NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen’s vow to fix northern beaches buses
Bus commuters – frustrated at cancelled and delayed buses on the northern beaches – have been given hope of improved services as Transport Minister Jo Haylen vows to fix public transport.
Manly
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Frustrating delays and annoying cancellation of buses on the northern beaches will be one of the targets of a high-powered review into bus privatisation, the new state Transport Minister Jo Haylen has confirmed.
Ms Haylen was at the Brookvale Bus Depot on Friday days after announcing a special taskforce to examine the effects of private companies taking over public bus networks.
The Minister was joined at the depot visit by the new state independent MP for Wakehurst, and Northern Beaches mayor, Michael Regan, who has been continually lobbying for an improvement to commuter and school bus services.
French transport giant Keolis Downer was awarded a $900 million eight-year contract by the previous Coalition state government to run buses on the northern beaches and north shore, on behalf of the government, since October, 2021.
But locals have been complaining that there has been an increase in delays and cancellations to services as a result of the new contract, including disruptions to busy peak hour and school routes.
In December 2020, before the previous Coalition government announced Keolis Downer was taking over the public routes, it introduced a radical new bus timetable for the northern beaches.
State Transit said it included an additional 2000 new services a week, including a 24/7 B-Line service and buses operating every 10 minutes, seven days a week, on five key routes — 160X Dee Why to Chatswood; 199 Palm Beach to Manly via Mona Vale and Dee Why; 144 Manly to Chatswood via St Leonards; and 100 Mosman to the city.
The changes also meant that a number of other direct bus services were replaced with shorter connecting buses to interchange hubs such as Seaforth, Warringah Mall, Narrabeen and Mona Vale, where passengers now have to get another bus to complete their journeys.
Locations where bus services changed included Avalon, Warriewood Valley, Cromer, Narraweena and Balgowlah Heights, where higher frequency local services now connect to new frequent routes at key transport hubs for travel to the Sydney CBD and major local centres.
The changes also lead to some bus stops being moved or scrapped.
In an exclusive interview after visiting the Keolis Depot at Brookvale, where she listened to the concerns of drivers, Ms Haylen said bus operations on the northern beaches would be looked at by the taskforce, headed by former State Transit chief John Lee.
The Minister heard that drivers were leaving the industry due to worries about working conditions.
“I spoke with drivers today and heard their frustrations loud and clear,” she said.
“They included concerns about not being able to meet timetable requirements, lack of rest breaks and not being able to look after the passengers they dearly care about.”
Ms Haylen said Mr Regan had been a “a very strong, long standing advocate for bus services on the northern beaches”.
“It’s been one of my first stops.
“The northern beaches is obviously an area where … passengers do not have a service they can rely on, that’s why I was there with Michael today.
“We’ve got acute bus driver shortages, limited communications with the community, hundreds of people waiting in long queues morning after morning.
“As a result people have been late for work kids have been late for school, school sport and activities cancelled.
“We need a service that delivers for passengers and the transport workforce.”
Ms Haylen highlighted that the new taskforce included a bus industry representative and that it would also look at what long term changes needed to occur to have a sustainable industry.
One of its tasks is to look at what happens once the private contract expires.
“We ask for people’s patience, but know that we are focused on delivering a transport service they can rely on.”
Managing director of Keolis Downer Northern Beaches, Mark Dunlop, said it was a pleasure to welcome Ms Haylen and Mr Regan to the Brookvale Depot “to better understand the challenges faced by our frontline staff”
“As well as supporting and contributing to the newly formed bus review taskforce, Keolis Downer Northern Beaches is looking forward to working with the new Government to discuss solutions for the driver shortages and how we can attract new recruits to the industry, whilst we continue to focus on optimising bus services for Northern Beaches and Lower North Shore communities,” Mr Dunlop said.
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