Maddelyn Phillips knows she drives a petrol "guzzler" but her family's old four-wheel drive is her only way of getting around.
The 17-year-old high school student from The Oaks on the outskirts of south-western Sydney is on her red P-plates and, like most of her friends, relies on a car as her main form of transport.
"I am the norm — all of us drive everywhere," the year 12 student said.
Public transport options are few and far between in the Wollondilly Shire. It is a 15-minute drive to Maddelyn's nearest train station, where passenger services are in competition with freight trains.
"I would describe [public transport] as probably quite limited," she said.
"Buses aren't very frequent in the area, the closest train station we have to me is Picton and the trains there are quite flaky."
A New South Wales state parliamentary inquiry is currently investigating the current and future public transport in Western Sydney.
With massive housing projects planned for south-west Sydney including 15,000 homes at Wilton and 19,000 homes at Appin, the local population is expected to boom.
The region is still coming to terms with a tragic crash in Buxton in September 2020 where five teenagers, including Maddelyn's friend from dance school, died.
The driver, P-plater Tyrell Edwards, was sentenced to 12 years in jail in December.
Maddelyn said the crash had devastated the community and heightened pressure on young people and how they travel around the shire.
"There is now that fear of getting into the car with someone else, that option of carpooling; sometimes, you are like, 'Oh, can I trust this person?'," she said.
She said young people needed more public transport options.
"If we are all car-dependent and there is development and there are so many people living in the area, that means roads get ridiculously busy," Ms Phillips said.
"I think they aren't considering young people and the impact that it is going to have on us at all.
"They are all kind of thinking about now and not in the future for us when we are adults and we have to deal with it."
Transport shortages set younger generation back
For younger residents without a licence, like Picton High student Chloe Maljkovic, public transport options were limited.
"There are three buses that come through Wilton Monday to Friday. [It] is incredibly hard to get around," she said.
The 14-year-old said travelling around her local area was something all her friends struggled with.
"There are so many kids in my area who don't really have parents who are able to drive them around places and be their chauffeur," she said.
"Especially with the cost of fuel, honestly, they need to get it sorted."
She said the lack of public transport often meant she missed out on opportunities to socialise.
"I often just rather stay at home than getting out and getting some sunlight and talking to my friends because it is just such a big hassle going places," she said.
Inquiry looks at transport inequality
Today, Wollondilly resident Ally Dench will give evidence to the parliamentary inquiry.
Ms Dench has already provided a detailed written submission arguing the inadequacies in the public transport system in the area disproportionately affected already disadvantaged groups.
From her home at Theresa Park in the northern part of the shire, she said there was "virtually no public transport".
"It can take me up to an hour just to get to Campbelltown, and Campbelltown is as the crow flies only 25 to 30km away," Ms Dench said.
"But it is the congestion on Narellan Road and getting out through Harrington Park and down through Oran Park [that is the problem]."
There are no electrified rail services in Wollondilly and residents are dependent upon the Southern Highlands diesel service, with most driving to Macarthur to access a reliable train service.
Ms Dench said locals had given up factoring public transport into their daily lives.
"It is already a car-dependent community, and we have people who don't speak up because they see it as just a way of life," she said.
'Mega' scale of disadvantage
Wollondilly Shire Council has repeatedly raised concerns about the lack of clear plans for efficient and effective public transport in its rapidly growing communities.
Ms Dench said she was concerned it would only entrench an already inequitable situation on the peri-urban fringe.
"The scale of the disadvantage is just going to get mega," she said.
"We have great cultural diversity that could add to the patchwork and flavour of Sydney, but it is not being provided to enable people to flourish, to live healthy, fulfilling lives."
In her submission to the inquiry, Ms Dench encouraged the state government to change its approach to assessing the feasibility of projects, particularly the construction of infrastructure like metro trains or light rail.
"The way things are costed, it is all based on what is economically viable," she said.
"We don't factor in things such as lost productivity — lost skills from people who don't have those opportunities."
She said additional consideration needed to be given to "last mile" connectivity, including feeder buses, cycling lanes, and pedestrian walkways.
The state government has promised to establish rapid bus services from the metropolitan centres of Penrith, Liverpool, and Campbelltown to Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport before it opened in 2026, and to the Western Sydney Aerotropolis.
Ms Dench also wanted the government to consider innovative solutions including expanding "on-demand" services that currently operate in the Inner West, Northern Beaches and Kellyville.