A Busselton accommodation provider has labelled the Transwa Albert Street bus stop an embarrassment and is urging stakeholders to rethink the stop’s location.
Bed and breakfast proprietor Ivan Sandler said he had contacted Transwa several times about what he considered a lack of parking and shelter on Albert Street for passengers, and never received a reply.
He said Transwa and the Public Transport Authority should hang their heads in shame at the way they treat Busselton and other South West passengers.
Transwa and the Public Transport Authority should hang their heads in shame.
- Accommodation provider, Ivan Sandler
“I have to pick up and drop off passengers on a regular basis and their first and last impressions of Busselton are not good due to this deplorable situation,” he said.
“I had to drop off two middle-aged ladies for the bus during a storm. Several vehicles where there with other passengers driving round in circles and causing an extra road hazard. It was raining heavily at times and there were very strong wind gushes. Parking in the nearby carparks is not permitted and usually all the bays are full anyway.”
Mr Sandler said adequate parking must be provided where the bus drops off and collects passengers or the bus stop should be moved to somewhere better suited.
In 2016, Transwa’s Busselton services were moved to a stop on Albert Street at the request of the City of Busselton. Previously Transwa stopped on Peel Terrace adjacent to the Busselton Visitors Centre, which has since been relocated by the City of Busselton.
Albert Street has a handful of verge parking spots, with the majority of parking located in Albert Square.
However, the parking is for the use of customers in that complex and many bays are signposted as reserved.
A Transwa spokeswoman said as a regional public transport provider, Transwa had no obligation to provide shelter or parking at its bus stops.
“Information about a lack of shelter is incorrect; in fact, there is an existing bus shelter at this stop,” she said.
“However, after a review of the stopping location, we are currently investigating options to upgrade the shelter in the future to ensure passengers are better protected from the elements.
“While there is some private business parking immediately adjacent to the road coach stop, there is also parking just across the road.”
During the six months between July 1 and December 31, 2018, an average of 4.9 people boarded and 5.1 passengers alighted Transwa road coaches each service at Busselton.
The spokeswoman said for this number of passengers, the road coach was stopped for less than two minutes, and did not impede traffic as it sits in a bus embayment.
“Transwa representatives have visited the site on several occasions while road coaches were present, and are satisfied that this number of people and short dwell time would be very unlikely to cause traffic congestion or safety issues in the area,” she said.
South West Coach Lines also operates its regional service from a nearby bus stop on Albert Street.
The company’s booking office is situated on the street and offers a waiting area for passengers.
South West Coach Lines operations manager Francine McDonald said they hadn’t experienced many issues with people not being able to access their stop.
“We generally don’t have complaints, every now and then the taxis might say something about having to drop in a bus zone because they can’t find somewhere to pull up near the Transwa stop but we’ve never really had an issue,” she said.
“It would be nice to have more parking, but there is not enough street verge.
“Using the Albert Square car park as a drop and go is usually what people do and makes the most sense as it has a two entries/exits.”
