Bus routes that were axed under the previous New South Wales government could soon be resurrected, the new Minns government has said. However Labor has vowed it will not rip up any contracts despite blaming privatisation for a deterioration in service quality.
The NSW transport minister, Jo Haylen, called for communities to voice their support for particular routes they want to see return, as she unveiled the Bus Industry Taskforce on Monday, which will examine the consequences of bus privatisation as well as other issues plaguing the sector such as driver shortages.
The former state transit authority head John Lee will chair the taskforce, which will scrutinise service delivery including whether private operators are performing in line with their contracts; equity of bus services across different regions and reviewing routes, infrastructure including how the bus network will transition to clean energy; as well as driver employment arrangements.
The Minns government promised a review of bus privatisation ahead of the March election, in response to fury from passengers complaining of lost and late services as well as allegations that private operators were cancelling services to conceal poor on-time performance metrics – issues that Lee said he will consider.
Last year the NSW government conducted an inquiry into the privatisation of bus services, which foundprivatisation had led to worse services and recommended returning them to public hands.
Residents in parts of Sydney where bus services were privatised have resorted to crowdfunding their own “pirate bus” services in recent months.
The Perrottet government signed off on almost $5bn worth of private contracts that run for up to 10 years – including several reportedly agreed to in the weeks before the NSW election.
On Monday, Haylen reiterated that the Labor government was “not in the business of ripping up contracts”, and that the taskforce would only consider returning some regions’ services to public-owned operations once the contracts lapsed.
Instead, Haylen said the taskforce would look for solutions to improve services in the short, medium and long term, including working with private operators to address issues such as the national shortage of drivers.
“What’s happening at the moment isn’t working. There are people standing on the side of the road waiting for a bus that is very late and it doesn’t turn up, they can’t get to work on time. We need buses that people can rely on,” Haylen said.
Haylen said the taskforce will consider resurrecting discontinued routes. “Where communities loved a particular route and need it and want it back, this taskforce will be there to listen to that and to work towards reinstating it,” she said.
Lee said some of the private bus contracts had “very blunt” instruments for cancellations, and said he would seek to improve accountability and transparency of services, including releasing better data to show which provider is underperforming.
Ultimately, Lee said riding the bus should be a “forgettable experience” without issues.
“There’s contemplation under the contracts for abatement measures if people don’t meet their performance. Now I’m not here to win friends or influence people, but I’m going to say even within the bureaucracy, some might have been asleep at the wheel that there was an accountability as the contract manager to enforce the contracts,” Lee said.
The taskforce has been given 12 months to examine bus public transport in NSW, and will deliver multiple reports and recommendations to be considered by cabinet. Interim findings will be released on 10 July.
