An Alternative to the Northern Beaches Road Tunnel

1. BEACHES TO BAY BUS EXPRESS
An Alternative to the Northern Beaches Road Tunnel
Dr. Garry Glazebrook
March 2019

2. • Times are Changing…
• But Road Proposals aren’t
• Plans for the North-East
• Public Transport Options
• Beaches to Bay Bus Express
CONTENTS
Source: https://www.greater.sydney/north-district-plan

3. TIMES ARE CHANGING…
• Sydney’s Population increased by 11.3%
in the six years to June 2017*
• Jobs growth has also been strong
• There has been a housing boom,
especially for apartments
• Developers are favouring locations near
good public transport, and in some
cases have even funded improvements.
* Source: ABS 3218.0. Resident Population Estimates for Greater
Sydney Significant Urban Area which includes Central Coast

4. Public Transport is Improving around the world...
Smart Shuttles (Switzerland)
Electric Buses (Amsterdam) Driverless Metros (Istanbul)
Trackless Trams (China)

5. Including in the Northern Beaches
On-demand Trials
Metros
B-Line Buses
Crows Nest Station
New Ferry Routes

6. Sydneysiders are shifting to public transport…
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
In the last 7 years, total public
Transport Trips in Sydney have
risen 45%:
Ferries up 13%
Rail up 38%
Bus up 55%
Light Rail up 280%
This is more than THREE TIMES
as fast as population growth
Source: Transport for NSW

7. Including new on-demand services in the Northern Beaches
See: https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/on-demand-buses-shifting-further-east-unused-in-the-west-20181206-p50kk5.html
Northern
Beaches

8. Sydney is becoming Multi-Centred City
• The Current Public Transport System
focuses on traditional CBD.
• This includes new links (NW Metro,
SE Light Rail). This “catch up” was
necessary.
• But other centres are emerging or
planned
 Chatswood
 Macquarie
 Parramatta
 Olympic Park
 Bays Precinct
 Western Sydney Airport etc.
• More cross-suburb links are needed
for the next generation of Public
Transport investments.

9. https://www.meinhardt.com.au/news/new-propose-planning-controls-will-further-increase-the-development-potential-of-parramattas-growing-cbd/
Future Parramatta?

10. Major public transport upgrades are happening or
planned in NSW over the next 10 years..
13 new ferries and 400
new weekly ferry
services beginning from
July 2019

11. And Driverless cars are coming…
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/automated-vehicles-open-way-to-slash-cost-of-road-congestion-20190224-p50zws.html

12. Three major new motorways are proposed for Eastern Sydney:
 Northern Beaches Road Tunnel
 West Harbour Road Tunnel
 F6 Corridor
Sources:https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/southconnex-nrma-campaign-to-promote-new-motorway/news-
story/7aad5eb147637e8be109233b1cbee3a0; https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-26/nsw-government-says-tunnel-will-slash-travel-time-
from-beaches/10040140;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-26/northern-beaches-link/10040354
BUT ROAD PROPOSALS AREN’T CHANGING…

13. More Motorways are not the answer…
• More motorways just mean more private cars,
including on local streets
• Capacity will soon be used up
• Within 10-15 years any travel time savings will
disappear as road congestion worsens
• The high cost of these new roads will crowd out
alternative public transport options, which move 4-
10 times more people in the same space
• And if they don’t clog up, expensive tollways could
become “stranded assets” if people move to
driverless shared ride plus mass transit and there
are not enough vehicles to pay the tolls.
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
45000
Freeways Rail Light Rail/Busway
Minimum Maximum
Passengers/lane or track/hour
Source: G Glazebrook. Assumes 1800-2000 vehicles per lane per hour for
freeways, with 1.2-1.5 average occupancy (depends on time of day).

14. PLANS FOR THE NORTH-EAST
• North-Eastern Sydney (North Sydney, Mosman,
Northern Beaches) is part of the North District
of Sydney.
• The North District as a whole is planned to
take 11% of Sydney’s growth
• Population growth in North Sydney, Mosman
and Northern Beaches is expected to be
relatively slower than the rest of Sydney.
• Like the rest of Sydney, the population is
expected to age, with a significant increase in
those over 65.
Source: Greater Sydney Commission District Plan for Northern Sydney

15. Jobs Growth
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
80000
90000
N Sydney St Leonards Chatswood Macquarie Park Hornsby French's Forest Brookvale-Dee
Why
Manly Mona Vale
Job Growth in Key Centrres
2016 2036 Baseline 2036 High
The location of new jobs will
drive future peak hour travel
demand:
• Strong job growth planned
for key commercial centres
(North Sydney, St Leonards,
Chatswood, Macquarie Park)
• Relatively small growth in
smaller centres such as
Hornsby, French’s Forrest,
Brookvale-Dee-Why, Manly
and Mona Vale
Source: Greater Sydney Commission District Plan North Region: https://gsc-public-1.s3-ap-southeast-
2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/north-district-plan-0318_0.pdf

16. To compete with the car and
to make Sydney a better city,
public transport needs to:
• Cater for variety of trips
• Be convenient, fast and integrated
• Avoid congestion
• Improve local access
• Be more cost-effective than
freeways
• Use new technologies where
appropriate
PUBLIC TRANSPORT OPTIONS

17. Improving Public Transport in Sydney’s North-East
Most current bus routes use
Military Road, congested with
both cars and buses.
Any new Public Transport in
the region should
• Reduce congestion on
Military Road, Harbour
Bridge and the CBD
• Improve amenity in
Mosman
• Reduce travel times from
the Northern Beaches to
many destinations
Public transport needs to avoid existing
traffic bottlenecks…
and avoid creating new ones…

