Competitive tendering - bus

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

29th July 2014

Mr Alan Warren  to leave Brisbane Transport

Greetings,

Brisbanetimes has reported this morning that Mr Alan Warren is moving on from Brisbane transport.

Brisbane Transport chief to leave post after 14 years

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbane-transport-chief-to-leave-post-after-14-years-20140728-zxt7z.html

Mr Warren lead great success with the introduction high frequency bus routes (the BUZ routes) and support for the busways.

We thank and acknowledge Mr Warren's commitment to public transport for Brisbane.

Best wishes
Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track http://backontrack.org

[ozbob]

Twitter

Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow

Chat around 7.45am @NewsTalk4BC re changes at Brisbane Transport background --> http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=10665.0 ... #qldpol

[ozbob]

Twitter

Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow

Chat around 7.45am @NewsTalk4BC re changes at Brisbane Transport background --> http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=10665.0 ... #qldpol

Now 6am tomorrow morning ..   

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

29th July 2014

Competitive tendering for bus

Greetings,

The LNP when elected tasked an Independent commission of audit. The final report March 2013 (executive summary) recommended that

" ... Transport services

The Government faces an increasing cost burden in the subsidies that it pays to provide public rail and bus transport services. To ensure the strongest incentives to improve efficiency, the Commission considers that these services should be restructured to be delivered through contestable contracts under franchise and lease arrangements. ...".

It is not surprising then that moves to competitive tendering for bus, including Brisbane Transport are to proceed.

Brisbane City Council (BCC) is already engaged in privatising buses and ferries in Brisbane.

If BCC councillors are genuinely concerned about 'privatisation' we invite them to take a ride on their own privatised CityCat which they already privatised to multinational company TransDevTSL (Veolia).
Some BCC Councillors seem blissfully unaware of their own privatisation arrangements.

Our view has always been that we care about directness, speed, frequency, decent service hours and connectivity rather than government ownership. In particular, we look forward to competitive tendering  within the Brisbane City Council (BCC) area.

Our own research reveals that BCC already has done private bus contracting, contracting the following private bus companies to run services:

* Veolia Transport (TransDev), the same operator that is contracted to run 30% of Melbourne's bus network
* Thompson Bus Services
* Bus Queensland
* Kangaroo Bus Lines
* Caboolture Bus Lines

Competitive tendering is a win for the travelling public who have been hit by multiple 7.5% and 15% fare cost explosions and '$400 bus taxes' through rates. The great virtue of bus contracting is that it forces operators to deliver the goods or get out. This measure will bring Brisbane into line with Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Auckland (NZ) and Stockholm (Sweden) for example.

RAIL Back on Track seeks bipartisan commitment to full scale bus network and rail reform from all parties contesting the 2015 Queensland Election. Queensland Rail must be put on a path to driver only operations and the BCC bus network must be made more integrated and cost effective as outlined by TransLink in the 2013 bus review.. This way, low cost and frequent public transport for SEQ can be guaranteed.

Best wishes
Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track http://backontrack.org


References:

1. http://www.commissionofaudit.qld.gov.au/reports/final-report-exec-summary.php

2. SEQ: TransLink bus contracting welcome!
http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=10670.0

3. Brisbane Transport chief to leave post after 14 years
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbane-transport-chief-to-leave-post-after-14-years-20140728-zxt7z.html

4. Brisbane Transport BUZ route 140 being operated by private bus operator
Park Ridge Transit.

5. Extract from Brisbane City Council Minutes 4403 Ordinary Minutes 14 May 2013 (also
contains much discussion about bus review as well)
http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/about-council/governance-strategy/committees-meetings-minutes/councils-meeting-minutes



6. "Increases in the payment required to be made to operators (especially to BT) for the
provision of bus services are a significant financial risk for the State." page 2-122

"Payments increased by 61% between 2008-09 and 2011-12, and are expected to increase by a further
35% between 2011-12 and 2015-16. "



