Bringing Back STA: The Benefits of a Government Operator 

The RTBU continues to lobby within the Labor Party for the return of State Transit as a government operator in Sydney’s bus sector. With Labor failing our members in Region 7 who are standing by for the implementation of t a two roster system, the union has stepped up this campaign which will culminate at the mid-year Labor state conference. Here are some of the key benefits to a public operator:  

1.    It allows the government to benchmark the quality of services provided by private operators instead of ridiculous comparisons like those used by Andrew Constance to justify privatisation. 

2.    It prioritises customer focus over profit, ensuring that cutting corners to save money is not the focus but delivering services is. 

3.  Fosterers expertise over the long-term. TfNSW recently demonstrated the value of this by deploying ex-STA staff to fix issues in Region 10, similar to how STA expertise was used to save the bus services provided during the 2000 Sydney Olympics.  

3.    It provides TfNSW with an in-house solution when trains or ferries are disrupted.  

4.    It ensures that workers’ conditions do not deteriorate and provided competitive tension with private companies. 

We have allies in government advocating for this change, and we will continue to push for it as we come towards the mid-year Labor conference.