Frustrated Sydney commuters vow to start pirate bus service

Angry north shore commuters who feel ignored after local bus privatisations say they will start their own “pirate” bus to replace cancelled services.

There won’t be any rum or parrots but frustrated north shore commuters have vowed to launch a “pirate bus” service – and leave Transport for NSW all at sea.

The dispute began when their 272 bus service to the city was cancelled, which locals said has left the suburb’s commuters with few options.

Now IT specialist Ken Wilson is raising funds to start his own ”pirate bus” service.

“You can still get the 120 bus, which is great at midnight but (during the day) it gets halfway on its route and is full – people at the last few stops just watch it drive past. On a bad day they can be there for an hour,” he said.

“Some people are just giving up and paying for Ubers or getting relatives to drive them.”

Willoughby locals are fed up with cancelled or full buses. Picture: Julian Andrews

Mr Wilson’s “pirate bus” would travel the same route as the cancelled 272 bus to the city and be free for locals to use.

“This idea came out of pure frustration … we are just trying to see proof of concept, can we actually run a bus service?” the 64-year-old said.

Mr Wilson wants the government to urgently bring back the 272 service, particularly as Mirvac apartment buildings are due to welcome tenants from next year at the old Channel 9 site, bringing in yet more commuters.

A band of locals are backing him, saying after the buses were privatised and services cut, catching a bus to work has become a nightmare.

Privatisation led to their local route (bus number 120) being cancelled. Picture: Julian Andrews

They say a perfect storm of privatisation, bus driver shortages and increased population density is to blame.

“I feel so sorry for the people closest to the city – you would think they would have a quick commute but lord knows what’s going to happen when the units are finished,” Melissa Odewahn said.

The bus service shortage in Willoughby is a symptom of a broader disease impacting high density, inner city suburbs.

In Waterloo and Redfern, bus services running from Zetland are often full before they reach the inner city suburbs, creating a commuter nightmare despite their geographical closeness to the CBD.

Recently a state parliament inquiry into the privatisation of buses recommended the government return privatised bus services into public hands, linking privatisation with a decline in service quality.

However the state government has refused, saying the tender process improves the former one-size-fits-all approach and saves the taxpayers money in the north shore area.

“Busways will save taxpayers around $75 million, while delivering more than 1.1 million services annually for customers,” the government response said.

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Originally published as Frustrated Sydney commuters vow to start pirate bus service