Findings from a report released on Monday in which more than 19,000 passengers provided feedback show a deteriorating bus service in New South Wales (NSW) that is fraught with issues around reliability, quality, and effectiveness.
Most service cancellations and other failures are a direct result of driver shortages, with some depots significantly understaffed.
In Greater Sydney, operators in the regions privatised have seen the worst driver shortage.
This has been compounded by the global pandemic with similar circumstances across other jurisdictions, including New Zealand, the report noted.
Minister for Transport Jo Haylan said, “We promised the people of NSW we would take decisive action to help deliver bus services for our communities—this report provides a clear roadmap on what we need to do.”
The taskforce (a first for the bus industry), set up in May, includes ‘safety and regulatory’ arrangements for bus operations following the fatal bus crash in the Hunter Valley in May.
The need for recruiting and retaining bus drivers is paramount, and a recruitment drive will be rolled out, with incentives such as free opal cards to bus drivers and other operational staff considered.
“We want better service planning and a thriving industry that will attract new bus drivers,” the minister said.
The task force heard from some bus drivers who found it difficult to know who to communicate with about any issues they had. They said they would welcome regular joint meetings to address some of these concerns.
As the bus system is decentralised, with branches scattered across the state to deal with different issues, regular meetings to share information could be one way to combat this.
In many of the outer metropolitan areas of Sydney, population growth is outpacing the bus service. These are also the areas with the poorest transport access. This contrasts with some of the more affluent suburbs that have upwards of 200 services per day—some operating overnight.
Actions That Need to Be Implemented for Improvement of Services
Some of the things that need to be addressed include—more efficient use of technology and training so that staff can better coordinate any disruptions. One of the complaints was that the ‘real-time’ bus tracking was often not working, which resulted in more than 10 percent of buses not being visible to people.The ways it manages replacement and emergency bussing need to be considered, as well as improved “layovers” for bus drivers, as current facilities are unacceptable and lacking.
A more coordinated approach between bus, ferry, and light rail services was needed to ensure operations run more smoothly.
“Passengers expect and demand a better service,” the minister stated and has instructed Transport NSW to commence working on a plan that best implements the findings of the report.
The task force will continue to work with Transport NSW to provide a final report in October, with recommendations due the following May.
