UOW students said they’ve waited 40-45 minutes for a Gong Shuttle amid calls for the state’s transport department to fund extra free bus services.
This afternoon UOWTV Multimedia put the green bus to the test, tallying passenger numbers on the 55A loop and comparing them to the Gong Shuttle’s usual load.
The test revealed the need for extra services may be limited to the ‘peak’ times of morning and late afternoon.
Commerce student Harry Gehrig said he was used to waiting for a bus to arrive.
“It’s always late, I waited 45 minutes the other day for it,” Mr Gehrig said.
Another bus user reported waiting 40 minutes once, however other users have said they are content with the current service.
The Illawarra Mercury revealed today UOW and bus company Premier Illawarra have appealed for the free Gong Shuttle service to be expanded.
The NSW Government ended free shuttle services in various suburbs of Sydney plus Newcastle in 2013 after data revealed each picked up fewer than 4.5 passengers per kilometre.
In the same time frame, Wollongong’s service was picking up 7.4 passengers per kilometre.
UOWTV Multimedia took the 55A loop today after class finished at 1.30pm and recorded a total of 100 passengers getting on during the 13.4km journey, working out to be 7.4 passengers per kilometre.
Report today said Gong Shuttle takes 7.4 passengers per km. Just tested it out on the 55A loop. The result? 7.4 per km! #uowjournos @UOWTV
— MichaelDiFabrizioUOW (@DiFabrizioUOWTV) March 19, 2014
During peak times, buses are often filled to capacity which results in some students being unable to board.