The Sydney Metropolitan Bus Service Contracts are contracts issued by the Government of New South Wales to metropolitan bus operators in Sydney, Australia. Since 2005, the government has moved from individual contracts with operators to larger contract regions, leading to the consolidation of bus operators.

History

In February 2004 the Unsworth Review of Bus Services conducted by former Transport Minister and

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Barrie Unsworth, reported its findings to the Carr Government, recommending that the number of contract areas that existed in Sydney be reduced from 87 to 15 with a lead entity identified for each region to negotiate a contract. This was adopted with the first seven-year performance based contract signed in January 2005. By June 2005, eight had been signed. In some cases the existing operators formed joint venture companies to have a single contract with the government while in other regions there were some takeovers. The contracts resulted in some consolidation of operators. Harris Park Transport and Moores Tours decided to cease operating at short notice in December 2004. Some of Baxter's Bus Lines routes passed to Connex and

Transit First Transit First was an Australian bus company operating in the south-western suburbs of Sydney. History Transit First's origins can be traced back to August 1982 when Peter Threlkeld purchased Holswothy Bus Co with 15 buses and services between ...

in January 2005.Changes to Area 13 Route Services
Baxter's Bus Lines February 2005 Further consolidation took place after the contracts commenced with Baxter's selling its remaining routes to Westbus in September 2006, Transit First selling out to Connex in February 2007.Purchase of Baxter's Bus Lines Routes by ComfrtDelGro Cabcharge
Baxter's Bus Lines 26 July 2006
'' Sydney Morning Herald'' 9 January 2007 Veolia (formerly Connex), who operated in regions 10 and 13, took over region 11 operators Crowthers in January 2009 and Caringbah Bus Service in October 2011.Veolia buys Crowthers Buslink
'' Australasian Bus & Coach'' 5 January 2009Sutherland Covered
''Australasian Bus & Coach'' 26 September 2011 The two takeovers resulted in the merger of regions 10 and 11 to form an expanded region 10, reducing the total number of regions to fourteen. With the contracts coming up for renewal and following a change in government, the O'Farrell Government decided to put the provision of the services out to competitive tender.Cut costs or bus contracts will go to private sector, minister tells drivers
'' Sydney Morning Herald'' 7 November 2012Tender shock rocks Sydney
''Australasian Bus & Coach'' 7 November 2012 Transdev NSW was able to negotiate a direct award for regions 10 and 13 after agreeing to provide access to its bus and depot assets at the end of the contracts.Special treatment for Sydney contracts
''Australasian Bus & Coach'' 16 January 2013 The regions operated by State Transit were not included at this stage, however region 6 was tendered out from July 2018. Under the 2005 contracts, all new buses were purchased by the government and leased to the operators. As a result, when regions have changed hands, all of the post 2005 built buses have remained with the region, with the older buses retained by the outgoing operators.

2020–2023 tenders

With the exception of region 6, the government announced in October 2019 that the contracts for the other thirteen regions will be put out to competitive tender by 2022. These contracts were originally due to expire in 2021 and 2022. The first three regions to be put out to tender were the three remaining State Transit regions 7 to 9. Tenders for Region 8 opened in June 2020 and closed on 30 September 2020, with

Keolis Downer Keolis Downer is a joint venture between Keolis, the largest private sector French transport group, and Downer Rail, an Australian railway engineering company, that operates bus and tram services in Australia. History In June 2009, the Victor ...

announced as the successful tenderer in May 2021. Tenders for Region 7 opened in August 2020 and closed on 18 December 2020, with Busways announced as the successful tenderer in July 2021. Tenders for Region 9 opened in November 2020, with a joint venture of Transdev and John Holland announced as the successful tenderer in November 2021. The three regions were transitioned to the new operators on these following dates: * Region 7 (North West) in January 2022 * Region 8 (Northern Beaches) in October 2021 * Region 9 (East) in April 2022 Between December 2021 and August 2022, the remaining 10 regions will be put out to tender in three tranches: * Tranche 1: Regions 4, 12 and 14. Contracts for Regions 12 and 14 can be consolidated in a single bid. Tenders opened in January 2022 and closed on 14 April 2022. In November 2022, CDC NSW, the incumbent operator for Regions 4 and 14, was awarded the contracts for the three regions, with region 12 to be consolidated into region 14. * Tranche 2: Regions 3, 5, 10 and 13. Any combination of the four contracts can be consolidated in a single bid. Tenders opened between March and May 2022. In December 2022, Transit Systems NSW, the incumbent operator for Region 3, was awarded the contracts for Regions 3 and 13, with region 13 to be consolidated into region 3. The contracts for Regions 5 and 10, with region 5 consolidated into region 10, were awarded to

U-Go Mobility U-Go Mobility is a future bus company in Sydney, Australia, that will commence operating in July 2023. It is a 50:50 joint venture between UGL and Go-Ahead Group. History In December 2022, U-Go Mobility was awarded a seven-year contract to oper ...

