Outer Sydney Metropolitan Bus Service Contracts Explained

The Outer Sydney Metropolitan Bus Service Contracts (OSMBSC)[1] are contracts issued by the Government of New South Wales to bus operators in areas surrounding Sydney. These regions include the Hunter Region, Central Coast, Illawarra and the Blue Mountains. In 2016–17, 21.6 million passenger journeys were made on Outer Metropolitan bus services.[2]

History

The OSMBSC was initially made up of ten bus system contract regions, OSMBSC 1 to 10.[3] These regions were declared and appeared in the NSW Government Gazette on 1 August 2008.[3] [4]

Unlike the Sydney Metropolitan Bus Service Contracts which are put out to open tender, the government has indicated it does not intend to go down this path with the OSMBSCs, but negotiate with the incumbent operators.[5] [6]

Like the bus contracts in Sydney, a requirement of the OSMBSC contracts is that operators cease using their own liveries and adopt a standardised white and two blues livery as prescribed by Transport for NSW. This livery was first implemented from 2010. As of 2014, the transition to the standardised livery is ongoing.

Originally, regions OSMBSC 6 and OSMBSC 9 each had two operators.[7] In 2013-2014, each of the operators in OSMBSC 6 and OSMBSC 9 were offered separate individual contracts, resulting in the creation of two new regions OSMBSC 11 & 12 from OSMBSC 6 and OSMBSC 9 respectively. This gives a total of 12 regions, with each region having one operator. There was no change of operators or takeover of services between operators. However, Coastal Liner (now Hunter Valley Buses) continues to operate some trips on routes 78, 80, 91 and 98 in Busways region OSMBSC 6.

All OSMBSC contracts were renewed between 1 July 2014 and 2 January 2015, including the Newcastle Buses & Ferries contract for region 5, which was renewed for three years from 1 July 2014.[8] At the end of the three year renewal, region 5 was replaced by NISC 001, with Keolis Downer operating as Newcastle Transport taking over bus and ferry services from Newcastle Buses & Ferries in July 2017.

It was announced in July 2021 that OSMBSC regions 6 and 7 would be put up to tender.[9] OSMBSC region 7 was put out to tender in September 2021.[10] Both incumbent operators for OSMBSC regions 6 and 7 (Busways and Red Bus Services respectively) retained the contracts, with the new contracts commencing on 28 and 1 July 2024 for seven and eight years respectively.

Regions

The list of regions and its respective operators in the Transport for NSW or the eTendering NSW website.[7] The information is accurate .

Hunter, Newcastle & Central Coast

Region Location Operators End date of
current contract
OSMBSC 1[11] Cessnock, Kurri KurriRover Coaches
(Buslines Group)		30 June 2028[12]
OSMBSC 2Maitland, Raymond TerraceHunter Valley Buses
(CDC NSW)		30 June 2028[13]
OSMBSC 3Port StephensPort Stephens Coaches30 June 2028[14]
OSMBSC 4Toronto, Wyee, MorissetHunter Valley Buses
(CDC NSW)		30 June 2028[15]
NISC 1
(formerly OSMBSC 5)		Newcastle, CharlestownNewcastle Transport
(Keolis Downer)		30 June 2027
OSMBSC 6[16] Wyong, Tuggerah, GosfordBusways27 July 2031[17]
OSMBSC 7Gosford, The EntranceRed Bus CDC NSW
(CDC NSW)		30 June 2032[18]
OSMBSC 11WyongHunter Valley Buses
(CDC NSW)		30 June 2028[19]

OSMBSC 11 used to be part of OSMBSC 6 until 2014, when it was created as a separate contract region.[16] Its routes were formerly operated by Coastal Liner until it was acquired by ComfortDelGro Australia and its subsidiary Hunter Valley Buses on 1 August 2018.[20]

NISC 001 used to be OSMBSC 05 until July 2017, and was operated by Newcastle Buses & Ferries.

OSMBSC 7 was operated by Red Bus Services until July 2024, when the latter was rebranded as Red Bus CDC NSW and fully acquired by ComfortDelGro Australia.

Blue Mountains

Blue Mountains Transit routes were formerly operated by the Blue Mountains Bus Company until taken over by ComfortDelGro Cabcharge (now ComfortDelGro Australia) and its subsidiary Blue Mountains Transit in December 2014.

