Progress on Victoria Road Bus Lane

RTBU members, delegates and officials with the Mayor of Leichhardt, Alice Murphy, April 28, 2005.

The Tram & Bus Division of the RTBU launched a campaign for community support for the Victoria Road route in April 2005, with the objective of making sure that it is State Transit which becomes the operator of this high volume priority route.

Leichhardt Mayor Alice Murphy was overloaded with emails in the first few days of the campaign, and on April 28, she visited the STA Leichhardt Depot to explain the members that Leichhardt Council is a big supporter of improved public transport.

"The Leichhardt Council section of Victoria Road should become a full-time bus lane," she said. "We support the RTBU campaign for bus lanes and I will write to the Minister for Roads, Michael Costa, to organise a meeting between the RTBU, the Mayor of Canada Bay and herself to lobby for bus lanes".

Mayor Murphy has consulted with Canada Bay Mayor Angelo Tsirekas and local businesses to gain their support.

"Private bus companies are in trouble," said Raul Baonza, Secretary of the NSW Branch Tram & Bus Division, "and we have been concerned since the Unsworth Report on bus reform that the bus priority routes could be allocated to private operators, allowing them to take long-established business from State Transit.

"But as it has turned out so far, some major private bus operators have not coped with the new contracts. Harris Park Buses folded on January 26, and STA took over those services on January 27, and then a week later Westbus as a whole went into voluntary receivership," said Raul Baonza.

Westbus is owned by the British multinational National Express, which pulled out of Melbourne last year. Westbus went into receivership on the basis that it could not repay a debt of $90 million to National Express.

RTBU members now driving the services in the Harris Park contract area have been welcomed with open arms by passengers and residents there.

Connex, the French transport multinational, has indicated that it is happy with the new contracts, and is breaking ranks with the Bus & Coach Association. The BCA has used an anti-union smokescreen for its protests against the reforms of the School Student Transport Scheme.

Under the new rules, STA fares were increased, and private bus fares were slightly decreased, so that both sectors now operate the same fares. As well, the private bus companies are only paid for the school students they actually carry, removing a big subsidy. Pensioner passengers on all services now receive the state-subsidised fare daily fare of $2.20. Before the reform, private bus companies offered a 50% discount to pensioners.

Why must we wait one and a half hours for a bus?

'Commuters of Western Sydney' is a cmapign group formed to have State Transit take over and improve the bus services of Westbus, now that it has gone into voluntary receivership, and to restore the train timetable.

They fear that Connex will take over the Westbus services, but point out that Connex have donated $100,000 to the Labor Party.

Commuters of Western Sydney are looking for people to join them. Phone Dick on 9673 2545 or Sam on 0418 611 074.