Drivers back Treasurer’s call to bring back local buses

MEDIA RELEASE

21 August 2019

Bus drivers have backed the NSW Treasurer, Dominic Perrottet’s call to bring back buses in north-west Sydney, saying the axing of local buses in an attempt to boost figures on the government’s flailing Metro system is an insult to local commuters.

It’s been revealed that the Treasurer and local Epping MP recently wrote to the Transport Minister calling on him to reconsider the changes that have been made to services such as the 620X, 621, 625, 626, 632, 633 and 642X.

Bus and Tram Division Secretary of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU), David Babineau said it was premature for Minister Constance to pull the bus services until the fleet of multimillion-dollar Metro trains, which have been plagued with operational errors since day one, was running properly.

“Tens of thousands of local commuters have signed petitions calling for the buses to be reinstated – this isn’t affecting a small handful of people, this is widescale insult to all commuters in the area,” Mr Babineau said.

“When even your own colleagues in parliament are saying you’ve made a bad decision, surely you’ve got to start listening.

“The buses were clearly cut in an attempt to increase patronage numbers of the new Metro – a service that has been riddled with problems since it first started running.

“It seems that local commuters have been robbed of their vital bus services so that the Minister can crow about the number of people using the sub-par Metro system. That’s not how sensible public planning should work.

“The Transport Minister is showing a complete lack of respect for the travelling public in the north-west Sydney area.”