7. List of Current TransLink Operators

Airtrain - Private (but publicly operated by QR)
Bay Islands Transit - Private
Bribie Island Coaches - Private
Brisbane Bus Lines - Private
Brisbane City Council Ferries - Privatised to TransDev TSL, a Veolia Company
http://www.brisbaneferries.com.au/
Brisbane Transport - Public
Buslink - Private
Bus Queensland - Private
Lockyer Valley - Private
Caboolture Bus Lines - Private
Clarks Logan City Bus Service - Private
GoldLinQ G: - Private
Hornibrook Bus Lines - Private
Kangaroo Bus Lines - Private
Mt Gravatt Bus Lines - Private
Park Ridge Transit - Private
Queensland Rail - Public
Southern Cross Transit - Private
Sunshine Coast Sunbus - Private
Surfside Bus Lines - Private
Thompsons's Bus Service - Private
Veolia Transport - Private
Westside Bus Company - Private

Total operators = 22
Public operators = 2 (Brisbane Transport, Queensland Rail)
Private Operators = 20

Sent to all outlets:

29th July 2014

Mr Alan Warren  to leave Brisbane Transport

Greetings,

Brisbanetimes has reported this morning that Mr Alan Warren is moving on from Brisbane transport.

Brisbane Transport chief to leave post after 14 years

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbane-transport-chief-to-leave-post-after-14-years-20140728-zxt7z.html

Mr Warren lead great success with the introduction high frequency bus routes (the BUZ routes) and support for the busways.

We thank and acknowledge Mr Warren's commitment to public transport for Brisbane.

Best wishes
Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track http://backontrack.org

[STB]

Well, it's all happening out there.  I've been pushing myself out there, where I can, educating the public and reminding them that this is actually a good thing.   Brisbane City Council's Brisbane Transport's days are numbered, and I can't wait for TransLink to get back into there once the process is complete and a more efficient network (with proper consultation and resources thrown at it ala the 2004/2005 days for reworking the networks in the outer regions), is developed and implemented and the pressure on the fares is reduced.

[ozbob]

Channel 7 News have followed up.  Thanks for the interest   

[techblitz]

=== (strictly equal)

Translink === BT

in other words both as hopeless as each other

[STB]

=== (strictly equal)

Translink === BT

in other words both as hopeless as each other

Yes Techblitz, we know that you'll be against this, but it needs to be done.  In fact it's about ten years overdue!

[ozbob]

I think Brisbane Transport can be competitive in the process.  They will however I expect be forced to do some of the changes that TransLink wanted in the 2013 bus review or the others will come over the top.

It appears that the Brisbane region will not go to competitive tender till after #qldvotes.

I expect that the other regions and operators will go to tender prior to #qldvotes.

[STB]

New article just posted on the Brisbane Times - BCC says that they are 'strongly committed' to their network.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Council 'strongly committed' to bus network

Brisbane's public transport chief has stopped short of ruling out the privatisation of the city's bus network.

At Brisbane City Council's public transport committee meeting on Tuesday morning, Peter Matic echoed Lord Mayor Graham Quirk's previous assertions that the LNP administration does not support privatisation.

However, Cr Matic, like the Lord Mayor before him, stopped short of ruling out putting the network up for sale.

"The Lord Mayor has been asked on three separate occasions in the chamber about this and on each occasion he said he does not support privatisation," Cr Matic said.

"We are strongly committed to BCC as the provider of the service.

"The answer is simple, we will continue to maintain the network and we do not support privatisation as an organisation."

Under questioning from independent councillor Nicole Johnston, Cr Matic declined to comment on the circumstances of the departure of long-time Brisbane Transport head Alan Warren.

The council's civic cabinet opted not to renew Mr Warren's contract, which expires in November this year.

Mr Warren, widely credited with the on-time running of the city's fleet of 1200 buses, said in a memo to employees that civic cabinet had decided a "new dawn" was required in the operations of the network.

It has prompted speculation the council is moving towards the privatisation.

He is negotiating with council chief executive Colin Jensen about finishing within the next three to four weeks.

Cr Matic reiterated to Cr Johnston that the administration does not comment on the individual contracts of council officers.

Cr Johnston also asked why Cr Matic's revelation the city's bus contract had been extended until 2015 had not come before council for approval.

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/council-strongly-committed-to-bus-network-20140729-zy031.html

[techblitz]

yep ozbob...youve said it on the spot....SOME changes


@STB

i will start backing translink for future reviews when they actually show a set of brass youknowhats when dealing with bus operators and acting on complaints.There is only so long that TL can spit out thier generic : "we are sorry this has happened to you.We have passed this feedback on to the operator" on facebook. We all know they are toothless against BT ( 3 seperate 590 complaints in 1 week)...but seems they might also be toothless against some private operators as well.

eg: 524...why cant they change the timetable to make those few extra buses run into the station on-time after accountiing for consistent peak delays? If they cant then they are either too lazy to worry about it....havent recived enough complaints(this)....or westside just refuse to adknowledge there is an issue and dont want the change..

