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PICTURE OF THE WEEK
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Punchbowl Bus Company POD Hino Poncho HX
Seen on Wednesday last week is this eighteen seat Hino Poncho HX of the Punchbowl Bus Co outside Bankstown Station. Behind is MO6712, a new Bustech CDi of Transdev. Marketed as "POD" (Punchbowl on Demand), the Hino is used on one of several on demand services being trialed by Transport NSW across the state, but mostly in Sydney. Others are being provided by the likes of Transdev, CDC and Keolis Downer using a variety of vehicles including Mercedes, Toyota HiAce, BCI, Higer MidiBoss and Iveco Daily minibuses. Arriving at Bankstown Station a sign at the exit invites you to summon the POD to get to the Hospital. Having waited for over half an hour and with no sign of the POD it seemed sensible to summon one. Having found some free wifi the app downloaded. It was then necessary to pay by card the $4 fare, however a variety of credit cards failed to register on the site so another half hour went by. By using the website however, credit card payment was successful and the POD appeared for photos instantly - it was probably waiting round the corner, but not in the usual Bankstown station layover. The driver was a bit mystified when the intending passenger said he was not going for a ride! Fortuitously another passenger wanted to travel and the driver assisted her in making payment. That took several minutes: Opal cards are not accepted. Hopefully something will be done to improve accessibility to the service as "On Demand" needs to be less arduous. The cost effectiveness of the service must also be in question, $4 an hour would never cover costs. The POD also serves a park and ride site so may have better peak hour use - if intending passenegers have succeeded in downloading the app and registering their payment card.
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See May 6th's picture of the week here.