Region 1, 3, 12, 14 - Successful tenders news

[Fleet Lists]

All buses concerned are on m/o plates which undoubtedly they will keep.

And as far as the colours are concerned it is a one time pain for along time gain.

[MO-busfan]

All buses concerned are on m/o plates which undoubtedly they will keep.

And as far as the colours are concerned it is a one time pain for along time gain.

A splash of colours reflecting Region 3's historical roots are worth snapping before they are progressively repainted into the sky blue and white TNSW drab...

[Glen]

SMH item:

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/hsc-students- ... 2vjuw.html

[ozzipic2013]

With new operator Transit NSW drivers are getting lost making students late for higher school exams article was on the news on radio today

[1whoknows]

Well if you actually read the article the principal of the school concerned said that in fact no students were late as exams did not start until 11.20am.

[paulbrown3]

is there a link to the article?

[Glen]

is there a link to the article?

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/hsc-students- ... 2vjuw.html

[Mitch]

SMH item:

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/hsc-students- ... 2vjuw.html

I find it funny that a member of staff said that it was "not careful planning" that the handover of Region Three from CDC, Metrolink and Hopkinsons to Transit Systems fell so close to the start of the HSC exams. Whilst it may be unfortunate, yes, at the end of the day TfNSW is catering for everyone who catches public transport, not just several thousand students who're completing their HSC exams. The students should allow plenty of time to arrive at their exam anyway. A lot of students completing their Victorian Certificate of Education, myself included have been told to arrive at least an hour prior to the start of the exam.

And besides, it's not like it was unexpected that there would be problems with the handover. I'm sure Transdev have experienced problems with their start-up in Melbourne, and let's not forget the multitude of problems that Light City Buses (Transfield Services) experienced when they acquired a lot of Adelaide's bus network.

Thanks,
Mitchul ;]

[jibb]

And those problems with Light-City buses are still ongoing on both N orth-South contract routes and to a lesser extent on their North-East and O-Bahn contract routes.It is 2 years since they took over these routes.
They have already had quite a few routes taken away from them,and given to Torrens Transit(part of the Transit Systems Group worldwide),who have been very successful in Adelaide.

[1whoknows]

Indeed.

There was also a comment in one of these threads deriding TSA for having no knowledge/ experience of the NSW market. Well Hello - has everyone forgotten Neil Smith got his start running Peninsula Bus Lines/ Brisbane water Coaches on the central coast before selling that to Busways?

[Stormmm]

Wonder how many armchair critics have started a job and been able to do the work from day 1 ..

Realistically, you should be giving the new operators a chance to get their act together before stating your opinion .. I can certainly remember being "chucked in the deep end" on a few runs and only managing to get through thanks to a little bit of commonsense (which doesn't seem to be so common these days) ..

I relish watching the events unfold from the safety of my life here in Tasmania .. I don't miss my daily drives across the Sydney Harbour Bridge .. but I do miss the camaraderie that exists amongst a lot of the drivers and bus "nuts" from around Sydney ..

[burrumbus]

Indeed.

There was also a comment in one of these threads deriding TSA for having no knowledge/ experience of the NSW market. Well Hello - has everyone forgotten Neil Smith got his start running Peninsula Bus Lines/ Brisbane water Coaches on the central coast before selling that to Busways?

Indeed ,Neil Smith actually started his operating career with the 135 -Manly-Manly Hospital route in 1975,before selling it on 30/10/78 to Chris Brownlee so he could purchase the Gosford-Woy Woy -Umina services.Neil Smith,Lance Francis and Graham Leishman have much experience in operating excellent public transport.They have proved that in Adelaide and Perth.Be patient with the inevitable problems with a new operation melding 5 separate businesses together.In the long run it will be worth the early teething problems.

[Bjwh86]

The T80 would be the easier route to know, yet drivers are still managing 25 minutes late running.
I waited for 40 minutes until 3 showed up at the same time.
Also, the use of the Austral metroliners on the T80 is a step backwards

[Daniel]

Agreed with burrumbus. I think a bit more respect is required towards Neil and his new Transit Systems Sydney operation. It certainly is a difficult and complex task which has been undertaken. All it takes is a handful of new drivers to make a few mistakes on their first few runs, such as missing stops or making a wrong turn to run late - we are all human! In this day and age with social media, thats all it takes before a news item is created.

