The member for Lake Macquarie said he had sought further meetings with the Transport Minister as well as Transport Newcastle and the private operator, Keolis Downer, to have the changes reviewed and services restored.

“I've received numerous complaints about the new system with some services cut altogether, popular routes changed, and travel times extended in many cases,” Mr Piper said.

“If the government is serious about getting people to use public transport, it will stop cutting services and extending journey times, and start putting more money into providing more services more often, and creating convenience for people trying to move around the area.”

Mr Piper said many people had purchased homes or chosen to live in certain areas because of good public transport access to schools, shopping centres, hospitals or their place of work. 

“The impact on many of these people will be huge and may lead to them considering moving, purchasing a car or accepting a reduced quality of life. This is just wrong,” he said.

Mr Piper said “several hundred people” had already contacted him about the timetable, but he was keen to receive more feedback from residents.