16 News

A new express turn-up-and-go bus service will be introduced along Victoria Road from West Ryde to the city as part of network changes delivering an extra 700 weekly services.
Minister for Transport Andrew Constance said customers in Sydney’s North West and Lower North Shore will benefit from the timetable changes with the extra weekly services including the new West Ryde to City and Chatswood to City frequent routes introduced next month.
“From January we’ll be making changes to increase the frequency of services on key routes, with improved connections for customers travelling to the city or within the local area.
“This will include a new limited stops turn-up-and-go bus for the people of West Ryde right into the heart of the city at Hyde Park on the 500X route.
“Chatswood and Willoughby will also see regular services on route 120 into the QVB, at least every 10 minutes on every day of the week, giving customers more choice around when they travel,” Mr Constance said.
There will be some changes to existing local and city services to support the new frequent routes and to allow for better connections to other modes of public transport such as ferries.
The changes to respond to customer demand will affect some bus services in locations such as Parramatta, Carlingford, Macquarie Park, Ryde and Eastwood.
To help reduce duplication on the network, some routes will be replaced by new routes or extra services on other routes, while some current routes will be shortened but retain their current route numbers.
Existing overnight services on route 520 will operate under a new route number between Parramatta and the city.
The changes will be introduced in January 2021. A full list of changes will be available at www.transportnsw.info.

More than 50 new electric buses will roll out across Sydney over the next year, as part of the NSW Government’s commitment to deliver faster and quieter services.
Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance said the government is transitioning the state’s fleet of 8,000 buses to zero emission technology.
“I want to scale up our efforts towards tackling climate change  so I am challenging  Transport for NSW to aim for my goal of electrifying the state’s entire bus fleet by 2030,” Mr Constance said.
“I am excited to see us one step closer to our vision of creating a greener, cleaner and healthier future for the people of NSW, with more people now able to enjoy our electric bus fleet right across Sydney.
“Over the last 18 months we’ve been trialling five electric buses in the Inner West, and the feedback from drivers and customers has been positive.
The new electric buses are part of the Government’s fleet replacement program, with the first vehicles expected on the road during the first quarter of 2021.
They have been ordered from a range of manufacturers, including BCI, Yutong, Nexport BYD Gemilang and Nexport BYD Volgren.
They will be rolled out by several operators – Punchbowl Bus Company, Busabout  and Interline  in the south west, Transdev  in the north, with Transit Systems making the largest order for the inner west with more than 30.

Transport for NSW’s Deputy Secretary of Greater Sydney Elizabeth Mildwater said more local manufacturers will feature in future orders of zero emission buses.
“There are a lot more zero emission buses to come and we’re delighted that local manufacturers like Bustech and Custom Buses are getting into the game with their buses currently undergoing a review to ensure they meet local standards, while Nexport is planning to set up a local plant,” Ms Mildwater said.
“Once they and other manufacturers are ready, our operators will have more choices to buy locally. In the current order, the Volgren bus is being assembled in Victoria using a chassis made by Nexport BYD overseas.”

The 2sqm rule will be expanded and venue caps will be removed under a major easing of restrictions, as NSW continues to record zero cases of community transmission.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the timing is right to ease restrictions and replace the 4sqm rule with the 2sqm rule, except at gyms and nightclubs.
“We are grateful to the people in NSW for their patience and understanding over what has been an incredibly difficult year,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“The rolling back of restrictions across the State is only possible because of the excellent work of the community who have followed social distancing guidelines and continued to come forward for testing.”
On Monday, 7 December, the NSW Government will ease the following restrictions allowing:
Venues including hospitality venues, retail and places of worship:

• 1 person per 2sqm (with 25 people permitted before the rule applies), except for:
  • Gyms and nightclubs (1 person per 4sqm, with a maximum of 50 people allowed in gym classes or on the dancefloor at nightclubs)

Stadiums and theatres:

• Outdoors: 100 per cent seated capacity, and 1 person per 2sqm rule for unstructured seating areas.
• Indoors: 75 per cent seated capacity.

Gatherings in outdoor public spaces:

• Up to 100 people for outdoor gatherings (up from 50).
• Up to 5,000 people for outdoor events that are fenced, ticketed and seated (subject to the 2sqm rule).
• Up to 3,000 people for other organised outdoor events i.e. community sport and outdoor protests (subject to the 2sqm rule).

Dance Floors:

• Up to 50 people indoors.

Singing

• Up to 50 performers indoors, no maximum cap outdoors.
• Advice is for congregation/audience to continue wearing masks if singing.

Under the changes, maximum capacity caps will be removed subject to the 2sqm rule for:

• Bookings at hospitality venues;
• Weddings;
• Funerals;
• Regional agricultural shows;
• Corporate events; and
• Religious services.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro said the people of NSW have worked hard to keep COVID-19 under control and deserved this major easing of restrictions.
“Today is a great day for the people of NSW and great timing with Christmas fast approaching, as we will soon see larger crowds at venues and events and the expansion of the 2sqm rule state-wide,” Mr Barilaro said.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said under the changes most venues will be able to double their capacity, which will have an immediate and substantial impact on the economy.
“This change will make a big difference to many businesses and will provide a real boost for jobs particularly in the service industry which has been hit hard over the past nine months,” Mr Perrottet said
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said as restrictions are eased the community needs to continue playing their part and being COVID-Safe.
“Keep getting tested with even the slightest of symptoms, maintain your social distance, don’t go to work if you are unwell and wear a mask where you cannot guarantee social distancing,” Mr Hazzard said.
Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said the NSW Government would continue to work with business and industry to ensure they operate in a COVID-Safe way.
“We have worked closely with industry representatives throughout 2020 to safely ease restrictions and we appreciate their patience and know these changes will be incredibly well received,” Mr Ayres said.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said despite there being no recent cases of community transmission the community should continue to be COVID-Safe.
“It is critical that people continue to come forward for testing and practice COVID-safe behaviour when out and about and catching up with family and friends,” Dr Chant said.

The New South Wales economy has helped power Australia back to economic growth and out of the first recession in almost three decades, with ABS data released today showing a 6.8 per cent rebound in state final demand for the September quarter.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the positive result was driven by a number of factors including a 10.8 per cent increase in household consumption and strong investment by the NSW Government in the public sector, which saw public demand up two per cent in the quarter and 6.4 per cent through the year.
“There are many challenges ahead but we are now seeing greater confidence in the community and a return to solid economic growth for NSW,” Mr Perrottet said.
“Our ability to keep as much of NSW open as possible and in the process support jobs and businesses with $29 billion in health, economic and social support measures is reflected in these latest economic results.”
Mr Perrottet said the Government would continue to do everything possible to boost employment, support businesses and ensure the community remained safe.
“Today we announced the further easing of restrictions around the number of people allowed in a range of venues, and this will further boost economic activity and support jobs at a critical time for the economy,” Mr Perrottet said.
“As we regain more freedom ahead of Christmas it’s vital people continue to remember the real risk of COVID-19 and use commonsense and follow health advice.”
The latest data follows more than 36,000 people returning to work in NSW in October with the state’s unemployment rate falling 0.6 per cent to 6.5 per cent.
Female participation increased by 0.3 percentage points to 60.6 per cent, the highest it’s been in the history of the series.
For more information on the State’s economic recovery, reform agenda, and the NSW Budget released on November 17 please visit budget.nsw.gov.au.