What we are seeing now on facebook is translinks ability to act on complaints,fix the issues with the privates and get on top of it.....and this is the exact same process they will have to follow under a reformed brisbane network.

A lot are far from impressed...

[STB]

yep ozbob...youve said it on the spot....SOME changes


@STB

i will start backing translink for future reviews when they actually show a set of brass youknowhats when dealing with bus operators and acting on complaints.There is only so long that TL can spit out thier generic : "we are sorry this has happened to you.We have passed this feedback on to the operator" on facebook. We all know they are toohless against BT but seems they might also be toothless against some private operators as well.

eg: 524...why cant they change the timetable to make those few extra buses run into the station on-time after accountiing for consistent peak delays? If they cant then they are either too lazy to worry about it....havent recived enough complaints(this)....or westside just refuse to adknowledge there is an issue and dont want the change..

What we are seeing now on facebook is translinks ability to act on complaints,fix the issues with the privates and get on top of it.....and this is the exact same process they will have to follow under a reformed brisbane network.

A lot are far from impressed...

I think you misunderstand how public transport planning works.  For every change, even if it's just a timetabling change, a business case has to be produced and signed off not only by TransLink management, the operator and the Minister's office, to which then funding is then sought by Treasury.  Treasury will really only put out a certain number of $$ to spend each year to TransLink based on what changes TransLink wants to do and that has been approved for.

In reality TransLink, and this will apply to Brisbane Transport as well, can only do one or two changes a year and they generally will want to bundle in the changes with other changes as this reduces the onus on the operator when it comes to rostering, and in reality Treasury is looking for a range of changes for them to approve funding.

They are probably also working with council and main roads in working out if they can alter that intersection to get traffic moving more freely and in turn assist with the scheduling.

They don't just sit in their office twiddling their thumbs, there's a lot of background work that happens behind the scenes before any change happens, even for minor timetabling changes that can have rostering impacts and must link in with the rest of the network based on how that operator is running it.

The difference between say Bus Queensland (they stopped calling themselves Westside years ago with a rebranding), and Brisbane Transport, is that Bus Qld will actually work with TransLink in trying to work out solutions, Brisbane Transport on the other hand want to do their own thing and not communicate with TransLink what their plans are (eg: Maroon Cityglider).

EDIT: I'll put it this way, when I was working at TransLink, we'd have regular meetings with Bus Qld at their depot and Bus Qld put together their senior drivers as part of their own 'Network Planning Committee' who would provide TransLink information and we'd work together in working out what the bus routes and scheduling should be like.  Brisbane Transport on the other hand announces that there's going to be a Maroon Cityglider and TransLink goes WTF, since when???

[techblitz]

is that Bus Qld will actually work with TransLink in trying to work out solutions

got you quoted on that STB.....lets see how that 524 timetable plans out then shall we?....this is now.a test case for translinks ability to work with operators outside BT juris...when bombarded with on-time complaints about specific services.

Lets review our 524 guy...hes up to about 6 complaints now of late runnings into goodna...if TL had any sense they would actually try and shut him up formally (not continue to insult him by giving out the generic"operator has been notified response" and just tell him the truth on why they cant enable immediate bus changes(what you have explained above).

[STB]

is that Bus Qld will actually work with TransLink in trying to work out solutions

got you quoted on that STB.....lets see how that 524 timetable plans out then shall we?....this is now.a test case for translinks ability to work with operators outside BT juris...when bombarded with on-time complaints about specific services.

Lets review our 524 guy...hes up to about 6 complaints now of late runnings into goodna...if TL had any sense they would actually try and shut him up formally (not continue to insult him by giving out the generic"operator has been notified response" and just tell him the truth on why they cant enable immediate bus changes(what you have explained above).

I think part of the reason is that the social media staff don't have any training or know how Network Planning works, nor how Network Planners work with the operators, hence the generic responses.  A bit of transparency would help though about the process.  I wouldn't expect any changes on the 524 until the next service review though unfortunately.

