Save Our Northern Beaches Buses
Petitioner:
Ms Natasha Phillips-Mason
| Member:
Minns, Chris
| No. of Signatories:
1,683
| Date closed:
01/09/2020
To the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly,
The Petition of citizens of New South Wales, in particular the residents of Sydney’s Northern Beaches, express their complete opposition to the steps taken by the State Government to privatise the Region 8 bus route. We the petitioners note that during a Sky News state election debate held on 20th March 2019 the Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, when asked about more privatisations unequivocally said: “We’ve said no… and if we were, we would have told you upfront.” We note that the NSW Government announced in October 2019 its plans to “franchise” various Sydney bus regions including Region 8. The implementation of this plan was formally launched in May this year. The NSW Government has taken steps to facilitate the franchising of the Region 8 bus route by publishing the necessary eTendering documents on the Transport for NSW website. We the petitioners are deeply concerned and upset about the Premier and the Government flagrantly breaking an explicit election promise. We note that the transfer of other bus regions in Sydney from public to private operation has produced the following outcomes including the reduction in the number of bus stops, the cutting back of the length of bus routes and an overwhelming failure to meet on-time running targets. We the undersigned petitioners therefore call on the Premier and the Government to take immediate steps to cease and desist from their actions to franchise our publicly owned and operated Region 8 bus route.
