 500 additional services per week offers a chance to test the latter theorem. New routes included in the Hunter Valley Buses plan will provide greater service for areas including Cardiff train station and Fern Bay. The next question, of course, is whether frequency will make the bus routes a viable alternative for commuters and other regular users crucial to ensuring their worth to taxpayers over the long term.
There are a raft of public transport improvements that Newcastle demands to truly justify a shift away from cars, but bus routes connecting the city with major, expanding suburbs are a start. If they cannot earn enough patronage, why would a state government invest considerably more in projects like light rail extension? There is an onus on the users to prove an appetite for mass transit exists beyond the hypothetical.
That said, it is equally incumbent upon the government to hear feedback on routes and resources to ensure they align with the expectations of those who will use them. Otherwise, the resources are squandered along with the potential for a more attractive service that would be used more.
The devil is often in the detail, but the government deserves credit for ostensibly expanding the Hunter public transport network rather than rediverting existing resources in new ways. There is ample room for this region's public transport to grow, and these new routes offer a promising start.