EDIT: My money is that they will change the 524 when they change the 522, and whatever else they want to make changes to in the next service review.  They've already have had one service review within the past 12 months, so I'd expect that there'll be another later this year/towards the end of this year if the funding is available.  The $$ is usually given to TL at the beginning each financial year.

[SurfRail]

I think Brisbane Transport can be competitive in the process.  They will however I expect be forced to do some of the changes that TransLink wanted in the 2013 bus review or the others will come over the top.

It appears that the Brisbane region will not go to competitive tender till after #qldvotes.

I expect that the other regions and operators will go to tender prior to #qldvotes.

As far as I am aware all TransLink bus contracts have been extended to September 2015.  Some operators are taking this very seriously (and have been for a long time prior to any publicly available scuttlebutt).  Also believe the intention is that all school services are affected so there should be one contractor for each region - possibly some sub-contracting but one "go-to" organisation in charge.

Not sure what the arrangement is with the QR contract.  Obviously the G: is locked in for the next decade and a bit.

[SurfRail]

yep ozbob...youve said it on the spot....SOME changes


@STB

i will start backing translink for future reviews when they actually show a set of brass youknowhats when dealing with bus operators and acting on complaints.There is only so long that TL can spit out thier generic : "we are sorry this has happened to you.We have passed this feedback on to the operator" on facebook. We all know they are toothless against BT ( 3 seperate 590 complaints in 1 week)...but seems they might also be toothless against some private operators as well.

eg: 524...why cant they change the timetable to make those few extra buses run into the station on-time after accountiing for consistent peak delays? If they cant then they are either too lazy to worry about it....havent recived enough complaints(this)....or westside just refuse to adknowledge there is an issue and dont want the change..

What we are seeing now on facebook is translinks ability to act on complaints,fix the issues with the privates and get on top of it.....and this is the exact same process they will have to follow under a reformed brisbane network.

A lot are far from impressed...

Or TransLink has been completely lobotomised by the current government and no longer has the resources to do this competently due to being short of staff.  Adjustments to cover off on things like this seemed to be more common 4 years ago or more.

[STB]

yep ozbob...youve said it on the spot....SOME changes


@STB

i will start backing translink for future reviews when they actually show a set of brass youknowhats when dealing with bus operators and acting on complaints.There is only so long that TL can spit out thier generic : "we are sorry this has happened to you.We have passed this feedback on to the operator" on facebook. We all know they are toothless against BT ( 3 seperate 590 complaints in 1 week)...but seems they might also be toothless against some private operators as well.

eg: 524...why cant they change the timetable to make those few extra buses run into the station on-time after accountiing for consistent peak delays? If they cant then they are either too lazy to worry about it....havent recived enough complaints(this)....or westside just refuse to adknowledge there is an issue and dont want the change..

What we are seeing now on facebook is translinks ability to act on complaints,fix the issues with the privates and get on top of it.....and this is the exact same process they will have to follow under a reformed brisbane network.

A lot are far from impressed...

Or TransLink has been completely lobotomised by the current government and no longer has the resources to do this competently due to being short of staff.  Adjustments to cover off on things like this seemed to be more common 4 years ago or more.

^ There is that possiblity too.  When I was at TransLink, up until 2008, it was well staffed and had good resources.  Movement to the TTA ripped out the infrastructure people and pretty much made TTA a service provider at a basic level.  Would not surprise me if the current Government has ripped TransLink apart even moreso since then.

[James]

is that Bus Qld will actually work with TransLink in trying to work out solutions

got you quoted on that STB.....lets see how that 524 timetable plans out then shall we?....this is now.a test case for translinks ability to work with operators outside BT juris...when bombarded with on-time complaints about specific services.

Lets review our 524 guy...hes up to about 6 complaints now of late runnings into goodna...if TL had any sense they would actually try and shut him up formally (not continue to insult him by giving out the generic"operator has been notified response" and just tell him the truth on why they cant enable immediate bus changes(what you have explained above).

One very vocal individual will gain far more attention than 15 disgruntled commuters on another service. As mentioned, it is not a matter of waving a magic wand.

