After seven years of administering bus safety in Victoria, Transport Safety Victoria director of bus safety Stephen Turner is calling time.
As the bus safety regulator Stephen has seen Victoria’s bus industry grow significantly from about 1,400 bus operators in 2010 at the coming into force of the Bus Safety Act 2009 to almost 3,000 operators today.
Despite the challenges that have come with this significant growth, bus safety outcomes across all industry sectors and bus service types have continued to improve.
“Safe bus transport is essential to all Victorians and the many guests who visit to our great state each year,” he says.
“Buses transport millions of passengers every year to their places of work; to their schools and educational facilities; to local and distant sporting and social events; to Victoria’s many world famous tourist attractions.
“Major public transport improvements such as the Level Crossing Removal and the Melbourne Metro Tunnel projects would be much more difficult to implement were Victoria’s many bus operators not willing and able to safely take on the additional public transport burden during the construction phases of these major infrastructure improvements.”
Deputy director of bus safety Shaun Rodenburg will act in the director’s role while a recruitment process is undertaken.