A state government taskforce launched on Monday will examine whether private bus companies have been escaping contractual penalties for under-performing.
Transport Minister Jo Haylen announced on Monday that former State Transit Authority and bus company chief executive John Lee would head up the taskforce, which will examine privatised bus operations in Sydney, Newcastle and across the state.
It will deliver its initial findings to cabinet on July 10, an interim report on October 10 and a final report and recommendations by May 1, 2024.
The Newcastle Herald has been told one of the taskforce's key jobs will be to examine enforcing abatement provisions in bus contracts to ensure operators meet their commitments.
This would include contractors' obligations to structure routes and services to meet the needs of passengers.
The taskforce follows an upper house inquiry report last year which urged the then Coalition government to consider reversing the "disastrous" privatisation of Newcastle's bus network.
The inquiry committee, whose Coalition members dismissed the report as a political stunt, found the privatisation of Newcastle buses and ferries had led to inferior services, higher costs for passengers and worse pay and conditions for drivers.
The report recommended the government consider returning bus operations in Newcastle and four Sydney regions to public control, though the former government signed long contract extensions with two Sydney operators just before the March election and four others late last year.
Keolis Downer is just over halfway through its 10-year contract in Newcastle, which ends in 2027.
Latest Transport for NSW figures for the Keolis Downer network show the private operator's on-time running rate dipped slightly in February and March but remains above performance benchmarks.
The statistics show more than 97 per cent of Newcastle buses ran on time from March 2022 to January 2023 before dropping to 95.8 per cent and 95.4 per cent in February and March.
The key performance indicator for on-time running is 95 per cent.
Ms Haylen said last month that "financial incentives to cancel services" had led to a "massive number of bus cancellations" across the state because cancelled services "do not count as late" under TfNSW contracts.
Keolis Downer has faced strong criticism for overhauling Newcastle bus routes since taking over the network in 2017.
The government says its taskforce will review routes, service delivery, drivers' employment arrangements and "other steps to improve performance, including legislative amendments, regulatory changes, contractual or other related actions".
Ms Haylen said in a statement that the taskforce was the "first step to delivering better bus services for passengers right across NSW".
"Passengers have had enough of service cancellations and routes being cut. They expect better bus services, and we need to do better," she said.
"This means better contract and performance management, better service planning that looks at the routes that passengers and communities want, and a better industry that is able to attract more drivers."
The government says Mr Lee will be "supported" in his work by BusNSW executive director Matt Threlkeld, NSW Council of Social Services president Joanna Quilty, Local Government NSW president Darriea Turley, Rail, Tram and Bus Union secretary David Babineau, and Transport Workers Union assistant state secretary Mick Pieri.
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