If we're going to throw late running examples, lets do the 425. The 425 (City - Chapel Hill Cityxpress via Indro) is NOTORIOUSLY late (and I mean seriously late, for this bus to run 10 minutes late is a regular occurrence), and this has been going on at BCC for years. What has BCC done?

...not changed the timetable since 2005 like all the other Western suburbs bus routes!

I look forward to the removal of BT from BCC. At least then James' local bus route (411) might see the first service upgrade since 1999.

[techblitz]

^ a big might indeed...it could also be canned as well.
All going well BT will compete heavily and retain the highly patronised inner city routes along with some of the important express routes.

[James]

^ a big might indeed...it could also be canned as well.
All going well BT will compete heavily and retain the highly patronised inner city routes along with some of the important express routes.

Truncation to Toowong is the most sensible idea, and most likely. Don't see the 411 being canned entirely given it is one of the most profitable (and most frequent) bus routes out of all the 4xx series (only the 4xx BUZes are more frequent/have a better span of hours).

[SurfRail]

^ a big might indeed...it could also be canned as well.
All going well BT will compete heavily and retain the highly patronised inner city routes along with some of the important express routes.

I expect there will be 4 contract regions for Brisbane City based on depot locations - 2 big (north and south), 2 small (east and west).  It will all come down to the bids though.  One of the most intrinsically inefficient things about BT is its depot locations, so I would not be surprised if some canny operators source some new sites to assist in minimising dead running (eg whoever is bidding on the eastern services might look at a site in or around Wynnum instead of running buses back dead to Carina).

If it was up to me, a mob like Transit Systems or ATE would be running the whole lot given they are Australian owned, have a proven track record of competent management (including overseas in Transit Systems' case) and are already a known quantity to TransLink.  There are plenty of other local mobs, and if an international operator comes in I would still be unconcerned.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Privatisation of bus services out of council's hands: Lord Mayor

The potential privatisation of Brisbane's bus network is out of City Hall's hands, according to the Lord Mayor.

The state government will put the operation of the city's buses through a contestability process next year, Graham Quirk confirmed publicly for the first time on Tuesday.

The move means the council's transport arm will have to compete against private operators for operational responsibility of the network.

Brisbane Transport presently operates 70 per cent of the city's bus routes.

The contestability process has been prompted by the government's commitment to keep fare rises to just 2.5 per cent annually and will inevitably see the government seeking the most fiscally efficient operator.

The process could explain civic cabinet's decision last week not to renew the contract of long-time Brisbane Transport head Allan Warren, who told his 2700 employees in a memo that cabinet was seeking a "new dawn" in the operation of its bus fleet.

Cr Quirk, a long time opponent of privatising the city's public transport, told Tuesday's council meeting Brisbane Transport would "aggressively" fight to retain operational responsibility of the network, but the state government would make the ultimate decision on the matter.

"Council, along with all operators, is facing contestability of service," he said. "If you like, it is a tender for services - very different to privatisation.

"We will be aggressively going out to win the tender. I will be working with all the Brisbane Transport staff to win the tender and it's not helpful for Cr [Helen] Abrahams, for her own political purposes, to run a scare campaign."

The Lord Mayor was referring to media reports on Tuesday in which Cr Abraham's criticised the decision not to renew Mr Warren's contract.

Cr Abrahams claimed the administration was "quietly clearing the decks" for privatisation, which Cr Quirk refuted on Tuesday, accusing Cr Abrahams of dishonesty.

While he said the contestability process was not akin to privatisation of the network, he made it clear what the key priority for Mr Warren's replacement would be, as the council competed for the contract.

"The reailty is fares are as high as they are because there were 15 per cent increases every year under Labor," he said.

"The government is now trying to get those fares to a reasonable level. If we are going to have fares at a reasonable level, it makes absolute sense there has to be an efficiency of cost within the network to pay for that."

Should the network tender be awarded to a private operator, it would cost the council nearly $400 million in revenue annually.

However, it would also save the same amount in costs.

Cr Quirk indicated some tough changes may be required because he said Brisbane Transport would enter the contestability process "with every chance of winning it".

"We have to be competitive with what we offer," he said.

"The state has to provide for a fare level that is within the reach of people and have made a commitment to keep fare increases at 2.5 per cent.

"We will have to find some ways to do things more efficiently than we have in the past."

A spokesperson for Transport Minister Scott Emerson said the competitive contract process was designed to deliver the best value for money for taxpayers.

