NSW bus company has been prosecuted by Transport Safety Victoria for not being accredited
A New South Wales bus company has been prosecuted for operating without accreditation in Victoria.
City Sightseeing Pty Ltd was prosecuted by Transport Safety Victoria (TSV) and has been ordered to pay $30,000 and publish an adverse publicity order after it pleaded guilty today of breaching the Bus Safety Act 2009 (Vic).
TSV Director of Bus Safety Stephen Turner says this sends a very strong message to the bus industry about the importance of fully complying with the law.
“In January 2013, the company provided an open-top, double-decker bus and driver for promotional activities involving the Australian cricket team,” he says.
“The bus was observed near Federation Square and further investigation revealed that City Sightseeing Pty Ltd was not accredited to operate in Victoria.
“Accreditation is critical to public confidence in the safety of bus services and bus companies must not operate without it.”
The company surrendered its Victorian accreditation in 2004 and the Managing Director was well aware of the requirement to be accredited before providing any kind of bus service.
City Sightseeing Pty Ltd agreed to plead guilty and said it deeply regretted its failure to obtain accreditation prior to providing a commercial bus service in Victoria.
TSV wants to reassure the public that the ‘City Sightseeing’ buses seen in Melbourne are operated by a different company that has bus safety accreditation and is not connected in any way with the NSW operator.