Public transport issues are influenced by numerous factors, ranging from social, economic and environmental causes. Population, location, housing and roads are the prime contributors to the issues. This page will explore the influential factors influencing the problems of overcrowding, delays and accessibility.
Urbanisation has been a problem for the Hills District. Suburbs such as Rouse Hill are gradually becoming urbanised as a result of new house vacancies, resulting in a substantial influx of people. The Rouse Hill Town Centre, Rouse Hill Metro and other stations in the Hills District will attract more people due to its vicinity and convenience.
Ultimately, other problems will arise such as an increase in vehicles on roads and congestion, high energy consumption, environmental pollution and carbon emissions and increased demands for goods and services. These will all be influential factors impacting transport by overcrowding buses and stations, forcing more buses on roads and the implementation of more railway trains being scheduled.
A sub-factor of urbanisation is the environment. The environmental surroundings are crucial when moving into a home. This includes recreational facilities and vicinity aspects such as:
Parks and playgrounds - accommodating for children to play and have fun
Local gyms, swimming centres
Sports facilities - such as basketball courts, tennis courts, cricket fields,
Vicinity to amenities, supermarkets, medical centres
School - proximity, travel time, considering the efficient routes for public transport
Traffic and congestion are underlying factors of delays. The density of vehicles on roads significantly impacts the efficiency of buses and ultimately impacts commuters on board. Primarily, delays are influenced by heavy traffic. The purpose of buses is to reduce the number of vehicles on roads by enabling commuters to utilise its services on a single vehicle. Similarly, the increase in population ultimately influences the amount of vehicles confined on roads. As a result, roads will overflow with vehicles, outnumbering bus services and causing time-costly delays.
To what extent does traffic and road congestion impact the efficiency of buses?
According to the survey data, approximately:
77% of commuters believe that traffic impacts bus efficiency to a high extent
33% of commuters believe that traffic impacts bus efficiency to a low extent
Reference: Summarised data from survey using excel.
TRAFFIC SURVEY QUESTION SAMPLE RESPONSES
Limited Facilities and Centres
Another important factor is the limited facilities within the radius of people. In neighbouring suburbs to the Hills such as Riverstone are underdeveloped with minimal access to various facilities. The lack of centres and facilities close to residents forces them to commute to other suburbs. This directly impacts transport in which this absence of adequate facilities will encourage commuters to travel to the nearest location, simply due to its unavailability in their area.
August 2021
7 News reported the proposal for a large-scale apartment project in the Hills District to be approved. These buildings have influenced a progressive influx of people over the course of 3 years, with more still to be built. Specifically, areas such as Tallawong and Rouse Hill are seeing a rise in apartment complexes, expected to see hundreds and potentially thousands of future home-buyers.
As the multi-million dollar apartment plan is constructed, a population influx and increased road congestion is inevitable. The Hills District will become a highly urbanised area, with expected increase of cars on roads, hindering the efficiency of buses. Additionally, the metro services available in the Hills District will have to increase, with hundreds of commuters utilising its services.
According to the survey:
53% of Hills District commuters live in the district.
47% of Hills District commuters do not live in the Hills District.
From this data, nearly all commuters live in the Hills District. Commuters who live outside the Hills travel to the district nearly as much as Hills District residents. The influential factors of this similar data may include the lack of facilities and centres in foreign areas. The Hills District is abundant, with diverse infrastructure, shopping centres, and entertainment, where these are not available to commuters who live outside the Hills.
Reference: Summarised data from survey using excel.
According to the graph, approximately:
32% of commuters travel to Rouse Hill frequently
15% of commuters travel to Castle Hill frequently
13% of commuters travel to Bella Vista frequently
8% of commuters travel to Norwest frequently
4% of commuters travel to Kellyville or Beaumont Hills frequently
13% of commuters do not travel to any Hills suburb frequently
15% of commuters travel to the remaining Hills suburbs frequently
The graph above displays which suburbs commuters travel to frequently. The highest visited suburbs were Rouse Hill, Castle Hill, Bella Vista, and Norwest. A correlation between these suburbs is their high socioeconomic status. They are abundant suburbs, with rich infrastructure, shopping centres, metro stations, bus services and other facilities. To illustrate, Rouse Hill and Castle Hill may be frequently visited the most due to accessibility to a variety of stores and shops and transportation services. The Rouse Hill Metro Station is located next to the Rouse Hill Town Centre, making it a hotspot for commuters to explore shops, entertainment and restaurants. Similarly, the Castle Hill Metro is directly connected to the Castle Towers Shopping Centre through a passage, allowing for commuters to access its various stores.
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