Privatisation caused service drop
Driver shortages should have been better predicted and managed, the NSW Bus Industry Taskforce has found in its initial report on bus services.
The reliability of services had deteriorated most in areas where bus companies were privatised, such as the Northern Beaches, and new operators didn’t understand their customers, the report said.
The taskforce found that decentralisation was an issue. For example, the B-Line service run by Keolis Downer is managed by one branch, bus stop maintenance by another and technology that supports real-time information by a third branch.
Concerns had been raised at a taskforce forum in Dee Why in June about the public transport information and priority system (PTIPS), which provides customers with ‘real-tie’ schedule information. The taskforce found it to be at ‘end-of-life’ and operating in a ‘degraded’ capacity as it had not been upgraded. This made it inefficient at managing service interruptions.
Independent Member for Wakehurst Michael Regan welcomed the report, but questioned why the bus services were so underfunded, receiving only two per cent of the capital budget.
“For most people in Wakehurst and the Northern Beaches, buses are our only form of public transport,” Mr Regan said.
“The former Government has questions to answer around why they prioritised profits over our community, our people, and over the local bus workforce.”
The taskforce has called for a restructuring of Transport for NSW (TfNSW) to create leadership accountability. It also found that the promise of growth funding for bus services had not been delivered, with more focus on other transport infrastructure than on bus services.
NSW Minister for Transport Jo Haylen has instructed TfNSW to begin working on a plan to implement the recommendations.
“The taskforce report is clear that on-time running and reliability has deteriorated over recent years and passengers expect and demand a better service,” Ms Haylen said.
The taskforce will present a second report on 10 October with a final report due by 1 May 2024.