NSW Labor’s Public Transport Solution – Paint All Buses Blue

Posted on December 22, 2010 by Brad Heap

The SMH today reports that the state government wants to paint all private buses blue and white, the same livery used on STA buses. The government will pay for the repainting of the buses arguing that it will make buses easier to identify.

Labor Red Metrobus

Liberal Blue STA Bus

Buses being different colours depending on location actually makes sense and is used in many different cities around the world. If you see a yellow bus you will know it is most likely going to Castle Hill for instance. Painting them all one colour means you have to stare at the small location display of every bus going by. This isn’t easier, it is in fact a lot harder to identify a bus.

There are some days I wish that NSW Labor was just a comedy group like The Chaser and real governance happened somewhere else. However, these clowns are actually in government and are extremely good at wasting money on silly ideas.

Painting all the buses the same colour will do nothing to improve public transport. Spending money on more buses, bus-lanes, and integrated ticketing will.

The cynic in me wonders if NSW Labor is working with a genius marketer to paint all the buses blue and white to subliminally represent the opposition Liberal Coalition. While the new, flash, and fast state-run Metrobus network has bright Labor red buses.

Full Buses Not Good Enough

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Brad Heap

I am finally on a bus to uni. It has taken 30 minutes to get on board because during the uni break the express busses run a reduced schedule which pushes more people onto the normal non express services. The problem is departing town at 10am there is simply not enough buses to meet the demand so where I catch the bus around 500m after the start of the route the buses just go straight past because they are full.

Now it is good to have a busy public transport system. But it needs to work there needs to be enough buses to meet demand and empty buses going past on other routes or not in service suggests a problem with the timetables.

I want my 30 minutes back.

I support the bus drivers.

Posted on October 8, 2009 by Brad Heap

The Herald is reporting that the Bus Drivers lock out in Auckland could last days:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10601944

The lockout followed the drivers issuing the company with a work-to-rule notice.

It is important to note that the Bus Drivers are not on strike, they have been locked out because they gave a work to rule notice which is perfectly legal.

“The drivers have given the unions instruction that we are not to withdraw the work to rule notice unless there is a settlement.”

He said that meant the ball was in the company’s court.

“They will find it very hard to get the drivers back to work now that they have locked them out.”

Yup pretty good way to piss off all your workers, playing hardball is not a good approach in industrial relations.

He also accused the unions of having no interest in resolving the issue responsibly.

He said it could be resolved very simply by the unions lifting their notice of strike action.

Mr Froggatt said the drivers were not on strike as a notice of a work to rule was not strike action.

NZ Bus are clearly in the wrong here. Work to rule would see the buses still running.

Auckland Regional Council said yesterday it may impose a financial penalty on NZ Bus for withdrawing services.

Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee said the approximate figure of $150,000 should not be paid to the company today.

“This is equivalent to a boss’s strike. When workers go on strike, they don’t get paid and neither should NZ Bus when it deliberately locks out workers and therefore the travelling public,” Mr Lee said.

Perfect way to put it. It is the boss’s who have created the “strike” not the employees so good response from the regional council.