Bus driver shortage forces service reduction in Sydney’s north

2 months ago 4

A shortage of bus drivers has forced a NSW government-contracted operator to temporarily reduce the frequency of services on Sydney’s north shore and west, covering routes from Chatswood to the CBD, Macquarie Park and Parramatta.

Busways has been operating services at reduced levels since December 22, and has warned that it will continue until enough drivers are recruited.

The company said the bus timetable would be temporarily adjusted from Friday, advising that extra cancellations were possible. A planned holiday timetable from Christmas Day to New Year’s Day – whereby services are less frequent than usual – has helped ease disruption caused by the driver shortage.

Busways has been forced to reduce services.

Busways is short 50 drivers in the north shore and west area it operates, which it said was due to a new enterprise agreement requiring it to increase the number of drivers at its Ryde and Willoughby depots to operate services.

“Transport for NSW and Busways are working to restore service to normal levels as soon as possible,” a spokesperson said. “We encourage passengers to check trip planners before travel. Around 1.6 per cent of trips will be affected across the north shore and west network.”

The company said any service adjustments would be targeted to minimise disruption, considering passenger feedback and travel and boarding patterns, and with a focus on higher frequency routes.

Busways and Transport for NSW have been running bus driver recruitment campaigns since October, and 14 drivers are progressing through various stages of the company’s training program and expected to start driving passengers within the next six weeks.

The company also has about 90 applications under assessment, and is offering a sign-on incentive of up to $6000 for applicants holding a heavy vehicle licence to attract qualified candidates.

Government data shows Sydney had a shortage of 131 bus drivers in November, compared to 176 in the same month a year earlier. Driver vacancies have reduced significantly since recording 420 in August 2023.

The government has also purchased 50 new diesel-powered bendy buses and 10 B-line double-deck buses in a bid to end long queues for commuters left waiting for services on routes along the city’s northern beaches and north shore.

The government is buying 10 double-decker buses for the B-line fleet in addition to 50 new bendy buses.

A two decades-old fleet of 83 bendy buses which were found to have chassis cracks were removed from service in October 2024, causing chronic delays for commuters on the northern beaches and north shore. As of last Friday, 57 of the repaired bendy buses had been returned to service.

Transport for NSW said it was road testing the first of the new diesel-powered bendy buses, and more of them would arrive progressively in the new year, while the 10 new double-deck B-line buses were expected to be delivered by mid-2026.

“As work to repair the remaining articulated vehicles continues, Transport has rolled out dozens of extra buses across the Sydney network to address shortages and ease commuter pain,” it said in a statement.

“In addition, 241 new battery-operated electric buses are currently in service across greater Sydney.”

A bendy bus can carry more than 100 passengers – about 25 per cent more than a standard bus.

Busways is one of six private operators that are contracted by the government to provide services across 10 regions in Sydney. Nine of the contracts are worth about $8 billion in total, and each is for about eight years.