It seems certain that NSW competitive bus tenders will go ahead given today’s call for expressions of interest
June 12, 2012
Transport for NSW announced today that bus operators can now lodge expressions of interest to cover the state’s $1 billion worth of bus service contracts.
A statement from the TfNSW says for the first time the New South Wales government has announced it will open private bus services up for competitive tender in July 2012.
Previously contracts were negotiated only with existing providers.
Despite protests from the NSW bus industry, led by its industry association BusNSW calling on the NSW Government to reverse the decision, Transport for NSW has now gone ahead with the policy, encouraging domestic and international bus operators to lodge expressions of interest.
The Department says patronage on NSW buses has grown by 14 percent over the last five years, reinforcing the Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian’s position that allowing private bus operators to competitively tender for existing private services will drive improvements for NSW customers.
Transport for NSW today announced the introduction of tendering for private bus operators will be staged over two tender rounds over two years. Tender documents for each of the first four contracts, ranging in size from around 90 to around 280 buses, will be published in early July 2012.