"As outlined in the commission of audit, the government supports getting the best services and value for money for passengers through a competitive contract process," the spokesperson said.

"14 of the 15 bus operators in South East Queensland are already private companies."

The council confirmed on Tuesday it had received a 15 month extension to its current contract, taking its agreement to operate the bus network up to September 2015.

[ozbob]

Twitter

Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow

'Lord Mayor Campbell Newman wants State Government to run buses' http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/campbell-newman-wants-state-government-to-run-buses/story-e6freoof-1225839337936 #qldpol blast from the past // @Team_Quirk

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

30th July 2014

Level Playing Field Before Going to Bus Contracts?

Greetings,

Rail Back on Track welcomes competitive contracting for buses. Bus contracting forces operators to deliver the goods or get out. As was demonstrated during the 2013 bus review, elections and Councillor oversight may fail to safeguard the long term public interest, and particularly so when another level of government is footing most of the costs.

Competitive contracting will bring Brisbane into line with Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Auckland (NZ) and Stockholm (Sweden). In particular, the Perth model should be looked at carefully as we believe cost savings were around 20-25% there.

The Queensland Government must properly and impeccably prepare, and manage risk. A level playing field is required so that Brisbane Transport is not unfairly advantaged simply by the virtue of being a division of Brisbane City Council (BCC), having ready access to ratepayer funds, councillors with the power to make ordinances, and a monopoly on bus depots within Brisbane.

Firstly, Brisbane City Council and Brisbane Transport do not appear to have separate legal identities. If another operator wishes to construct a bus depot within the BCC area they will have to seek development approval from their direct bus competitor. This is a clear conflict of interest which raises significant competitive neutrality concerns. The sole exceptions to this is if depots were constructed on surplus land at Archerfield and Brisbane Airports which are located on Federal land. How will the Minister fix this problem?

Secondly, and following from the first, will Brisbane Transport pay commercial rates of interest on borrowings pay, or include an allowance for, government taxes and charges such as Goods and Services tax, payroll tax, stamp duties and local government rates? Will there be an implicit financial 'bailout' guarantee from Brisbane City Council using ratepayer funds should, under competition, the service not perform as expected?

Thirdly, what safeguards will there be to prevent BCC using its planning and development authority to advantage Brisbane Transport over other entrants? For example, will private operators such as Veolia and Clarks Logan City be permitted to drive their buses over the Eleanor Schonell Bridge into UQ Lakes, stop in Adelaide St and use Queen Street Bus station, if TransLink decides so?

Fourthly, will BCC only contain their buses to within the BCC boundaries or will services be permitted to drive over BCC boundaries, for example, into Logan? (i.e. a combined 111+555 bus service)

Fifthly, findings from London Transport show that competition is maintained when the costs to acquire a bus depot are low. Given that Brisbane Transport has a near monopoly on all the bus depots in Brisbane and the power to attach conditions to the transfer of these assets, will there be protections and safeguards to ensure that bus depots can be easily acquired by contesting operators and that the current monopoly market power/market share of the incumbent is not misused?

Best wishes
Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track http://backontrack.org


References:

Competitive Neutrality http://www.pc.gov.au/agcnco/competitive-neutrality

Brisbane City Council Certified Agreement 2013 (EBA8) 16. Transmission of Business Clauses http://www.qirc.qld.gov.au/resources/pdf/certified_agreements/cert_agreements/2013/ca68_2013.pdf

Redland company takes wheel of London's big red buses, Brisbane Times http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/redland-company-takes-wheel-of-londons-big-red-buses-20130612-2o3jv.html

Transport for London - Bus contracting and tendering https://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/uploads/forms/lbsl-tendering-and-contracting.pdf

Privatisation of bus services out of council's hands: Lord Mayor http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/privatisation-of-bus-services-out-of-councils-hands-lord-mayor-20140729-zy96j.html

[ozbob]

Mr Emerson was just interviewed on 4BC re this.  Will be available later today.

Nothing new, basically reinforced that it is contestability and expects BT to be competitive.  As do I.

[HappyTrainGuy]

I still think BT can run their bus network and provide better services/routes if the BCC keeps their fingers out of it which is what it seemed like they were trying to do until they were told not to attend Trasnklink discussions about the review.

