Community Bus

Some thoughts on the Mosman Community Bus (Mosman Rider) Background Mosman is well served by public transport in the daytime weekdays (see map) Balmoral Beach Chowder bay Mushgrave St Wharf Taronga Zoo Mosman Wharf Cremorne Wharf Cremorne Beauty Point Balmoral Hts

Raglan St North Middle Head Rd Raglan St South Bradley’s Head Rd Avenue Rd Spofforth St Ourimbah Rd Parriwi Rd

5 per hour (238,257,245) 1 per hour (244) 2 per hour (236) 2 per hour 2 per hour (230) 2 per hour (225) 1 per hour (243) 1 per hour (229, 249, 246)

At weekends some routes don’t operate but most do Balmoral Beach Chowder bay Mushgrave St Wharf Taronga Zoo Mosman Wharf Cremorne Wharf Cremorne Beauty Point Balmoral Hts

Raglan St North Middle Head Rd Raglan St South Bradley’s Head Rd Avenue Rd Spofforth St Ourimbah Rd Parriwi Rd

5 per hour (238,257,245) 1 per hour (244) No service 2 per hour 2 per hour (230) 2 per hour (225) 1 per hour No service

Even at night the service is good Balmoral Beach Chowder bay Mushgrave St Wharf Taronga Zoo Mosman Wharf Cremorne Wharf Cremorne Beauty Point Balmoral Hts

Raglan St North Middle Head Rd Raglan St South Bradley’s Head Rd Avenue Rd Spofforth St Ourimbah Rd Parriwi Rd

1 per hour (245) No service No service 2 per hour 1 per hour (230) 1 per hour (225) No service No service

The trunk route service along Spit and Military Roads excellent has in excess 300 services per day. What purpose might a community bus serve in Mosman? 1. Current STA services are radial - they go from near sea level in various directions to the Spit Rd Military Rd spine. For cross Mosman trips a change of buses is needed. To go from Beauty Point to Chowder Bay where both services are 1 per hour the overall journey time could be excessive. A circumferential service would make it easier to get from one outlying region to another and may encourage residents to use the bus rather than driving, particularly for trips from home to various foreshore reserves 2. To provide a weekend service to areas not served by STA services at the weekend.

3. To provide a high frequency park and ride service to Balmoral Beach at times when parking is at a premium. A service up and down Awaba st would serve this purpose and would also provide a convenient Balmoral Beach connection to 143-4 and northern beaches buses running along Spit Rd. By converting some streets running into Spit Rd into parallel parking would provide the necessary parking space. If the bus was equipped to carry bicycles (as all ACT buses are) it could take bike riders back up the hill 4. To provide access to STA services for people who live at the bottom of steep hills and who find the walk up the hill to access an STA service too difficult. Such a service would pick up passengers only in areas not served by STA (thus saving time) but drop them off anywhere. It would need to set down and pick up at Spit, Mosman and Cremorne Junction, at a ferry wharf and at all Mosman’s attractions. 5. To provide a Mosman explorer service for tourists (hop on hop off) visiting the following attractions: Zoo, Clifton Gardens, Middle Head, Chowder Bay, Balmoral Beach, Rosherville Reserve, The Spit, Parriwi Park, Reid Park, Cremorne Wharf, Mosman Junction, Civic Square (Art Gallery, Boronia). Patrons would be encouraged to do guided walks and pick up the bus at the end of the walk. Some walks in bushland eg Middle Head to Balmoral Beach and, Parriwi Park to Spit, Reid Park to Cremorne wharf others through heritage streets, or shopping streets (Mosman Village) or restaurant areas (Balmoral Beach, the Spit, Chowder Bay ). Could be marketed to overseas visitors as the “Mosman Experience”. (In the long term maybe even overnight accommodation in Boronia?) Some of these purposes could be served at the same time, increasing patronage. For example a weekend circumferential service could cater for residents at the bottom of hills and tourists. 1, 4 and 5. A service that went up Awaba St would encourage more to walk and cycle to the beach (they could catch the bus up the hill) A one way service around the loop service would give biggest bang for the buck and it would have least confusion about where to wait. It would need to cross Military Rd at Cowles Rd from North top South for the Beauty Point one way section to work 30 minutes is about the maximum acceptable round trip time. For people traveling to and from a destination in the direction of the circuit they would have a short trip in one direction and a long trip in the other. 30 minutes would be about the limit of tolerance. A frequency of 45 minutes would be reasonable but it would depend on the circuit time given only one bus can be affored. Adelaide has an electric vehicle for its free community bus, but Mosman hills may make this impractical as the time between charges would be reduced. The bus should be LPG if not electric. The service should avoid duplicating STA routes and congested areas to ensure reliability The service would provide independent mobility for the young and the elderly as well as providing a more convenient (no parking issues) and environmentally friendly transport option for those with cars

Issues to be Considered Quite different services are needed during the week compared to the weekend. During the week a circumferential service which serviced tourists attractions and the bottoms of hills At weekends a service that covered areas not serves by STA and a high frequency service up and possibly down Awaba St Proposal A weekday daytime service (extended to weekends if we could afford it) running a loop starting at Balmoral Beach running up Awaba St to Cowles along Cowles to Prince, a loop Bardwell, Spencer and back to Cowles, then Belmont, Gladstone, Avenue, Shadforth, Canrobert, Queen Prince Albert, Whiting, Bradley’s Head Rd. King Max, Middle Head Rd, Methuen, Wolesley, Coronation and the Esplanade with some circuits doing extra loops (possibly on demand) through (a) Balmoral Heights, (b) Beauty Point, (c) Mosman Wharf and Sirius Cove and (d) Clifton Gardens The extra loops to Balmoral Heights, Beauty Point, Mosman Wharf /Sirius Cove and Clifton Gardens could either be on the basis of odd or even circuits or could be on demand with pickup’s via a telephone booking system and drop offs from passengers. This might have problems in keeping to a schedule. Observation 1. Could we get funding from NSW government’s stimulus package. It creates employment and promotes tourism 2. In order to ensure continuity of service without having to employ an excessive number of drivers, a panel of relief drivers should be recruited from local residents to be available on call. They would need MOT Public Vehicle Permits and MR drivers licences. I have both of these – it would provide me with an excellent way of keeping in touch with the community.

Warren Yates 27 July 2009 Attached – Maps of recommended route. In a subsequent edition I will superimpose the STA radial network