A Parramatta Councillor is pushing for a new bus service to connect residents to the Parramatta Light Rail, ahead of its long-awaited opening later this year.
A lack of connecting public transport has made it hard for some commuters to travel on the Metro Northwest, with residents concerned it will be equally difficult to get to a Parramatta Light Rail stop, according to Councillor Georgina Valjak.
Speaking at the latest Parramatta Council meeting, she called on the Chamber to urge the State Government to provide a new public bus service along Jenkins Road and Oakes Road.
The bus service would connect the Parramatta Light Rail Stop in Carlingford to Cherrybrook Metro Station, via the M2 Motorway express bus stop at Oakes Road.
“We’ve got the opening of the Parramatta Light Rail with a stop in Carlingford, which creates an opportunity for us to increase connectivity and improve it,” Valjak said.
“What we’re actually seeking to do is arrange for local bus routes that will pick up from Carlingford Light Rail to Carmen Drive, connecting through to the M2 so you can pick up an express into the city.
“A lot of these suburbs that I represent, being in North Rocks and Carlingford, don’t have access to public transport, so we want to utilise the light rail in Carlingford, we want to get people across to the metro.”
When put to a vote, the Councillors agreed to advocate to the NSW Government for a new bus service.
But some Councillors found the timing of the motion ahead of the upcoming Council election to be questionable.
“Is there an election coming up, is there?” Lord Mayor and Labor Councillor Pierre Esber said.
“25 years on Council and I’ve never seen the word Cherrybrook in our business papers.
“You can go back to your caucus now Councillor Valjak, you’ve delivered for them.”
Valjak, who is running in the upcoming Council election as a Liberal candidate, hit back at claims it was an election pitch, saying she had been contacted by a resident.
“This came from a resident with a disabled son and he was telling me, he lives just off Carmen Drive, and he was saying to me that he has no choice but to drive his disabled son to work in Parramatta every single day and back,” she said.
“He would love for his son to use the Light Rail, but he can’t get his son from where he lives near the M2 across to the new Light Rail. There’s no bus services at all.”
Ellie Busby is a news reporter for Western Sydney Publishing Group. A graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and Western Sydney University, she is a journalism Major. Ellie has worked with Universal Media, The Cova Project and for a range of other organisations. In 2024, Ellie was named Young Writer of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.