[Simon Lovell]

I still think BT can run their bus network and provide better services/routes if the BCC keeps their fingers out of it which is what it seemed like they were trying to do until they were told not to attend Trasnklink discussions about the review.

If the job is worth doing, do it properly.

[ozbob]

Mr Emerson was just interviewed on 4BC re this.  Will be available later today.

Nothing new, basically reinforced that it is contestability and expects BT to be competitive.  As do I.

Interview 4BC Mr Emerson Transport Minister and Patrick Conden 30th July 2014 --> here!  MP3 6.1MB

[HappyTrainGuy]

I still think BT can run their bus network and provide better services/routes if the BCC keeps their fingers out of it which is what it seemed like they were trying to do until they were told not to attend Trasnklink discussions about the review.

If the job is worth doing, do it properly.

But there is only so much you can do before those higher up start to have a sticky beak. It's happened to QR. It's happened to BT. It's happened to Translink. And they won't be the last.

[Simon Lovell]

But there is only so much you can do before those higher up start to have a sticky beak. It's happened to QR. It's happened to BT. It's happened to Translink. And they won't be the last.

That is a problem because senior management hate efficiency and productivity?  I have nothing further.

Interview 4BC Mr Emerson Transport Minister and Patrick Conden 30th July 2014 --> here!  MP3 6.1MB

I think the Minister should guarantee that the fleet will remain in public hands.  That will ease concerns about this process and it's the correct decision anyway.

[bagbuffy]

The way the polls are heading, QLD will see a new Premier come March 2015 and most probably a new State Government.

I agree Translink should have more say in the BCC routes, but No to Privatising BCC Buses.

[STB]

The way the polls are heading, QLD will see a new Premier come March 2015 and most probably a new State Government.

I agree Translink should have more say in the BCC routes, but No to Privatising BCC Buses.

BCC buses are already owned by the State Government, BCC/BT are simply an operator contracted to run the routes.  The issue has been BCC's influence of Brisbane Transport and interfering with TransLink's planning.

If a private operator was given the contract, the buses will still be owned by the State.

[HappyTrainGuy]

I'm the same. I don't want to see BT privatised but at the same time BCC needs to stop using it as a political tool and help provide a proper public transport service for Brisbane. Case in point during the Translink network review every single operator was involved with translink in planning and offering feedback but one. Brisbane Transport. It emerged later that BT was instructed by the BCC not to attend on 5 or 6 different occasions.

[longboi]

BCC want to hold onto BT. It is a valuable political tool and the contracts are worth a significant amount.

However, BCC know the writing is on the wall and have accepted that they will have to shape up if there is any chance of retaining their contract. In fact, I would say this formed part of the discussions about the "handing over" of the bus review last year.

My take is that it was nothing more than a move to placate the public and 'old school' BT management like Alan Warren.

Once his replacement comes on board, it will be all about modernising, taking on some of the review recommendations and making BT as lean as possible.

They will have to take the flack because if they don't, they lose it all.

[#Metro]

'The Romance' of government ownership is not good enough. The CityCat is private, who died?

The simple fact that BCC itself engages in private contracting for both the CityCat, Special Event buses and sometimes its own bus routes (i.e. Route 140 to PRT) shows that even they don't believe their own nonsense.

They have had 10 years to sort out the mess - did they sort it? No. Too busy creaming off 'political profits' made from launching community scare campaigns and then positioning themselves as 'saving public transport' which converts the network route inefficiencies into votes to retain the incumbent councillors. If anyone wants hard proof, look at Yeronga where the incumbent councillor rejected the review, leaving her own area without BUZ access. Is that in the public interest? Not at all.

The same issue with the Eleanor Schonell Bridge malarkey. What's the matter with another bus company running to UQ? Do private bus companies have to construct their own roadways into Brisbane just so they don't drive on BCC paid-for roads now?

BCC appears to treat State Government money differently to its own cash. Look at route 198 - the LM wrote a letter going on about how absolutely essential it was and blah blah blah, well guess what? When the ATM was cut off and it became clear that they'd have to fund it themselves, suddenly it was not so important after all and was hit with cuts. If it really was THAT important and actually believed their own hype, they would have increased rates to fund it. They didn't.

It is very easy to show that route 198 could be removed and replaced with a faster, more direct 192 along a new alignment that would be better for everyone concerned. Things like this can't happen due to the politics.

