The New South Wales (NSW) government said a $139.5 million (US$92.3 million) boost to the state’s ailing bus network will bolster public transport in Sydney’s under-serviced western suburbs but concedes there are still not enough bus drivers to meet demand.
The funding, to be allocated in June 18’s state budget, would modernise the state’s bus fleet and improve its reliability and accessibility, the government said on June 14.
The work, due to start this year, would involve upgrades on 4000 Opal-enabled buses in Greater Sydney and on 1000 in outer metropolitan areas, it said.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the budget investment was needed given 40 percent of NSW public transport use was on Sydney’s under-funded bus network.
“There’s been an historic under-investment in our bus network across Sydney,” Mr. Minns said in a media conference in Blacktown.
The spend would enable longer routes, new routes for weekends and those for under-serviced areas to cut the risk of having to “rely on Uber”, the premier said.
There would also be new on-board screens and audio facilities on the buses and technology to eliminate so-called “ghost buses”—those that do not turn up as scheduled, the government said.
It said communities in Sydney’s northwest—Marsden Park, Tallawong, Riverstone and Schofields —would be key winners from the investment.
However, Mr. Minns said the state was still working to hire 250 extra bus drivers as part of recruitment efforts over the past 12 months.
“There’s still a deficit, that means that the services that we'd like to roll out into growing communities, we can’t quite get to at the moment,” he said.
Transport Minister Jo Haylen said the new funding would enable the development of a medium-term state bus plan, a key recommendation of the government’s bus industry task force.
The bus “blueprint” would be a 10-year plan to make sure NSW’s bus network was “fit for the future and that passengers can choose public transport more often”, Ms. Haylen said.
In February, the task force called for a plan to overhaul the network at a cost of $645 million (US$427 million) a year and more than $3 billion (US$2 billion) in infrastructure spend for buses, depots, and electric services.
It was set up after Labor criticism of the former coalition government over almost $5 billion (US$3.3 billion) worth of contracts it signed for the privatisation of various bus routes.
“The former government left no plan for buses whatsoever,” Ms. Haylen said.
Also on June 14, the government unveiled a $945.7 million (US$625.7 million) budget spend on tackling biosecurity threats, including feral pigs damaging prime agricultural land.
NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty said the plan encompassed feral pig management, tackling weeds and pests on public lands, and fighting red fire ants.
“Strong biosecurity protections are not just about keeping pests and weeds out,” Ms. Moriarty said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Liberal opposition on June 14 claimed union pay rise demands would add an extra $7.4 billion (US$4.9 billion) to the budget bottom line over four years .
Mr. Minns told reporters that unions were working incredibly hard to lift wages and conditions for their members, and the reason was because many members could not afford to pay their mortgages.
