Fears of 'nightmare' commute as people return to work, school
There are fears the Monday commute could be a nightmare with a transport and logistics expert predicting a busy morning.
Dr Geoffrey Clifton told Sunrise it would be “touch and go” as more people returned to work and children headed back to school.
“We’re expecting roads to be far busier than they’ve been since the lockdown,” he said.
“There’ll be a lot of people travelling back to work and back to school so we expect those numbers to be up immensely.
“Public transport is going to be a nightmare.
“It’s going to be very difficult for everybody to fit on (buses and trains), given the restrictions.”
As part of the NSW Transport’s COVID-Safe plan, it has been announced staff will monitor social distancing on public transport.
Minister for Transport Andrew Constance announced hundreds of transport officers, security officers and marshalling officers will be deployed across the network as more people return to work and children head back to school on Monday.
“These Marshalling Response and Support Teams will monitor physical distancing, assist with crowd management and provide extra guidance to customers to help them move through stations and interchanges safely,” Mr Constance said during a press conference on Sunday.
“This could mean forming lines at bus stops or limiting the amount of people who can enter onto a platform.”
To start off with, 20 teams will be rolled out at “key interchanges and transport hubs” around Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong and the Blue Mountains.
“We are using data to identify key interchanges where these teams will be deployed, including Wynyard, Blacktown, Hurstville and Chatswood,” Mr Constance said.
The COVIDSafe Transport Plan was announced during the week and saw the “no dot, no spot” initiative roll out across the network, signalling to customers where it is safest to sit during their commute.
If there aren’t any of these dots or spots available, travellers will have to wait for the next service. Two-door buses in Sydney will be kept to 12 commuters, Freshwater ferry to 45 and Waratah trains 32 per carriage.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, more than 700 extra cleaners have been hired since March in both metro and regional areas across the state.
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“These cleaning efforts will now include new real-time cleaners across the public transport network,” Transport for NSW Chief Operations Officer Howard Collins said.
“Customers are already seeing Sanitisation and Hygiene Agile Response Cleaners (SHARC) boarding buses at Bondi Junction and Parramatta to clean high touch areas, including Opal Card readers and stop buttons, in preparation for the next service.”
Mr Collins said the SHARC service will be rolled out at Wollongong Station next week, then Newcastle and Lismore in the next few weeks.
However commuters are still being advised to travel outside peak hour, from 10am to 2pm.
Mr Constance also said there would be an overflow carpark at Sydney’s Moore Park and there will be a shuttle service running from Moore Park and the city.
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