New buses announced for Northern Beaches, but they won’t be in action for a while
Morning commuters will have to wait almost a year for relief from long lines and delays plaguing bus services along Sydney’s northern beaches and north shore.
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Morning commuters looking for relief from long lines and delays plaguing bus services along Sydney’s northern beaches and north shore will have to wait almost a year for new B-line double deckers and bendy buses ordered by the NSW government.
With hour-long lines and regular cancellations now a regular feature of bus services across Sydney’s north, residents have had enough.
Finance worker Ajay Blackmore said she was left waiting for almost 40 minutes on Tuesday, while buses at capacity drove past without stopping.
“It’s just frustrating,” she said. “I now have to leave an hour earlier than I usually would to avoid the peak hour queues.”
“Some of the bus drivers give us signals sort of saying ‘I’m so sorry’ as they drive past, so you feel bad for them as well … it’s not their fault.”
The latest data from Transport NSW showed Keolis Downer, operator for Northern Beaches and lower North Shore lines and Busways the operator for the North Shore ranked as some of the worst performing contracted bus operators in Sydney.
However the announcement from Transport Minister John Graham on Wednesday morning, that 50 new diesel-powered articulated buses and 10 new double decker buses would be rolled out towards the end of 2025 shows commuters’ concerns have been heard.
A whopping 83 Volvo articulated buses were removed from service in October of last year due to safety concerns around cracking found in their chassis, half of which operated in the Northern Sydney bus region, known as Region 8. Graham confirmed that the first six of these buses under repair are forecasted to return in April.
“As these additional high-capacity buses and repaired articulated buses enter service over the next 12 months this will mean fewer disruptions, improved reliability and bus services that better meet the needs of the people who rely on them,” he said.
“The rollout will be prioritised to the areas of greatest need and provide a solution to ease the fleet shortage on the northern beaches.”
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