Pirate bus delivers Willoughby crewmates to Sydney city

With Sydney’s bus routes beset by continual cancellations and delays, Willoughby’s enterprising locals have decided to take matters into their own hands.

The “Pirates of Willoughy” have set sail on their maiden voyage to fix Sydney’s bus woes and shiver the timbers of bureaucrats.

After vowing to put on his own “pirate bus” after the cancellation of his beloved 272 from Willoughby to the city, IT specialist Ken Wilson – complete with a parrot on his shoulder and a black bandana – came through with his promise.

About 30 commuting crewmates joined the bus, which traced the old route, to take a stand against bus privatisation and cancellations.

“When you look at the density of our area, we are getting more people and, unless you want all those people to drive cars, we just need more buses,” Mr Wilson said.

“Today’s bus cost us $420 but I think we could get that down and we might be able to run this service. I don’t want to do that, but we’ll see what happens next.”

Pirate of Willoughby Ken Wilson has set up his own bus service. Picture: Tim Hunter.

While “Captain Ken” started the mission to bring back his old bus service, the issue of bus service cut backs and cancellations is hitting commuters all over Sydney.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union said more than 100 bus driver shifts were cut back this week and their members fear it will only get worse.

“Since our bus services were privatised by the NSW Government, the quality of the service has continued to get worse and worse,” RTBU Tram and Bus Division President Peter Grech said.

“Commuters are fed-up with the poor standard of our bus services and so are bus drivers. The timetable cuts this week have exacerbated the problem even further. We’re now seeing huge cuts right across the network.

Pirate Ken with commuters who used his pirate bus service. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“We’ve heard examples of people waiting with their kids for an hour for a scheduled bus to show up. The commuters deserve better than that.”

The RTBU said Redfern, Neutral Bay, Manly Vale and the Northern Beaches are where they are hearing the worst complaints of cancellations and delays.

A Transport for NSW spokesman said operators were removing less reliable services from the timetable to limit last-minute cancellations.

“We will continue to work with operators and scheduling experts to ensure timetable adjustments are as efficient as possible and are working towards reinstating suspended services as soon as possible. ”

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