18. BEACHES TO BAY BUS EXPRESS
• Dedicated Public Transport Tunnel using similar
alignment to proposed proposed Northern Beaches
and West Harbour Tunnels
• Electric Buses (potentially using guidance system)
• Can be extended in stages via Wolli Creek to
Sutherland Peninsula (Miranda) using the F6
corridor

19. STAGE 1:
NORTHERN BEACHES TO CROWS NEST
• Two-lane Dedicated Bus Tunnel for Electric Buses
• Follows general alignment of proposed Northern
Beaches Road Tunnel
• Interchanges with North Shore Line and
Chatswood – City Metro for trips to City,
Chatswood etc
• Fed from the north from Forestville, Brookvale and
Manly
• Also Connect to Pacific Highway with some direct
services to North Sydney and North Sydney
BEACHES TO BAY - STAGES

20. STAGE 2:
CROWS NEST TO ROZELLE
• Follows general alignment of proposed West
Harbour Road Tunnel
• Interchanges with West Metro at Rozelle, and
potentially under Darling Street in Balmain with
undergound bus station, accessed by lifts)
• Fed by buses from Stage 1 and from Pacific
Highway (in the north) and from Victoria Road,
City West Link, Pyrmont and Glebe (in the
south)

21. STAGE 3:
ROZELLE TO WOLLI CREEK
• Precise route to be established. Would be
mostly in tunnel, but with potential surface
sections at the far northern and far southern
ends.
• Includes interchanges with
• Inner West Light Rail (at Lilyfield)
• Parramatta Road Buses
• Main Western Line (probably under Petersham)
• Bankstown Line (probably under Marrickville)
• East Hills and Airport Lines (at Wolli Creek)
• Fed by buses from Stage 2 and Victoria Road (in
the North) and from Princess Highway and
Grand Parade (in the south)

22. STAGE 4:
WOLLI CREEK TO MIRANDA
• Precise route to be established, but would
utilise parts of the F6 corridor. Section near
Miranda would be in tunnel.
• Includes major interchanges with Airport and
Illawarra Lines at Wolli Creek and Cronulla Line
at Miranda.
• Other stops would be located along the route to
serve local areas and to connect with local bus
services.
• Fed by buses from Stage 3 (in the North) and
from Kingsway and other routes (in the south)

23. Why Electric Buses?
The proposed route has extensive tunneling and steep gradients
- ideally suited to electric buses and the “trackless tram”, which
Provide High capacity – for example each “trackless tram”
is equivalent to 2.5 standard buses
Require no rail tracks or overhead power systems in
tunnels
Produce no emissions, hence no exhaust stacks required
Can climb steep gradients
Can continue on regular streets, providing a flexible
transport solution
Are considerably cheaper than either the proposed road
tunnel or a metro
Many manufacturers are providing and
many cities now using electric buses
Volvo Electric Bus.
Alexander/Dennis/BYD bus in Auckland
Sources: https://at.govt.nz/about-us/news-events/electric-buses-to-hit-auckland-s-roads/

24. Comfort and Convenience
Source: Author’s estimates for time savings
• Fast and comfortable, with ride quality and travel
times similar to trains
• Services every 1-2 minutes in peaks, 2-4 minutes off-
peak, means no waiting time
• Convenient connections mean major travel time
savings, in some cases more than 30 minutes, or more
than 40%.
Source: http://theconversation.com/why-trackless-
trams-are-ready-to-replace-light-rail-103690

25. Connectivity and Network Advantages
• Interchanges with:
• Trains: North Shore, Main Western, Airport, Illawarra and East Hills
Lines
• Metros: North- West, West and Bankstown Metros
• Buses: Major bus routes on Pacific Highway, Victoria Road,
Parramatta Road.
• Light Rail: Inner West Light Rail at Rozelle
• Plus fed by local buses, taxis and on-demand shuttles
• Provides a fast “by-pass” route avoiding the CBD, reducing the
load on key stations such as Wynyard and Town Hall.
C
B
D

26. Capacity
• Up to 8,000 passengers per hour (per direction),
upgradeable in future to 12,000.*
• Total public transport capacity from region of
25-30,000 passengers per hour in morning
peak, including existing buses and ferries.
• Accommodates future housing growth and shift
from cars to public transport.
• In the long term (2050 plus) additional capacity
if needed could be accommodated by a metro
under Military Road and either under or over
Middle Harbour at the Spit.
* Assumes articulated electric buses with 120-200 passenger
capacity. Upgrade would require dual-sided platforms (in each
direction), enabling higher frequencies.
https://www.google.com/search?q=multi+unit+housing+dee+why&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch
&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjrlqLbsNXgAhWKinAKHf8rCUsQ_AUIDigB&biw=1219&bih=731#imgrc=LP6mUtRYB-dYEM:

27. Cost-Effectiveness
Stages 1 and 2 is expected to be less than half
the cost of the proposed Northern Beaches
and West Harbour Road Tunnels:
 One two-lane tunnel rather than two three-lane tunnels
 Much simplified interchange at Rozelle
 Fewer road connections required at Crows Nest
 Limited number of underground stations required (only
at St Leonards and/or Crows Nest, and at the proposed
West Metro station in Rozelle area)
 Stations are shorter and simpler than current metro or
heavy rail stations.

28. CONCLUSIONS
• Sydneysiders are already shifting to public transport. Major new metro and light rail
projects under construction and planned will accelerate this shift
• Driverless shuttles are coming. They could further shift travel away from private cars.
• Motorways for cars are expensive and not cost-effective. They could become white
elephants in the future.
• The Beaches to Bay proposal provides an alternative to the Northern Beaches, West
Harbour and F6 road projects, which could provide multiple, lasting benefits to the
Eastern Seaboard area of Sydney.
• This public transport option (and any other alternatives) should be properly assessed
before any commitments are made to building more expensive road tunnels for private
automobiles.