Bus services in the Greater Sydney Metropolitan area are divided into 15 regions, serviced by individual contracts. These contracts have been operated by a combination of the State Transit Authority and private operators.
Contract Seven, Eight and Nine - entered procurement processes for private operation in 2020 and 2021.
Region Eight covers the Northern Beaches and Lower North Shore area, stretching from Chatswood to Palm Beach.
The new eight-year contract comprises:
- operation of 24-hour B-Line
- operation of all day express service from Dee Why to Chatswood
- additional bus services, bringing the total to 1.2 million per year
- introduction of 125 new zero emissions buses to the network, with older diesel buses to be progressively retired
- installation of charging infrastructure at the Brookvale and Mona Vale bus depots
- trialing a real-time feedback system to regulate frequency, and
- making the trial on-demand Keoride service between Palm Beach and North Narrabeen a permanent service.
Key Dates
| Oct 2019 | Project Announcement |
| Jun 2020 | RFT Open |
| Sep 2020 | RFT Close |
| May 2021 | Contract Award |
| Oct 2021 | Contract Commencement |
| Oct 2021 | Operations/Service Commencement |
| Oct 2029 | Contract Conclusion |
Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | Transport for New South Wales |
| Successful Tenderer: | Keolis Downer |
| Adviser (Govt): | Deloitte |
PROJECT HISTORY
| Oct 2019 | The NSW Government announced it will competitively tender 13 of the 14 Sydney metropolitan bus contracts over the coming three years. This follows the award of Bus Region Six in 2018 to Transit Systems. The NSW Government also announced it will be replacing Sydney's diesel bus fleet with electric vehicles. |
| Dec 2019 | An industry briefing detailed the procurement timeline for the contracts. 13 contracts are expected to be tendered over the next three years, with new contracts established by early 2023. |
| May 2020 | TfNSW announced that tendering for Region Seven would likely commence in August. TfNSW also made available Virtual Data Rooms for prospective tenderers for Regions Seven, Eight and Nine. These contain materials that will assist tenderers conducting their due diligence for bidding on the contracts and provide a forum for any queries or requests from bidders. |
| Jun 2020 | TfNSW opened Invitations to Tender for Region Eight, closing in September 2020. New operators are now expected to commence services in October 2021. |
| May 2021 | TfNSW awarded an eight-year service contract to Keolis Downer for operations of Region Eight, starting from 31 October 2021. |
| Oct 2021 | Operations of the contract commenced. |
Estimated Total Cost
(2021)
Sector
Other Transport
Procurement approach
Service Contract |
Location
New South Wales |
Resources