, a new joint venture between UGL and Go-Ahead Group. * Tranche 3: Regions 1, 2 and 15. Tenders opened between June and August 2022, and contracts are expected to be awarded in March 2023

Livery

A requirement of the contracts is that operators adopt a white and two blues livery as prescribed by

Transport for NSW Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is an List of New South Wales government agencies, agency of the Government of New South Wales, New South Wales Government established on 1 Novem ...

, this was implemented from 2010. Forest Coach Lines' 2005 contract did not require their buses to be repainted blue, hence the livery applied to their buses saw the blue replaced with green. This loophole was closed when the region was tendered in 2012.Blue over green Forest Coach Lines buses
'' Manly Daily'' 11 January 2013

Current contracts

Since 2009, there are 14 contract regions in Sydney, each of which is tied to a geographical area.

Current contracts commenced prior to 2018 operate for five years, with an option to extend for a further three years. Contracts commenced and awarded since 2018 are for an eight year period.

Upcoming contracts

The following table shows any upcoming bus contracts that have been awarded but are due to commence.

Region details

Region 1

Region 1 covers the outer western suburbs between

Blacktown Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Gr ...

, Penrith, Windsor and Richmond. It also operated route 740 services via the M2 Hills Motorway to Macquarie Centre, which ceased in May 2019.Regional reviews by Ministry of Transport
Sydney Bus Routes From 2005, services were operated by the Area 1 Management Company consortium of incumbent operators Busways,

Hawkesbury Valley Buses Hawkesbury Valley Buses was an Australian bus company in Western Sydney. History Hawkesbury Valley was formed in June 1958 when Bob Kirkpatrick purchased the Maraylya to Windsor and Riverstone services from NK Lakeman-Fidler. In 1977 the depo ...

and Westbus. Following a competitive tendering process, on 6 October 2013 Busways took over all services in the region in its own right.

Region 2

Region 2 covers the south western suburbs between

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, Ingleburn and Hoxton Park. Other principal suburbs are Bringelly and Glenfield. From 2005, services were operated by the Area 2 Management Company consortium of incumbent operators Busabout and Interline. Following a competitive tendering process, on 1 June 2014 Interline took over all services in the region in its own right.More than 60 new buses and improved customer service with new bus contracts
Transport for NSW 29 August 2013

Region 3

Region 3 covers the south western suburbs between

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

and Bonnyrigg. Other principal suburbs are Cabramatta, Fairfield and Wetherill Park. From 2005, services were operated by the Area 3 Management Company consortium of incumbent operators Baxter's Bus Lines, Busabout, Hopkinsons, Metro-link and Westbus which operated all routes except Liverpool-Parramatta T-way route T80 which was operated by Western Sydney Buses. Baxter's sold its routes to Westbus in September 2006. Following a competitive tendering process, on 13 October 2013, Transit Systems took over the operation of the region. Nine years later, in December 2022, following another competitive tender process, Transit Systems retained and was awarded a seven-year contract for the region. The new contact, also covering Region 13 which will be consolidated into region 3, will commence on 6 August 2023 and expire on 30 November 2030.

Region 4

Region 4 covers The Hills district including

, Pennant Hills, Castle Hill and

Rouse Hill Rouse Hill is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rouse Hill is located in the Hills District, New South Wales, Hills District, 43 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and 19 kilometres north- ...

. Other principal suburbs are

Dural Dural is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 36 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of Hornsby Shire and The Hills Shire. Dural is part of the Hills Distric ...

and

Baulkham Hills Baulkham Hills is a suburb in the Hills District of Greater Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 30 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district within the local government area of The Hills Shire. ...

. It also operates services via the M2 Hills Motorway to Macquarie Centre, Chatswood,

Milsons Point Milsons Point is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The suburb is located 3 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of North Sydney Council. ...

and the

Sydney CBD The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or city centre is often refer ...

. Since 2005, services have been operated by Hillsbus. Hillsbus successfully bid to retain the region with a new contract commencing on 1 August 2014. Following the short notice cessation of operations by Harris Park Transport, its routes in the Hills District were taken over by Hillsbus on 20 December 2004, then transferred to Sydney Buses as part of region 7 on 28 January 2005, with six routes returning to Region 4 on 25 September 2005. Following a tendering process, CDC retained and was awarded an eight-year contract for Region 4 in November 2022. The new contact will commence in April 2023.

Region 5

Region 5 covers the south western suburbs between

Strathfield Strathfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Strathfield. A smal ...

