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

A spokesman for the group, Allan Miles, said that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with such a split - the buses and ferries were separated from the trains many years ago.

However, Mr Miles said that the public should be concerned about what might be next on the agenda.

At present, he said, bus and ferry timetables are very well co-ordinated. Under separate managements, Mr Miles said people could be waiting around on wharves for buses and ferries that don't connect.

TravelPasses might also be in danger, Mr Miles said. Even today, State Transit and CityRail argue about who gets what share of TravelPass revenue. A three-cornered fight for the money could see, not just increased fares, but changes in the TravelPass zones. It is possible, Mr Miles said, that Sydney Buses might not want to include Sydney Ferries in their TravelPass arrangements. This would be very inconvenient for passengers, Mr Miles said.

Maintenance is another concern, according to Mr Miles. He said that the first thing that gets thrown overboard in any corporatisation is maintenance, because it is seen as too costly and not producing any revenue.

On the privatisation issue, Mr Miles said that it may not just be Sydney Ferries that is being tarted up for sale. Sydney Buses, or State Transit without the burden of the ferries, would also be a more attractive proposition for buyers, he said

The efficiency of the split is also questionable, Mr Miles said. The Parry Report, on page 46, says "merging the SRA with RIC (two rail corporations) offers some opportunity to reduce the 'head office' costs of operating the organisations separately. Some positions will become redundant when the organisations are merged." Mr Miles said he wondered why the same rationale is not applied to keeping the ferries and buses together. Separating them will only cost more in administration and newly created managerial positions, he said.

Contact: Allan Miles. Phone 9516 1906