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Question and Answer Tracking Details

515 - Regional Transport and Roads - LACK OF BUS SERVICES FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN

Farraway, Sam to the Minister for Jobs and Tourism, Special Minister of State, Minister for Roads, Minister for the Arts, and Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy representing the Minister for Regional Transport and Roads
LACK OF BUS SERVICES FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN

(1) There have been reports from parents of school children in a number of areas around New South Wales regarding a lack of bus services for school children, and Portfolio Committee 6's report into the Privatisation of Bus Services only makes note of a lack of bus services for school children in Metropolitan Contract Region 9 (Sydney's Eastern Suburbs) and the Newcastle and Outer Metropolitan Contract Region 7 (Central Coast):

(a) Can the Minister please advise, whether the bus industry taskforce will take into consideration the bus services for school children in all areas of New South Wales, or only those in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs and the Central Coast?

 
Answer -

I am advised

(1) It is a pity that the former Nationals Minister for Regional Transport and Roads did not share the concerns of parents and local Members of Parliament when he was in the role. Portfolio Committee 6 was inquiring into the privatisation of Newcastle and Sydney buses so it was beyond the scope of that Inquiry.

(a) All areas of New South Wales are in scope when planning bus services for school children under the new Government. Transport for NSW is working closely with the recently established Bus Taskforce to identify need and opportunities for more school services to ensure service provision adequately reflects demand.

In the coming months the Taskforce will engage directly with bus operators, industry experts, the workforce, and community representatives to determine how to deliver more efficient and reliable services.

As outlined in its Terms of Reference, the Taskforce will give consideration to the Report of the Parliamentary Inquiry into the Privatisation of Bus Services in formulating its advice to the Minister.

I have also requested briefings on why Bus Service Alteration Requests for school services blew out to sometimes two years for processing under the former Liberals and Nationals Government and how the new Government can get the processing times back to their former timeframes of a few weeks.

 

Question asked on 15 June 2023 (session 58-1) and published in Questions & Answers Paper No. 27
Answer received on 6 July 2023 and published in Questions & Answers Paper No. 42

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