, Bankstown and Hurstville. Other principal suburbs are Lakemba,

Punchbowl Punchbowl is an alternative spelling of punch bowl, a large bowl for serving drinks, or may refer to: Topography *Punchbowl, a type of waterfall Places * Punchbowl, Korea, valley and site of 1950s battles *Punchbowl, New South Wales, suburb of Sy ...

, Roselands and Mortdale. It also operates services to

and

Sydney Olympic Park Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta Council. It is commonly known as Olympic Park but officially n ...

. Harris Park Transport routes operated in the

St George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

area and Moore's Tours routes were transferred to Punchbowl Bus Co on 20 December 2004.Region 5 changes
Sydney Private Bus routesAbout us
Punchbowl Bus Co From 2005, services were operated by incumbents Pleasure Tours and Punchbowl Bus Company. The Pleasure Tours routes were taken over by Punchbowl Bus Co on 10 July 2005. Punchbowl Bus Co successfully bid to retain the region with a new contract commencing on 1 July 2014. Eight years later, in December 2022, following another competitive tender process, Punchbowl Bus Co was unsuccessful in retaining the contract.

was awarded a seven-year contract and will take over bus services from Punchbowl Bus Co in July 2023. The region will be consolidated into region 10 and will cease to exist.

Region 6

Region 6 covers the

Inner West The Inner West of Sydney is an area directly west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. The suburbs that make up the Inner West are predominantly located along the southern shore of Port Jackson (Parramatta Rive ...

and southern suburbs with services extending to the

, Chatswood, Taronga Zoo, Westfield Eastgardens, Bondi Junction, Hurstville and Miranda. Principal suburbs are

Ashfield Ashfield may refer to: People * Ashfield (surname) Places Australia * Ashfield, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Municipality of Ashfield, a former local government area in Sydney ** Electoral district of Ashfield, a former electoral dist ...

, Burwood, Campsie, Leichhardt, Rockdale and

. The region operates out of Burwood,

Kingsgrove Kingsgrove is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Kingsgrove is south of the Sydney central business district and lies across the local government areas of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, Bayside Council and the G ...

, Leichhardt and Tempe depots. From 2005, the region was operated by State Transit. The contract was renewed 1 July 2013 for five years without a competitive tendering process. In May 2017, the government announced the operation of region 6 would be contracted out to the private sector. The contract was awarded to Transit Systems with operations commencing on 1 July 2018.

Region 7

Region 7 covers the north western suburbs with services extending to the

. Principal suburbs are Chatswood, Epping, Macquarie Park, North Sydney,

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came a ...

and

. The region operates out of Ryde depot and Willoughby depot. From 2005, the region was operated by State Transit. State Transit permanently took control of a few former Harris Park Transport services in September 2005, and the region expanded to cover the whole of Carlingford, Epping and include North Rocks, West Pennant Hills and Beecroft for the first time. The contract was renewed on 1 July 2013, and again on 1 July 2017 for five years without a competitive tendering process. The contract was put out to competitive tender in 2020 and was awarded to Busways, with operations commencing on 9 January 2022.

Region 8

Region 8 covers the lower

North Shore North Shore or Northshore may refer to: Geographic features Australia *North Shore (Sydney), a suburban region of Sydney **Electoral district of North Shore **North Shore railway line, Sydney *Noosa North Shore, Queensland * North Shore, New So ...

and

Northern Beaches The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the en ...

with services extending to the

. Principal suburbs are Brookvale, Chatswood, Manly, Mosman, North Sydney and Palm Beach. The region operates out of Brookvale, Mona Vale, North Sydney depots. From 2005, the region was operated by State Transit. The contract was renewed on 1 July 2013, and again on 1 July 2017 for five years without a competitive tendering process. The contract was put out to competitive tender in 2020 and was awarded to Keolis Downer Northern Beaches, with operations commencing on 31 October 2021.

Region 9

Region 9 covers the Eastern Suburbs with services extending to the

and Leichhardt. Principal suburbs are Bondi Junction,

Botany Botany, also called plant science (or plant sciences), plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "bot ...

, Maroubra,

Mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fic ...

, Randwick and Surry Hills. The region operates out of Port Botany, Randwick and Waverley depots. From 2005, the region was operated by State Transit. The contract was renewed on 1 July 2013, and again on 1 July 2017 for five years without a competitive tendering process. The contract was put out to competitive tender in 2021 and was awarded to Transdev John Holland, with operations commencing on 3 April 2022.

Region 10

Region 10 initially covered the south western suburbs between Bankstown,

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire ( ...

and Engadine. Other principal suburbs are Hurstville, Menai, and Miranda. It also operates services to Burwood,

and

. Since 2005, it has been operated by incumbent operator Connex that was later rebranded Veolia Transport, Veolia Transdev then Transdev NSW. Region 11 was absorbed into Region 10 in September 2009. Region 10 then covered all of the

Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Southern Sydney, southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire comprises an area of and as at the had an estimated pop ...

