The Bathurst Bullet 2.0 commenced to some fanfare last Monday and, based on a single casual observation, seems to be well patronised. Some 50-odd people stepped off the new early train at Bathurst Station on Friday night and they seemed to be pleased to be arriving home in time for dinner. The first passengers past the Opal readers could be overheard yearning to be pulling into Orange station, instead. The car park was completely full.

On the eve of the maiden voyage of the Bullet 2 last week I lamented the missed opportunity of launching the service without providing connecting bus services to further flung towns. Last Monday, on the day of the launch, the Central West Daily dropped the news that a connecting coach service for Orange would start in a month’s time. As of yet there’s no official word of this from Transport for NSW; it isn’t shown on timetables and it is not yet bookable through their website. 

In fact the only place any mention of the bus has turned up so far is in the Central West Daily’s article (behind a paywall) and discretely mentioned on the website of Australia Wide Coaches, a local bus operator that runs contract routes for NSW Trainlink. Aust Wide don’t specifically mention the new service they’ll be operating. Instead, the astute observer will note that their long running daily bus service between Orange and Sydney will run to an altered timetable from Monday the 14th of October. That’s the same day that CWD reported the Bullet 2 coach commencing. Presumably the official announcement from TfNSW will appear in the coming few weeks.

Sadly, from this investigation it seems that the coach connection from Orange to Bathurst has been shoehorned onto an existing service in such a way that will make the Bullet 2.0 pretty much meaningless for residents of the Colour City.

No new options heading East

Prior to the launch of the Bullet 2, weekday travellers from Orange to Sydney had the following options:

  • 4:55am NSW Trainlink coach to Bathurst then Bullet to Central, arriving at 9:27am. Travel time: 4:32
  • 6am Aust Wide coach direct to Central, arriving 10:15am. Travel time: 4:15
  • 9:10am NSW Trainlink coach to Lithgow then train to Central, arriving at 2:15pm. Travel time: 5:05
  • 11:10am NSW Trainlink coach to Lithgow then train to Central, arriving at 3:48pm. Travel time 4:38
  • 1:25pm NSW Trainlink coach to Lithgow then train to Central, arriving at 6:20pm. Travel time: 4:55
  • 3:52pm XPT to Central, arriving at 8:48pm. Travel time: 4:56
  • 5:05pm NSW Trainlink coach to Lithgow then train to Central, arriving at 10:21pm. Travel time: 5:16

Following the announcement of the Bullet 2, residents and representatives of Orange lobbied hard for the service to be extended West or at least a connecting coach service provided for.

The 7:35am Bullet 2 departure from Bathurst could mean a bus leaving Orange at 6:40am would see passengers arriving at Central at 11:19am (Travel time 4:39). This would allow a choice of 3 solid options all arriving at Central before noon; the early train, the not-quite-so-early quicker private coach or the later train.

Instead of a new bus route being added, the private coach service will be altered to depart 30 minutes later and function as both a direct bus to Sydney and also a feeder bus for the Bullet.

From mid October onwards, options for weekday trips from Orange heading East will likely look like this:

  • 4:55am NSW Trainlink coach to Bathurst then Bullet to Central, arriving at 9:27am. Travel time: 4:32
  • 6:30am Aust Wide coach direct to Central, arriving at 10:30am. Travel time: 4:00
  • 6:30am Aust Wide (likely subsidised by Trainlink) coach to Bathurst then Bullet 2.0 to Central, arriving at 11:19am. Travel time: 4:49
  • 9:10am NSW Trainlink coach to Lithgow then train to Central, arriving at 2:15pm. Travel time: 5:05
  • 11:10am NSW Trainlink coach to Lithgow, then train to Central, arriving at 3:48pm. Travel time: 4:38
  • 1:25pm NSW Trainlink coach to Lithgow then train to Central, arriving at 6:20pm. Travel time: 4:55
  • 3:52pm XPT to Central, arriving at 8:48pm. Travel time: 4:56
  • 5:05pm NSW Trainlink coach to Lithgow then train to Central, arriving at 10:21pm. Travel time: 5:16

They’re almost identical. The only difference is that now travellers can choose between the quicker and more expensive private bus service, or get off at Bathurst and change onto a cheaper train. They’ll save somewhere in the vicinity of $25 at the price of an extra 50 minutes travel time.

In the evening it’s a similar deal. Passengers can board the Bullet at Central at 3:05 or the coach at 3:40; either way they’ll be in Orange at 8.

The other notable change is that the new Aust Wide coach timetable shaves 15 minutes off the journey between Eastern Creek and Central, presumably from reduced traffic thanks to the new M4 East and the slightly later departure time. Even more incentive to stick with the coach.

The makings of an interchange conspiracy theory

It seems like the connecting coach service has been timed to actually disadvantage train users, perhaps to make the coach seem even more preferable by comparison. Have a look at interchange times between the Bullet 1 coach and the Bullet 2 coach on weekdays.

Eastbound


Bullet 1Bullet 2
Bus arrives Bathurst5:39am7:15am
Train leaves Bathurst5:46am7:35am
Interchange Time7 minutes20 minutes

Westbound


Bullet 1^Bullet 2
Train arrives Bathurst9:33pm6:47pm*
Bus leaves Bathurst9:39pm7:10pm
Interchange Time6 minutes23 minutes

^Behold the confusion of having the Bullet 2 arrive several hours before the Bullet 1. Don’t blame me, this is how TfNSW do it.
*except Wednesdays when the Bullet runs an hour later thanks to the Indian Pacific

The existing Orange – Bathurst coach has been happily chugging down the Mitchell Highway for 4 years, rarely (if ever) missing a connection. Why does the new coach include insanely long 20+ minute interchanges? Bathurst Station is not the sort of place you need a map to navigate. The distance from the platform to the bus stop is about 20 metres and is entirely at grade. Why would anyone timetable an interchange like this?

It seems strange until you consider that the operator of the bus service makes money from people choosing not to leave the bus at Bathurst and instead remain onboard all the way to Sydney. By having an interchange time 15 minutes longer than necessary, staying onboard starts to look that little bit more worthwhile.

Business as usual

Last week I said that the Bullet 2 could be the perfect opportunity to tweak outdated coach timetables and make a serious effort at improving public transport between the cities of the Central West.

It could still be too early to say exactly how the Orange coach service will be implemented, but all signs at this stage point to a cop out from the State Government that will mean a continuation of the status quo. We’ll have to wait and see.