Illawarra

Region Location Operators End date of
current contract
OSMBSC 9[22] HelensburghPremier Charters
(Premier Transport Group)		30 June 2028[23]
OSMBSC 10Wollongong SouthPremier Illawarra
(Premier Transport Group)		30 June 2028[24]
OSMBSC 12Wollongong NorthDion's Bus Service30 June 2028[25]

Premier Charters' region 9 routes were operated by Green's Northern Coaches, until taken over by Premier Transport Group in February 2015. OSMBSC 12 used to be part of OSMBSC 9 until 2014, when it was created as a separate contract region.[22]

Patronage

Annual Patronage per Region from 2017 to 2021 [26]
RankRegionOperator20172018201920202021Total
% Change
2017-20		Total
% Change
2020-21
align=middle 1 NISC Newcastle Transport 4,840,7345,445,8874,775,355 3,075,518 2,686,682 align=middlealign=middle
align=middle 2 OSMBSC 10 Premier Illawarra 4,294,6904,343,1884,337,631 3,154,189 2,594,513 align=middlealign=middle
align=middle 3 OSMBSC 6 Busways4,071,4894,559,1994,797,179 3,046,639 2,458,669 align=middlealign=middle
align=middle 4 OSMBSC 7 Red Bus Service2,565,8502,391,8992,350,896 1,541,501 1,428,086 align=middlealign=middle
align=middle 5 OSMBSC 2Hunter Valley Buses1,741,2861,430,0961,472,078 870,123 667,901 align=middlealign=middle
align=middle 6 OSMBSC 8 Blue Mountains Transit 1,208,3181,223,7731,267,793 696,522 514,236 align=middlealign=middle
align=middle 7 OSMBSC 4 Hunter Valley Buses 908,598880,380981,596 620,029 499,236 align=middlealign=middle
align=middle 8 OSMBSC 12 Dion's Bus Service 661,649721,573753,457 536,794 460,813 align=middlealign=middle
align=middle 9 OSMBSC 1 Rover Coaches 581,377577,492494,007 330,797 248,180 align=middlealign=middle
align=middle 10 OSMBSC 3 Port Stephens Coaches 363,488368,397412,164 224,934 211,262 align=middlealign=middle
align=middle 11 OSMBSC 9 Premier Charters 321,232331,140342,676 229,651 163,517 align=middlealign=middle
align=middle 12 OSMBSC 11 Hunter Valley Buses 102,79788,91278,333 41,849 29,039 align=middlealign=middle
TOTAL 21,661,50822,361,93622,063,165 14,368,546 11,462,898 align=middlealign=middle