[Daniel]

The T80 would be the easier route to know, yet drivers are still managing 25 minutes late running.
I waited for 40 minutes until 3 showed up at the same time.
Also, the use of the Austral metroliners on the T80 is a step backwards

The T80 is now intermixed with other services. Also 10 Metroliners out of 212 buses is a pretty low number. They are due to be replaced in a few years anyway.

[gregrudd]

The T80 would be the easier route to know, yet drivers are still managing 25 minutes late running.
I waited for 40 minutes until 3 showed up at the same time.
Also, the use of the Austral metroliners on the T80 is a step backwards

Well the driver on the T80 I was on (Former WSB unit with traffic light pirority) was repeatidly missing stops and leaving a huge rubbish pile of tickets in the door way. A lot of passengers on the bus I was on are saying they have the rest of the week to sort themselves out before a letter writing campaign to the Minister starts.

[gregrudd]

The T80 would be the easier route to know, yet drivers are still managing 25 minutes late running.
I waited for 40 minutes until 3 showed up at the same time.
Also, the use of the Austral metroliners on the T80 is a step backwards

The T80 is now intermixed with other services. Also 10 Metroliners out of 212 buses is a pretty low number. They are due to be replaced in a few years anyway.

T80 was meant to be low floor only. Previous contracts stipulated this.

[gregrudd]

Well if you actually read the article the principal of the school concerned said that in fact no students were late as exams did not start until 11.20am.

Once the Daily Telegraph/2GB sink their teeth into this deepening fiasco a Minister will be resigning! While the principials of TSA got their start in the NSW bus industry you will find that they have few friends within it and I am not talking about unions/work force. I am talking about other companies.

[burrumbus]

The T80 would be the easier route to know, yet drivers are still managing 25 minutes late running.
I waited for 40 minutes until 3 showed up at the same time.
Also, the use of the Austral metroliners on the T80 is a step backwards

I do think the operating the T80 as an independant service with dedicated buses is the way to go here.The T Way needs to be marketed correctly,as Western Sydney Buses did do a great job with it.By keeping it as a dedicated service you keep it punctual,which is very important to keeping the impressive numbers carried on it.Even keeping the same group of buses with Tway branding.You have to "sell"the services.

[PoweredByCNG]

Some of us clearly need to take a closer look at ourselves and our actions.

I don't know how State Transit and other private operators deal with negativity on discussion forums, but I sure as hell know that representitives from Transit Systems Australia regularly read the ATDB and take serious note of any negativity or posts that may have relevance to them.

In short, if you think you can cause TSA grief and expect them to co-operate with regards to that enthusiast's tour you had looked forward to, think again. The TSA crew are well-respected in the industry and deserve our respect whether you like them or not. As a member on ATDB, you are a representitive of the enthusiast movement as a whole so any grief that you cause between any operator and yourself is likely to affect an operator's stance towards enthusiasts as a whole, so THINK before you SPEAK!!

[Bjwh86]

Well IF TSA representatives read ATDB then maybe they can take some of the "negative" comments and see how they can fix there so far "negative" services.

[Fleet Lists]

I am sure they are doing this.

[Clint]

What is the situation with the drivers who used to work under the old Region 3 operators and WSB?
Did TSA retain them or will it be mainly all new drivers?

[PoweredByCNG]

Well IF TSA representatives read ATDB then maybe they can take some of the "negative" comments and see how they can fix there so far "negative" services.

Got complaints? Personally take it to the source instead of bringing everyone else into it!

[Glen]

What is the situation with the drivers who used to work under the old Region 3 operators and WSB?
Did TSA retain them or will it be mainly all new drivers?

I understand that TSA was obligated to offer all drivers the opportunity to transfer, although in practice not all did.

Of course those who did will now be driving quite different runs because the depots, shifts and rosters have completely changed.