o Eddie Ogden (owner of Ogden’s Coaches), Tony Ogden, Andrew Gee and Juliet Tankersley are excited about the new bus service available to those living in Narromine and Wellington.
An exciting, new and much-awaited service will soon become available in the town of Narromine.
For the first time, as of next week, residents will have the opportunity to catch a daily return bus service to Dubbo providing a crucial link between a rural and regional area.
Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian, Member for Dubbo Troy Grant and Member for Orange Andrew Gee announced the new initiative this week which is headed by the family business Ogden’s Coaches.
The NSW Government has worked with local bus operator Ogdens to introduce three daily return services from Narromine to Dubbo and four daily return services from Wellington to Dubbo from Monday to Friday.
Faye Ogden, co-owner of Ogden’s Coaches, is thrilled with the business’ new direction.
“We had a vision at Ogden’s that people in the country are not adequately serviced by public transport,” Mrs Ogden said.
“To address this problem we are opening up a 200 kilometre corridor to service people in rural areas.
“Often you find people enjoy living in rural communities as they have a lovely atmosphere however find transport to Dubbo sometimes difficult. This service will aid people, the elderly, apprentices earning minimal income to cover fuel costs, or those without transport, to access Dubbo for whatever reasons, be it from work to medical care.”
Member for Dubbo Troy Grant believed this was a long overdue improvement for residents.
“This is a welcome development for Narromine locals who have come to rely upon the good will of family and friends to convey them into Dubbo for important medical appointments or the occasional shopping expedition,” said Mr Grant. “This means that people without access to a vehicle will have an independent means of travelling between the two places.”
The bus services will run six times a day, three school services, which are also open to the general public, and three public services.
Mrs Ogden said they are committed to this new endeavour and look forward to providing the service to both Narromine and Wellington.
“We are of the idea that if you’re not going to do it properly, don’t do it, so to show how committed we are to this service, we have purchase two new buses, each costing over half-a-million dollars,” Mrs Ogden said.
“They will be wheelchair friendly and easy for mums and dads with prams to access.”
The government has also negotiated the use of Regional Excursion Daily Tickets (RED) for customers on the new bus services.
“This means pensioners and seniors will be able to catch the new buses as many times as they like in one day for a flat rate of $2.50,” Andrew Gee said.
“By allowing the RED tickets on these new services, we can ensure rural and regional residents who need public transport the most, will have access to affordable travel.
Ms Berejiklian said the bus services represent another regional transport win on top of the recently announced daily rail services between Bathurst and Sydney.
“I’m proud this Government has been able to deliver transport initiatives that make a real difference for the people of country New South Wales,” she said.
The daily return bus services will begin on 30 July, with timetable and bus stop details currently being finalised by Ogdens.
What do you think of this new service soon to commence? Email mail.narrominenews@ruralpress.com