. Caringbah Bus Service's routes were taken over by Veolia in October 2011. On 1 January 2013, Transdev NSW commenced a new contract that was awarded without a competitive tendering process.

Maianbar Bundeena Bus Service Mainanbar Bundeena Bus Service is an Australian bus company operating services in southern Sydney. History In April 1953 SM Allison commenced operating route 64 Bundeena, New South Wales, Bundeena Wharf - Bonnie Vale Camping Ground. After passi ...

continue to operate route 989 from

Bundeena Bundeena is a village on the outskirts of southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bundeena is located 29 km south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Local government in Australia, local governmen ...

as a subcontractor to Transdev.Veolia Transdev Secures Bus Contracts
Transdev Australasia 16 January 2013 In December 2022, following a competitive tender process,

was awarded a seven-year contract and will take over the services from Transdev in July 2023. The new contract also covers Region 5 which will be consolidated into region 10.

Region 11

Region 11 covered the Miranda, Cronulla,

area in the

. Other principal suburbs were Caringbah and Kurnell. From 2005, services were operated by incumbent operators Caringbah Bus Service, Crowthers and

. Crowthers' routes were taken over by

Veolia Transport Veolia Transport (formerly Connex and CGEA Transport) was the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia until the 2011 merger that gave rise to Veolia Transdev. Veolia Transport traded under the ...

on 1 January 2009. Region 11 was absorbed into Region 10 on 21 September 2009.

Region 12

Region 12 covers the Upper North Shore and Hornsby to

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River, is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney ...

area with a limited peak hour service extending to the

. Principal suburbs are Chatswood, Gordon, Hornsby, Berowra and

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

. From 2005, services were operated by Shorelink, which was rebranded TransdevTSL Shorelink in 2008 and then Transdev Shorelink in 2010.Mixed Result for Private Bus Operators
Bus & Coach Association NSW 7 November 2012 Following the merger of

Transdev Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a French-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020. History The group was formed by the merger of ...

and

, Transdev Shorelink was merged into Transdev NSW. It successfully bid to retain the region with a new contract commencing on 1 June 2013.New bus contracts benefit customers and taxpayers
Transport for NSW 7 November 2012 In October 2019, the NSW Government announced that it would open 13 out of the 14 contracts for competitive tender.

also indicated that Regions 12 and 14 may be procured together. In January 2022, tendering was opened for Regions 12, 14 and 4, closing on 14 April 2022. In November 2022, CDC was successfully awarded the contract for the region and will take over the services from Transdev in May 2023. The region will be consolidated into Region 14 and will cease to exist.

Region 13

Region 13 covers the south western suburbs between

Lidcombe Lidcombe is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lidcombe is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Cumberland Council, with a small industrial part in the n ...

, Granville, Bankstown and

. Other principal suburbs are Burwood and

. Baxter's Bus Lines' routes in region 13 were transferred to Connex and

on 1 January 2005. From 2005, services were operated by incumbent operators Connex (that was later rebranded Veolia Transport, Veolia Transdev then Transdev NSW) and

. In February 2007. Connex purchased Transit First. On 1 May 2013, Transdev NSW commenced a new contract that was awarded without a competitive tendering process. In December 2022, following a competitive tender process, Transit Systems NSW was awarded the contract for the region and will take over the services from Transdev on 6 August 2023. The region will be consolidated into region 3 and will cease to exist.

Region 14

Region 14 covers the Forest district including Chatswood, Belrose, Frenchs Forest, Terrey Hills, St Ives and Gordon. It also operates services to the

. Since 2005, the region been operated by Forest Coach Lines. It successfully bid to retain the region with a new contract commencing on 1 April 2013. In October 2019, the NSW Government announced that it would open 13 out of the 14 contracts for competitive tender. In January 2022, tendering was opened for Regions 12, 14 and 4, closing on 14 April 2022.

has also indicated that Regions 12 and 14 may be procured together. In November 2022, CDC retained and was awarded a seven-year contract for Region 14. The new contract, also covering Region 12 which will be consolidated into region 14, will commence in May 2023.

Region 15

Region 15 covers the south western suburbs between Campbelltown and

Camden Camden may refer to: People * Camden (surname), a surname of English origin * Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer * Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor Places Australia * Camden, New South Wales * Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...

. Other principal suburbs are Narellan and Macarthur. It also operates services to

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near w ...

. From 2005, the region was operated by Busways. Following a competitive tendering process, on 1 June 2014 Busabout took over the operation of the region.Sydney Metropolitan Bus Service Contract - SMBCS15
NSW eTendering

Patronage

References

{{Sydney public transport , state=collapsed Bus transport in Sydney