NSW operator Busways has recently began a new contract to continue operating bus services in Sydney for the next seven years.
Started on Sunday December 10, Busways was awarded the new contract following a competitive open tender process last year.
Since the new contract announcement in February, Busways, as the incumbent operator, has worked with Transport for NSW to execute a transition project to ensure uninterrupted service quality.
Under the new contract, Busways will continue to operate more than 350 buses from the Penrith, Blacktown and Mulgrave bus depots, including 18 zero-emissions buses in Penrith and the award-winning Cooee Busways on-demand service in The Ponds area that serves eight million passengers on nearly 1.1 million trips annually.
The Region One of NSW, which Busways has begun this month, was first established in 2005 courtesy of a consortium featuring Busways, Hawkesbury Valley Buses and Westbus. Following a competitive tender process, Busways took over all services in the region in 2013, with the announcement 10 years later ensuring Busways will run the region until mid-2031.
Busways says customers can rest assured that all services will be business as usual from day one, with the smooth continuation of services still delivering the same timetable that was recently introduced on November 20 this year.
Busways managing director Byron Rowe says the operator has a proven track record in delivering high standards of customer experience, safety and service innovation to the Western Sydney community since starting in Blacktown in 1942.
“We are now the largest 100 per cent Australian-owned bus operator in Sydney and our commitment is to deliver world-class bus passenger services to the Western Sydney community over the next seven years,” Rowe says.
“We will focus on investing in the region, improving customer experience, introducing efficiencies, adopting new technologies and appropriately growing services as Western Sydney evolves into Sydney’s second major hub.”
Rowe says Busways looks forward to continuing its positive collaborations with the NSW government, providing customers value and innovating public transport accessibility.
In the past decade, Busways has partnered with Transport for NSW to lead 40 timetable enhancements, with Busways investing significantly in the Western Sydney network on projects like smart depots, six new zero-emissions buses in the past year and establishing the popular Cooee Busways on-demand service in 2019.