A new report launched as part of Sweltering Cities’ ‘Busted Bus Stops’ campaign has revealed issues plaguing Sydney’s bus stops and has crowned the city’s worst bus stop.
Courtesy of community responses, Sweltering Cities mapped more than 2500 bus stops across Sydney, with community members capturing photos of poor bus stops and sharing personal stories about the challenges of using unsafe and unsheltered bus stops.
As part of the report’s findings, 66 per cent of stops in Sydney’s inner west have seating and shelter or shade, while only 30 per cent of stops in Penrith, where ground temperatures have measured more than 50 degrees Celsius, had shelter, shade and seating.
In the north-west Sydney suburb of Schofield, which is a key growth region in the city, only 37 per cent of stops had shelter or shade and a seat.
Finally, 50 per cent of stops in the south-west Sydney suburbs of Eagle Vale, Campbelltown, Ingleburn and Raby had shelter or shade and seats.
“Over 2500 bus stops were mapped, with 59.7 per cent being recorded as having no infrastructure at all,” the report says.
“There were also stark disparities in infrastructure provision between eastern and western Sydney.”
To address this infrastructure inequality, Sweltering Cities is advocating for funding from the NSW government for bus stop shelters across western Sydney, with a goal of ensuring that 75 per cent of all stops have shelter.
“We propose that the NSW government commit $20 million in the 2024-25 Budget to fund up to 2000 new shelters and kickstart this program,” the report says.