Excellent news. New operator is Transit Systems https://www.transitsystems.com.au
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They already have a (small) presence in SEQ by operating bus services in North Stradbroke, and before that they had ownership of Redlands before being sold to Transdev.
Bring it.
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Iām glad itās not Bus Qld.
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Wait, so am I understanding that these services will run alongside existing Bus Qld/Westside services?
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That seems to be the case, yes.
The improved services will be supported by a new state-operated bus depot and state-owned buses.
Thatās a first too?
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I believe it is. Iām all for it, since competitive tenders canāt really exist without it.
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It was a competitive tendering.
Following a competitive tender process, the company has pledged to employ 36 staff during the first year of operationsāmarking a strong commitment to both service enhancement and local job creation.
Obviously when itās a new contract it will be competitive, but when it goes up for renewal, having existing assets is a massive āincumbencyā advantage. Moving the depot and bus ownership into government hands mitigates this advantage.
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I hope for more such arrangements! Maybe the State should consider purchasing all the depots and buses. Not immediately, but gradually, as they come up for sale.
I think youāll find not many new buses coming after this year or so which arenāt State-supplied. Electrification is the big catalyst for this.
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Especially given the state has now shown an appetite to buy and loan buses. Why would any operator choose to take on the risk of buying new buses when they can just loan a bus from the state on the cheap.
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Maybe I havenāt been paying attention, but wasnāt there a prior operator? Is this a completely new area that didnāt have PT before?
Itās for the new bus routes. Iām unsure if this contract includes the takeover of routes currently operated by Bus Queensland or not.
Either way, Transit Systems would have known that the bus depot and fleet will be owned by the government when it made the tender.
In the original announcement there were alignment changes to current Bus QLD routes 524, 525 and 526 - but the most recent translink announcement doesnt specifically make mention of that.
Itās my assumption the current Bus QLD routes will stay in their hands. The announcement does specify the first stage will have 14 buses - which would only be enough to operate the new routes.
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If I remember correctly Kinetic still has to receive some extra buses from their order with GBV. They started with 5771-776 and then from 956 to 994, which leaves us with 45 as of today.
I think I it was like 65 or something?
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There are some other units at Cairns and Townsville.
Translink statement from 2024 for interest
āA new state-managed bus depot at New Chum will initially accommodate 14 state-owned buses and support delivery of the four new stage one bus routes over the first year of operation.
Stage two of the bus depot development, due in 2026, will expand capacity to more than 240 buses to become the largest depot in Australia. The depot will support the entire bus improvement package that will be implemented progressively over the next three years.ā
That will be a pretty substantial operation!
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I suspect that the depot will also consume the other Ipswich routes onces Bus Queenslands contract expires. Stages 2 and 3 include frequency increases for existing routes.
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