By Di Bartok, Parramatta Advertiser, 7 July 2010

THE transport needs of Greater Western Sydney were laid on the table at a transport forum organised by Parramatta Lord Mayor Paul Garrard on Friday.

Transport Minister John Robertson, Opposition transport spokeswoman Gladys Berejiklian, transport experts and community leaders addressed an audience of local government and community representatives at the Sebel Parramatta.

The focus was on Parramatta as the gateway to Greater Western Sydney, with emphasis on transport links to the rapid growth centres of Blacktown, Penrith, Granville, Campbelltown and the Hills district.

Cr Garrard pointed out that the region would soon have a population of almost two million. Mr Robertson recognised that Parramatta was the centre of Australia’s fastest-growing region and therefore needed special  consideration.

He acknowledged the strain on the public transport system but said his government planned to "lift (public transport) journeys by 28 per cent by 2016". He did not accept Cr Garrard’s assertion that twice as many people drive to Parramatta each day as use public transport.

"There has been a 0.8 per cent reduction in car travel over the past 12 months, a 3 per cent increase in train usage and 2.4 per cent increase in bus usage," Mr Robertson said. He listed his government’s successes as MyZone ticketing, more trains and buses, commitment to the southwest and northwest rail links, a new bus depot in Parramatta, plans to improve the interchange at Granville and widening of the M5 and M2 motorways.

Ms Berejiklian gave a slide show of the Coalition’s transport program if elected, with one transport authority as the centrepiece of an integrated transport policy. She said creating a single agency for all modes of public transport was critical to improving the system and had been the key to how other cities of the world had developed successful integrated systems. She committed a Coalition government to building the northwest and
southwest rail links, and said work should start immediately.

Ms Berejiklian hit on one of the main concerns of people using public transport – safety. "We will commit to a $40 million safety fund to install more CCTV cameras and improve lighting on station platforms and in commuter carparks," she said. "We will also extend the Nightrider service so young people in particular can get home safely."

Garry Glazebrook, a key member of the Independent Inquiry into Public Transport, told the forum that half government spending on public transport should be in western Sydney.

Parramatta Advertiser, 7 July 2010

Click here for photos from the Parramatta Transport Forum on 2 July 2010