See also

Notes and References

  1. http://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/operators/bus-coach Buses and coaches
  2. Web site: Bus Patronage - Monthly Figures. Transport for NSW. 13 July 2017. 9 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171209044230/https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/performance-and-analytics/passenger-travel/bus-patronage/bus-patronage-monthly-figures. live.
  3. http://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/content/outer-metropolitan-bus-system-contract-regions Outer Metropolitan Bus System Contract Regions
  4. http://www.gazette.legislation.nsw.gov.au/so/download.w3p?id=Gaz_Gazette%20Split%202008_2008-93.pdf NSW Government Gazette 1 August 2008
  5. http://www.busnsw.com.au/Portals/15/About%20us/BusNSW%20Annual%20Reports/2012%20-%20Annual%20Report.pdf Annual Report 2012
  6. https://web.archive.org/web/20130501211216/http://www.busnsw.com.au/Portals/15/Latest%20updates/29-04-13%20Bus%20customers%20to%20benefit%20.pdf Bus Customers to Benefit from Outer Metropolitan Contract Negotiations
  7. Web site: Sydney Metropolitan and Outer Metropolitan Bus Service Contract on time running results. Transport for NSW. June 2018. 8 August 2018. 24 June 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180624063937/https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/data-and-research/passenger-travel/buses-on-time-running. live.
  8. http://www.statetransit.info/publications/State%20Transit%20Annual%20Report%202014.pdf Annual Report 30 June 2014 page 89
  9. Web site: Outer Sydney Metropolitan Bus Contracts. Australia New Zealand Infrastrcture Pipeline. 10 September 2021. 10 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210910052513/https://infrastructurepipeline.org/project/outer-metropolitan-bus-contracts-nsw. live.
  10. Web site: Future of iconic Central Coast bus service in doubt. The Daily Telegraph. subscription. 10 September 2021.
  11. Web site: Outer Metropolitan Sydney Bus Contract Regions 1, 2, 3 and 4. NSW Government Transport and Infrastructure. 8 July 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714231427/http://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/b2b/abouttrans/Outer-Metro-Regions-1-2-3-4.pdf. 14 July 2014. dead.
  12. Web site: Outer Metropolitan Bus Service Contract - OMBSC001. eTendering NSW. 10 September 2021. 10 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210910052513/https://www.tenders.nsw.gov.au/?event=public.cn.view&CNUUID=67C5894A-E6A1-A491-CFF441023D2263DA. live.
  13. Web site: Outer Metropolitan Bus Service Contract - OMBSC002. eTendering NSW. 10 September 2021. 10 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210910052515/https://www.tenders.nsw.gov.au/?event=public.cn.view&CNUUID=681A5994-A1E8-A3BA-70A16E0CE3E463FF. live.
  14. Web site: Outer Metropolitan Bus Service Contract - OMBSC003. eTendering NSW. 10 September 2021. 10 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210910052520/https://www.tenders.nsw.gov.au/?event=public.cn.view&CNUUID=684BA9B7-D9D7-C337-1F983BD0D1D5E756. live.
  15. Web site: Outer Metropolitan Bus Service Contract - OMBSC004. eTendering NSW. 10 September 2021. 10 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210910052517/https://www.tenders.nsw.gov.au/?event=public.cn.view&CNUUID=68709D04-935C-C1D8-20461AE56568118E. live.
  16. Web site: Outer Metropolitan Sydney Bus Contract Regions 6 and 7. NSW Government Transport and Infrastructure. 8 July 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714224108/http://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/b2b/abouttrans/Outer-Metro-Regions-6-7.pdf. 14 July 2014. dead.
  17. Web site: Services continue smoothly as new Central Coast bus contract starts. Busways. 19 July 2024.
  18. Web site: Red Bus CDC NSW start services on the Central Coast. ComfortDelGro Australia. 8 July 2024. 19 July 2024.
  19. Web site: Outer Metropolitan Bus Service Contract - OMBSC011. eTendering NSW. 10 September 2021. 10 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210910052502/https://www.tenders.nsw.gov.au/?event=public.cn.view&CNUUID=68F2A128-BF0E-DEFC-135CA79E5C2BF5F5. live.
  20. Web site: ComfortDelGro Deepens Footprint In Australia With Two Acquisitions Totalling A$134.45 Million. ComfortDelGro. 7 August 2018. 8 August 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180808022055/https://www.comfortdelgro.com/documents/38822/69007/Media+Release-CDG+Deepens+Footprint+in+Aust+with+2+Acquisitions_grp.pdf/92bcc096-63ba-533b-f790-f8c1dfc9b75b?version=1.0&t=1533634429177&previewFileIndex=all. 8 August 2018. live.
  21. Web site: Outer Metropolitan Bus Service Contract - OMBSC008. eTendering NSW. 10 September 2021. 10 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210910052500/https://www.tenders.nsw.gov.au/?event=public.cn.view&CNUUID=6895D27E-E3B8-34BC-8FB106A20232278F. live.
  22. Web site: Outer Metropolitan Sydney Bus Contract Regions 9 and 10. NSW Government Transport and Infrastructure. 8 July 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714162846/http://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/b2b/abouttrans/Outer-Metro-Regions-9-10.pdf. 14 July 2014. dead.
  23. Web site: Outer Metropolitan Bus Service Contract - OMBSC009. eTendering NSW. 10 September 2021. 10 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210910052457/https://www.tenders.nsw.gov.au/?event=public.cn.view&CNUUID=68B92B2F-A462-A59F-E3073C7810EDF7A7. live.
  24. Web site: Outer Metropolitan Bus Service Contract - OMBSC010. eTendering NSW. 30 June 2022.
  25. Web site: Outer Metropolitan Bus Service Contract - OMBSC012. eTendering NSW. 10 September 2021. 10 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210910052459/https://www.tenders.nsw.gov.au/?event=public.cn.view&CNUUID=6912E366-D592-F470-42E1541B1FD3C4E7. live.
  26. https://opendata.transport.nsw.gov.au/dataset/opal-trips-bus Opal Trips - Bus

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