In 2021 private contractor Keolis Downer was awarded an 8 Year contract to operate bus routes in Sydneys Lower North Shore and Northern Beaches, which are not only some of the busiest routes in Sydney, but also the most critical due to a lack of any other reliable and non-traffic affected transport service in most places. Since taking over, services have nearly halved, with most either cancelled or scrapped, under the guise of "lack of drivers", and of the services that do remain almost all are entirely full, late or cancelled, leaving most people with no choice but to drive, worsening the traffic on the limited road connections. We call on the NSW government and the Transport Minister to hold a Vote Of No Faith in Keolis Downer, immediately bring the bus services back into public hands and restore services to keep up with demand. Keolis Downer has proven time and time again they are incapable of providing a reliable service to the already disconnected from the transport network areas of the Northern Beaches and Lower North Shore. 

Whats gone wrong?

In the rest of Sydney, the bus networks are competitors to and compliment the train and metro networks, meaning the private bus operators are incentivised to provide a good service to keep customers on their buses instead of the alternative train and metro networks. However, on the Northern Beaches, Keolis Downer has been handed a monopoly. As seen on the 24th of Feb 2025, when the Spit Bridge got shut down in peak hour, there is no other option for nearly all residents but to use the buses. Because no alternatives exist, Keolis Downer has no incentive to hire more drivers, offer them good pay, create a good network or run a reliable service. This has lead to a chronic driver shortage, timetable cuts, and even worse thousands of stranded commuters every morning, with queues that that take well over 4 hours to clear at peak hour on a good day. They've proved that they are incapable of serving the residents of the northern beaches, and so there is no other option but to push the state to takeover. 

Key Issues Since 2021

• Local branch routes and services scrapped or more than halved
• School buses and willingness to run services for school sports etc Scrapped due to lack of drivers
• Timetables recently "changed to provide better Sydney Metro Connections", yet more North Sydney (Victoria Cross bound) services were Scrapped
• Constant delays, no-shows, cancellations without explanation
• More concerned about stopping and delaying buses to check tickets (because apparently drivers cant do it themselves) than run an on time service
• We'd already lost reliable local ferry services to the Lower North Shore when they were privatized to Transdev in 2012, and now we've lost reliability in the single other public transport option in the Northern Beaches. Not to mention that buses rarely meet or wait for ferries now making connections impossible, and that the ferries cost considerably more than the buses. 
• People are forced to drive due to unreliability and cuts of services, which has made traffic worse and consequently also caused bus delays whilst stuck in traffic
• Queues that go for hundreds of meters, and take over 4 hours to clear on most days during peak hour, all whilst services have been slashed and Keolis Downer group rakes in $380 Million in profits last year 
• The list goes on, but the problem is widespread. People can't get in or out of the Northern Beaches reliably, meaning the local economy suffers and the residents suffer. 

The Solution

• Enough is enough. Clearly Keolis Downer does not care for its customers or for the area. They've been covering up their tracks under "lack of drivers" for way too long now when most of the rest of sydney seems to have it figured out. 
• In the immediate short term, force Keolis Downer at their own expense to wet-lease buses and drivers from other operators to fill their own cancelled services to ensure a fully serviced timetable.
• We call on the government to hold a Vote Of No Faith in Keolis Downer as operator in the Northern Beaches, and to tear up their contract and make the buses run under their command like they used to for so many years without major issue.
• Additionally, look into the future and begin construction of a Sydney Metro expansion between the city and the northern beaches to alleviate the traffic nightmare and boost the local economy