FRUSTRATED commuters from Sydney's north-west want more buses and better punctuality.
Many wait in long queues, both morning and evening, and are forced to stand in the bus throughout their journey.
Baulkham Hills commuter Sarah Pearson vented her anger while queuing for her bus last week.
``I catch the bus to North Sydney every weekday and have to wait 10 minutes, sometimes 15, if I'm at the end of the line. It takes an hour to get into the city and it's ridiculous how congested it gets.
``Cheaper weekly tickets is a good idea but they need more buses too.''
Kellyville resident Kavish Maharaj felt there should be more off-peak buses.
``I catch the bus in peak times and usually wait 10 to 15 minutes, but outside peak times, coming home after 6pm, I have to wait 35 to 40 minutes for a bus. A train is further out of the way.''
Commuters say transport authorities are failing to deal with changing commuting habits. Many city workers are working longer hours yet timetables show bus and train services finish their official evening peaks at 6.30pm.
Hillsbus added six new buses to its fleet in February to cope with increasing demand.
Hillsbus chief executive Owen Eckford said a small but significant increase in passengers from The Hills district to the city had been noted over the past 10 months travelling in the middle of the day and late at night.
Demand for buses was normally quiet around 6.30pm to 7pm, he said, ``but now there's a regular group of passengers who are coming home later''.
``We have four peaks during the day. The normal peak is 6am to 9.30am and then we have another morning peak which starts at 10am and runs through to about midday.
``Then we have the afternoon peak from 2.30pm, beginning with school students, to 6.30pm to 7pm; then there's a new peak at night from 7.30pm to 10pm.
``We find people in those late morning and evening peaks are working the second shift in banks, legal firms and accounting firms, and also in global companies.''
Mr Eckford said patronage on the M2 services to the city had grown 15 to 30 per cent a year for the past two years, due to rising food and fuel costs, and a return to full employment in the CBD.
``We now have over 150 buses serving the M2 on a daily basis,'' Mr Eckford said. ``We understand people don't like queues and standing for the whole journey but generally people understand things are being done to try to improve the situation.''
He said ticket sellers had helped make use of the time people waited at major stops.
Hillsbus ticketing officer at Baulkham Hills junction Peter Cohen said: ``I get 280 to 300 people buying tickets between 6am and 8.30am every day. If they buy from the driver it takes over 10 minutes for 30 people.''
Hillsbus has placed orders for 16 additional buses, and is seeking approval for 20 double-decker buses with a seating capacity of 94. It is hoped they will be in service in the second half of 2009.
``We are trying to get as many buses into service as we can,'' Mr Eckford said.
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