Action for Public Transport (N.S.W.) Inc.

Bus users in Sydney cannot expect any magic carpet ride to come out of the current review of bus services, because the government is unwilling to spend any money on improvements.

The transport consumer group, Action for Public Transport (APT), says that instead of a magic wand, Mr Unsworth, the Review Chairman, has only been given a wooden spoon to re-mix the current ingredients.

Submissions to the Review, commissioned by the Minister for Transport Services, Mr Costa, closed last week. A spokesman for APT, Allan Miles, said that while the Terms of Reference for the Review gave promise of transports of delight, the squeeze was literally in the tail - the last words of the last term say "in a cost neutral manner". Mr Miles said this requirement rather crushed the life out of the review, and was like the python asking its victim which way he would like to turn.

With limited room to move, Mr Miles said, the review panel had been asked to look at a host of potential improvements, such as - a consistent state-wide fare regime, a network of strategic bus regions, responses to change in the capacity of rail and urban development, improved bus priority, desirable service standards, and better use of resources in rural areas.

Mr Miles said that he accepted that there are current areas of inefficiency that need better managing. However, he said the government is just teasing the people by holding out promises of vast improvements with no money to pay for them.

APT has made a submission to the Review, Mr Miles said. This consisted mainly of responses to the questions in the Discussion Paper. Some outcomes that APT would like to see, he said are

• more flexibility in the interpretation of the Act regarding contract areas
• more co-operation between operators in adjoining areas
• involvement by more parties in the planning processes
• analysis of why previous reform attempts were not entirely successful
• a management action plan to implement any recommendations of this review

Mr Miles said there are dozens of ways bus services (generally and individually) can be improved, but a serious effort requires serious money. He recognised that this Review is making a reasonably quick assessment of the current bus system and seeking some solutions that can be implemented quickly and cheaply. There is nothing wrong with that, he said, but it must not be the end of the matter. Mr Miles said he hoped to see more and substantial changes flow as a result of the separate Funding Inquiry chaired by Dr Parry.

It is also unhelpful to discuss bus services in isolation from trains, trams and ferries, Mr Miles added. However, he accepted that this is a one-off, short, sharp special purpose review, and so APT had worked within those bounds.

Contact: Allan Miles. Phone 9516 1906

APT's submission can be seen at http://www.aptnsw.org.au/unsworth.html.

REVIEW TERMS OF REFERENCE

1. The opportunity provided by integrated ticketing to establish a consistent state-wide fare regime.

2. The potential benefits of a network of strategic bus regions across the Greater Sydney metropolitan area which integrate with rail services and other travel patterns;

3. Improving the structure of the network to respond to changes in the future capacity of rail, and the future development of the metropolitan area;

4. Improved Bus Priority measures, Transitways and other options that may impact on services and suggested desirable service standards;

5. Improved use of resources in rural and regional communities to ensure more flexible solutions to local transport needs;

6. Funding, contractual and regulatory arrangements and any legislative changes required to implement these improvements; and

7. The best mix of recommendations to achieve improvements in a cost neutral manner.