West Dapto roadworks prompt temporary changes to bus services
The West Dapto community is advised of altered bus services due to Wollongong City Council roadworks from 29 July lasting about 12 months.
Transport for NSW has worked with local contracted operator Premier Illawarra to provide alternative bus service solutions during the period when West Dapto Road will be closed for an upgrade between Shone Avenue and Yard Street.
These service changes will help maintain vital connections for students and residents while supporting essential road upgrades for a growing community. Premier will operate altered routes and changed timetables on six school bus routes and three regular route services in the West Dapto communities of Horsley, Wongawilli, Stream Hill and Brooks Reach.
The school services that will be impacted will need to make diversions, and some students may have earlier departure and later arrival times and longer journey times of up to 22 minutes.
Schools that will have some level of bus service changes either in the morning, afternoon or both are St Joseph's Catholic High at Albion Park, Albion Park High School, St John’s Primary at Dapto, Dapto Public, Dapto High, Cedars Christian College and Illawarra Christian at Cordeaux Heights.
Students who currently use the school bus stop on Rainbird Drive in Stream Hill will instead need to use new bus stops on Darkes Road. Schools are provided with information about this.
The three regular route services that will be altered are Route 30 - Kembla Grange to Dapto via Wongawilli, Route 31 - Horsley to Wollongong via Unanderra and Route 32 - Brooks Reach to Dapto and a new route 38 will be added.
Residents in Horsley, Wongawilli, Stream Hill and Brooks Reach will have changes to their journeys and may use a different bus number than what they are used to.
Depending on where passengers are travelling to and from, some trips may be longer and some passengers may need to make a change mid-journey.
Two existing bus stops on Bong Bong Road, one eastbound and one westbound, will be temporarily removed and four additional bus stops will be installed at locations on Fairwater Drive, Lucas Drive and Horsley Drive to allow buses to operate in both directions.
Additionally, new bus stops on Darkes Road will provide new public bus access for some Stream Hill residents with a connection to and from Dapto city centre.
Transport for NSW Regional Director South, Cassandra Ffrench, said while the changes may take some getting used to, this is a great opportunity to improve infrastructure in the growing West Dapto area.
“We’ve worked closely with our bus local operator Premier Illawarra to ensure services continue as smoothly as possible and are proud to have implemented practical solutions, including new bus stops and re-routed services to maintain connections for students and local residents,” Ms Ffrench said.
“These temporary changes will help keep people moving safely while Council delivers upgrades that will benefit the community in the long term. Transport thanks the community for its patience and apologises for any inconvenience.
“We encourage community members and local students to make themselves aware of the changes ahead of time and use the available journey planning tools such as Trip Planner transportnsw.info/trip, to ensure a smooth transition to the new timetables and routes.
“A range of communication is going out to the community, including posters at bus stops and information provided to schools so everyone knows what bus to catch and when, from July 29.
“For school students, it may mean that they need to leave home earlier or they may arrive home later than they currently do.
“Passengers who use both buses and trains to make journeys should also check the timetables to make sure they make their connections."