Action for Public Transport (N.S.W.) Inc.

From the BCA Bulletin, April 2003. The Journal of the Bus & Coach Association of NSW.

National Public Transport Summit, Canberra, March 27/28 2003. - A National Public Transport Summit held in Canberra concluded that passenger transport is an issue of national importance and that a greater role for public transport is in the national interest.

Energy Grants Credit Scheme. - The Energy Grants Credit Scheme (EGCS) will commence on 1 July 2003 and is to replace the Diesel and Alternative Fuel Grants Scheme (DAFGS) which provides eligible operators with a 18 cents per litre grant for diesel fuel used in bus and coach operations. (Note: The maximum fare approved by the DoT is lower for eligible operators than for non-eligible ones.)

Passenger Transport - Safety Strategy Workshop. - On 13 March, Transport NSW conducted a Transport Safety Strategy Workshop at BCA. The workshop considered a number of issues relating to safety from a range of different industries.

- Further discussions are to be held with Transport NSW. Once a broad level of agreement is reached on the key safety issues, an outline for an industry safety strategy will be developed for consideration.

Shorelink unveils new “Citylink” Commuter service. - North Shore bus operator Shorelink recently launched the first cross-regional CBD commuter service in the Kuring-gai area. Citylink, also known as Route 594, travels directly from North Turramurra to the City via St Ives and Killara. The service saves many commuters the trouble of taking combined bus and train journeys to the City and back, shaving up to half an hour or more from the return journey.

NRTC new laws make all accountable. - New legislation drafted by the NRTC (National Road Transport Commission) will ensure each party in the supply chain is in future legally accountable for on-road compliance. The draft Road Transport Reform (Compliance and Enforcement) Bill is unique in the world and is set to profoundly change Australia’s road transport industry, creating a level playing field within the supply chain for the first time.

- The draft bill clearly provides that the consignor, packer, loader and receiver may be held legally liable for a breach of a heavy vehicle mass, dimension or load restraint requirement. In this way, the off-road parties stand in the same shoes as their on-road counterparts, the driver and operator.

Congestion Pricing: An answer to urban traffic problems? - Congestion in Australian cities is estimated to cost us almost $13 billion per year. It is projected that the total freight transport task will double and the urban passenger task will increase by 30% by 2020 and that the cost of congestion in Australian cities will grow to almost $30 billion per year by 2015, unless there are significant changes in urban travel.

- Congestion pricing aims to reduce traffic problems by ensuring that each driver appreciates the full cost of each potential car trip and takes the full cost into account in making travel decisions.

BCA NSW Report on BIC National Conference, Queenstown, April 2003. - About 380 delegates travelled to picturesque Queenstown on the South Island of New Zealand for the 2003 Bus Industry Confederation (BIC) National Conference.

- Some topics covered are: Auslink Responses, Providing effective transport at a reasonable cost, Performance Based Contracts (rather than tendering), Compliance Accreditation and Enforcement, Transport Information Systems.