The bus services connecting Tamworth with Port Macquarie and Dubbo will continue to operate into 2019 with customer numbers growing since they began earlier this year.
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Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson announced earlier this month that the trials connecting Tamworth to Dubbo and Tamworth to Port Macquarie via Walcha were showing positive signs and will be extended through until at least March 2019.
“These new links have provided public transport where there was no existing service, bringing these communities closer together and saving people significant time.
“Not only will these services be retained, they will be enhanced to provide more effective connections for the passengers.”
Mr Anderson said customer feedback has resulted in the coach service from Tamworth to Dubbo on Mondays and Fridays departing 20 minutes later to link with the morning south bound train from Moree at Gunnedah.
“Moving the time of the coach by just 20 minutes will open up convenient travel to Dubbo and other towns across the west for communities such as Moree and Narrabri,” he said.
“The trial between Tamworth and Dubbo operates in each direction on Mondays and Fridays.
“I emphasized at the start of the trials that these services were a case of ‘use it or lose it’ and it is good to see that two of the three services have received enough support from the community for those trials to continue.”
Mr Anderson said the coaches linking Tamworth to Port Macquarie and Dubbo have grown in popularity and NSW TrainLink is confident they have the potential to become permanent services.
“Customers can travel from Tamworth to Port Macquarie via Walcha in each direction on Mondays.
“To help promote weekend travel there is an afternoon service from Tamworth to Port Macquarie via Walcha on Friday, which returns to Tamworth on Sunday afternoons.”
The coach services that have provided an extra link between Tamworth and Newcastle on a trial basis are not being extended because of low demand Mr Anderson said, and the final service operated last Friday.
“While there was much interest in an extra connection to Newcastle during consultation with the community, the service has been running for seven months now and demand has continued to be low,” Mr Anderson said.
“With the end of the trial coach service, NSW TrainLink will be continuing to operate daily train services between Armidale and Sydney via Newcastle.”
The current twice weekly Tamworth via Walcha to Port Macquarie bus service is currently running at 17 percent capacity on average, while the Tamworth to Dubbo service is running 34 percent full most weeks.
Vanessa Arundale
Everyone has a story to tell and I like to help them do it.
Everyone has a story to tell and I like to help them do it.
