Bus Express

Friday June 8, 2018

Dear members,

We’ve seen another classic case of Andrew Constance trying to woo the public this week by announcing that there will be funding in the upcoming state budget to run an additional 2000 bus services across the state.

This is pure rubbish. We know from history – including very recent history – that this Transport Minister is willing to announce ‘new’ services without mentioning all the services that will be cut in order to allow those supposedly new services to run.

We also know that there’s already currently a shortage of bus drivers in the state, so how he plans to run any new services is unclear.

As I told the media after the announcement, this isn’t a case of once bitten twice shy – we’ve been bitten by this Transport Minister more times than you can count.

This announcement seems like yet another attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of commuters rather than a genuine commitment to improving transport.

You may have also heard the news this week about the tragic death of a bus driver trainer. Transit Systems was running the driver training at the Fairfield Showground when the trainer was tragically killed. Our thoughts go out to everyone impacted by the incident. While it’s obviously not the RTBU’s coverage area, there’s a real sense of comradery among all transport workers and this news sent shockwaves among the driver community.

We trust you’ll enjoy this edition of Bus Express.

In Solidarity,

Chris Preston and Dave Woollams

Second Newcastle Debate in Parliament

Novocastrians travelled to Sydney in late May to pack out NSW Parliament again for the second heated debate about Newcastle’s disastrous bus privatisation.

A petition opposing the timetable changes implemented by Keolis Downer gathered enough signatures to trigger not one, but two debates in State Parliament. Both debates highlighted the myriad of problems privatisation has caused in Newcastle.

RTBU NSW Bus & Tram Secretary, Chris Preston, said “Novocastrians have had enough of the chaos that Constance’s greedy privatisation has created in their lives. We’ve said it all along, when public transport is run by a private operator, it’s commuters who have to suffer.”

But we all know a debate is not enough. We need action by this NSW Government to stop the sell off and explain to commuters why they’re prioritising private profits over public, taxpayer needs.

Transport Heritage Expo – June long weekend

The award-winning Transport Heritage Expo is back on the 9th – 11th of June at Central Station, Sydney.

The expo brings Sydney’s transport history to life with heritage train and bus rides, train displays, live music and much more.

Bring the family along and enjoy the trip back in memory lane.

Details at www.transportheritageexpo.com

Media release: Bus drivers skeptical of Minister’s new bus services claim

8 June 2018: Bus drivers are skeptical about the Transport Minister’s claim today that NSW will get 2000 new bus services in the upcoming state budget, saying the claim doesn’t take into account all the services that have been cut recently and fails to consider the severe shortage of bus drivers in the state.

RTBU Tram and Bus Division Secretary, Chris Preston, said that while anything to improve commuter journeys is welcomed, the devil is always in the detail.

“What we’ve seen in the past is that this Transport Minister talks up new services, but fails to mention all the services that he’s cut, or will be cutting, in order to make the new services possible,” Mr Preston said.

“We already have a severe shortage of bus drivers in this state. How are they going to manage to work all these new services if we don’t have enough drivers to keep the current services running?

“This isn’t a case of once bitten twice shy – we’ve been bitten by this Transport Minister more times than you can count.

“This seems like yet another attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of commuters rather than a genuine commitment to improving transport.”