Cylene Whiteley, of Castle Hill, who supports the inquiry, says she is unhappy about the shire's transport.

``It's woeful. Something needs to be done,'' Ms Whiteley said.

``My son-in-law catches a bus into the city every day for work and he's often unable to get on a bus because it's full and he's late for work. It's the same in the evenings. The queue to get on the bus is ridiculous and so many people are left behind waiting.

``He's tried leaving later in the morning but it still takes forever, so it really doesn't matter what time you leave.''

She said friends visiting from London were not impressed.

``They said buses were not big enough or frequent enough,'' Ms Whiteley said.

``They thought it was a joke.''

Ms Whiteley, who is considering making a submission to the inquiry, suggested minibuses could be used around The Hills to ease the traffic problems.

She spoke about the lack of commuter parking in North Rocks and the ``on-again, off-again'' rail system as major concerns.

``We could be waiting forever before that [the rail] ever happens,'' Ms Whiteley said.

Visi t http://tinyurl.com/3mgs4s to read the terms of reference and to make submissions.