Then there was the denial on 6 occasions of meeting with TransLink. Who on Earth issued the authority to do that? Was it the LM? Was it the Transport Committee? Was it the management of BT? Why did they do it? And then later all the rhetoric was 'oh, not enough consultation, why didn't they consult with us more? Consult consult consult.'

Private operators have no incentive to engage in stupid games like this. If anyone wants to know where the 'profits' private operators come from there is a very simple answer: The Waste.

Who protects the passenger?
We already have public oversight and control through the State Government and TransLink. Secondly, competition and failure is the next protection. Operators should be in the full knowledge that if they play stupid games and don't perform, they're out. The contestability scheme is one of success and failure, and it is the failure part that is more important than the success part because that is what gets rid of poorly performing, poor managing operators.

[STB]

The same issue with the Eleanor Schonell Bridge malarkey. What's the matter with another bus company running to UQ? Do private bus companies have to construct their own roadways into Brisbane just so they don't drive on BCC paid-for roads now?

Reminds me also that private operators aren't allowed to use Queen St Bus Station or Adelaide St Bus Mall, except for BT/BCC's own sub contracts though with Park Ridge Transit (Bus Qld) ala peak hour route 140s.  At the end of the day TransLink just wants to plan the routes as a whole, regardless of who is operating them, having these roadblocks so to speak just hinders progress.

[Simon Lovell]

The state should legislate the ability to assert it's will over any council road, including council infrastructure.  Such legislation already exists in NSW - only requires that the road be declared in the gazette to be a "regional" road or some such term AIUI.

[STB]

Interesting petition has popped up related to the tendering and planning of services:

https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/scott-emerson-mp-minister-for-transport-and-main-roads-acquire-the-assets-of-brisbane-transport-and-initiate-a-tender-process-for-the-operation-of-the-brisbane-city-bus-network

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Brisbane bus routes could face more cuts

Further cuts to Brisbane bus services seem inevitable as the council prepares to stave off private operators to retain responsibility for the city's bus fleet.

Under questioning from the council opposition leader, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk confirmed at Tuesday's Brisbane City Council meeting that cuts to under-utilised routes were on City Hall's radar.

"It is the case there are times you have to look at the number of passengers that are catching buses," he said.

"If the number of people catching those buses is fewer than five, we ought to - we have a responsibility as the custodians of ratepayers' money - to have a look at those services."

The Lord Mayor's comments came a week after he confirmed publicly for the first time that the council's transport arm, Brisbane Transport, would be forced to compete with the private sector to continue running the city's buses through a state Government-contestability process next year.

The government has committed to raising public transport fares by just 2.5 per cent annually and will be looking for the most cost efficient operator when it goes out to tender.

But while the LNP administration indicated it was working to make the council's tender competitive, opposition leader Milton Dick said he feared the process was privatisation by stealth.

"I'm concerned each week we see more and more evidence that Graham Quirk and the LNP are committed to even more public transport cuts, and it appears it is a slash and burn approach to save money and rollover to what the state government wants," he said.

"I'm concerned the contestability process is an excuse and we will see privatisation for the first time in the city's history of public transport.

"I'm concerned they are doing everything to have our public transport sold off and this is one way, rather than delivering services and making it more economically viable, to make it more attractive in the marketplace."

The comments follow controversial cuts to both bus and ferry services last year, in the wake of an optimisation review.

Cr Quirk on Tuesday defended the need to consider more cuts.

"We have to always remember we are the custodians of the public purse and I remind the Leader of the Opposition the fare regime of increasing fares by 15 per cent a year ... if that had continued we would have nobody left on the buses," he said.

"We are on a trail to pull back increases in fares in public transport and I congratulate the state for doing that as part of that. You can't have on the one hand constraint on revenue and unimpeded increase in expenditure.

"Somebody at the end of the day has to pay for that."

Confirmation of the contestability process for the 70 per cent of the city's buses currently operated by Brisbane Transport came last week, following the revelation that the transport arm's long-time head, Allan Warren, did not have his contract renewed by council's civic cabinet.

In a memo to his 2700 employees, Mr Warren said cabinet had said the decision was due to a "new dawn" in the city's public transport network.

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbane-bus-routes-could-face-more-cuts-20140805-100r5u.html