# Outer Sydney pays thousands more for cars, not buses

> Western Sydney councils demand transport funding as the region absorbs 38 percent of Sydney's population growth but lacks the infrastructure to match.
- Title: Outer Sydney pays thousands more for cars, not buses · Abc
- Summary: Western Sydney councils demand transport funding as the region absorbs 38 percent of Sydney's population growth but lacks the infrastructure to match. Outer…
- Keywords: outer western sydney, public transport, sydney metro, western sydney airport, outer western sydney alliance, caitlin webster, todd carney, john graham, natalie ward, wilton, wollondilly shire council, camden
- Source: Abc — https://abc.net.au/news/2026-10-16/outer-western-sydney-alliance-public-trasport-calls/107263618
- Published: 2026-10-16T03:54:40+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: outer western sydney, public transport, sydney metro, western sydney airport, outer western sydney alliance, caitlin webster, todd carney, john graham, natalie ward, wilton, wollondilly shire council, camden
## One bus route, no way out
Caitlin Webster moved to Wilton in outer south-western Sydney.After her caesarean section earlier this year, she could not drive for weeks.Only one bus route serves her suburb, and it does not go near her house.

> I was going a bit crazy.
## Walking takes two hours
To reach local shops on foot would take Ms Webster over two hours. Her twenty five minute drive to work in Narellan would take one hour and forty minutes using infrequent buses, a train from…

> I have no idea how you get out of Wilton if you don't have a car.
## Just 12 percent have transit access
According to the Outer Western Sydney Alliance, only twelve percent of Wollondilly Shire Council area residents have regular public transport within four hundred metres of home.
## Thirty nine thousand dollars more yearly
Penrith Mayor Todd Carney, who chairs the Outer Western Sydney Alliance, said residents spend about thirty nine thousand dollars a year more on vehicle costs than inner-city residents and often live in multi-car households.
## Region expects 38 percent of growth
The Outer Western Sydney Alliance expects about thirty eight percent of Sydney's population growth, which would take its population beyond one point four million by twenty forty six.

> We're looking to take over 30 per cent of the future population growth of Sydney into our region.
## Government invested 140 million
NSW Transport Minister John Graham said the government invested one hundred forty million dollars into business cases for connecting Sydney Metro from Tallawong to St Mary's and from Bradfield to Campbelltown and Leppington.
## Metro line due next year
The Western Sydney Airport Sydney Metro line between St Marys and Bradfield is due to open next year. However, Premier Chris Minns has suggested it could be delayed until twenty twenty eight.
## Coalition backs Metro expansion
NSW Shadow Transport Minister Natalie Ward said the Liberal-National Coalition committed to expanding Sydney Metro and a new Western Sydney City deal.

> Western and south-western Sydney communities are suffering because transport investment has failed to keep pace with growth.
## Key takeaway

Outer Western Sydney residents spend about thirty nine thousand dollars a year more on vehicle costs than inner-city residents because public transport is scarce, prompting councils to call for rail and bus investment.