Traffic causes commuter delays
Wed 25 June 2008
Rhiannon Oakley, Journalism
Traffic delays in Sippy Downs are wreaking havoc with commuters’ journeys home as they miss their rail connections from Sunbus services.
Sunbus depot manager Bob Carney said the congestion affected public transport servicing the area, with bus services experiencing delays of up to 35 minutes along the 900m stretch of Sippy Downs Drive between Stringybark Road and University Way.
Often only 30 minutes is allocated for the journey between the University of the Sunshine Coast and railway stations at Landsborough and Nambour.
Mr Carney pointed to the close proximity of the schools in Sippy Downs as a primary cause of the traffic congestion.
“Obviously afternoons are worse because everybody’s finishing at the same time,” he said.
“It’s hard when you have five schools within a kilometre radius; it’s ridiculous.”
According to timetables obtained from Translink, 12 Sunbus services travel through the congested stretch of Sippy Downs Drive between 2.55pm and 5pm.
Five of the 12 bus services connect to rail services at either Landsborough or Nambour stations.
For commuters travelling towards Brisbane in the afternoon the Sippy Downs traffic congestion can cause them to miss their connecting rail service, making their journey home even longer.
If a commuter misses the 3.34pm Landsborough to Roma Street train the next alternative does not reach Roma Street railway station until 7.01pm – two hours later than their intended train would have arrived.
Commuters travelling further north than Nambour have only one evening rail service.
University student Jacob Grams, 19, commutes regularly between the University of the Sunshine Coast and his home in Caboolture using a combination of bus and rail services.
Mr Grams said he missed his connecting train from the bus once and he worried about it happening again.
He added the morning traffic congestion had been heightened due to road works on the Sunshine Motorway and Tanawha Tourist Drive interchange.
“Sometimes in the morning on the way to uni it can be bad but it has only been really bad during the roadworks.
“The bus was about 15 minutes late to uni one day,” he said.
Mr Carney said Sunbus was unable to factor the time it took to negotiate the traffic on Sippy Downs Drive into their timetabling due to the inconsistency of the congestion.
“You can never predict how long it’s going to take,” Mr Carney said.
Traffic is expected to ease once the interchange connecting Dixon and Claymore Roads with the Sunshine Motorway is completed as it will provide additional access to the motorway in both directions.
Sunbus is waiting to see the effects of the new interchange before considering changing their routes or timetables.
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