Public Transport

02 Apr Public Transport

Dear Here to Help,

Why doesn’t public transport work?

Everyone keeps talking about doing things for the environment, like active transport and public transport. But public transport seems to be eternally late or cancelled. School busses, the train to Sydney that takes longer now than it did in the early 1900s – and don’t mention the 6-12 hour train trips to or from Sydney when something goes wrong. The worst of it all is that there is little or no communication with transport users. And most communication is incorrect and last minute.
Obviously, people are taking public transport to get somewhere on time – school, work, sometimes a plane. Even without time limits, my time is valuable and I can’t afford for it to be wasted by public transport mismanagement.
Who do I talk to about fixing the public transport mess?

Thank you for your query.

I hear your frustration with public transport.

There are a number of mechanisms to voice your concerns.

Transport NSW’s complaints websites can be found here. There is an online form for each transport type there. Make sure you select the option that you want them to come back to you with a response. This gives you the opportunity to discuss the situation, and your frustrations, with a real person, rather than just a form.

Your next port of call is the NSW Ombudsman. On their website, they have some dot points under “we handle complaints about”. It is always useful to tailor your complaint to cover these dot points. Every government department has its processes that it needs to follow and these are often specified on its website.

Your final option is the minister. The relevant ministers for transport can be found here. Your letter should be succinct, state the issues you encountered, the process you have followed to date and outcomes you would like to see.

Good luck!

This article comes from my column entitled “Here to Help” in the Local, April 2023. If you have an everyday problem just begging for a simple, real world solution, send it to “Here to Help” and let’s see what we can achieve.

Elaine Abery has a closet full of great ideas and empowering solutions. She’s also the Director of Unravelling Red Tape, a company dedicated to helping everyday people, not-for-profits and companies change the world through improved decision-making and legislation.