STA Privatisation / Franchising

[Daniel]

STA used utes as well in recent times.

[J_Busworth]

I saw a driver change over on Transit Systems, it looks like they're using Toyota utes instead of full sized buses to get drivers to and from the change over point.

Both driver changes I've seen since TSA took over, 400 at Clemton Park and M20 at Zetland both used a 14.5! I know R often used Utes if its raining to get drivers to/from Cowper Street.

[Swift]

As has been discussed before, it is more practical to just use a spare bus with it's extra fuel consumption than to go to the expense of buying a car, the hassle and cost of servicing it separately to the buses and setting aside space in the depot for them, unless you are prepared to park them on the street, should parking be readily available that way. You can buy an awful lot of diesel fuel for the price of a vehicle just to ferry drivers around. The practise of using buses as the driver's personal transport has the added benefit of keeping the engines warmed up and lubricated on some buses, as well as possibly exposing a fault before it happens while at work on a route.

[kypros1992]

Network map now up https://static1.squarespace.com/static/ ... 072018.pdf

[jibb]

Torrens Transit in Adelaide(as did Light City buses) use 2nd hand cars/Toyota Corollas for driver change.over.

[burrumbus]

I would be pretty sure there would have been and continuing work by TSA on the subject of getting the most efficient ways of effecting driver change overs,or in STA speak driver reliefs.I would expect over the coming months much change here.The use of staff buses to effect driver change overs,I would expect to disappear.

[BroadGauge]

than to go to the expense of buying a car, the hassle and cost of servicing it separately to the buses and setting aside space in the depot for them, unless you are prepared to park them on the street, should parking be readily available that way. You can buy an awful lot of diesel fuel for the price of a vehicle just to ferry drivers around.

You're forgetting that every bus that's wasted being used to ferry one staff member at a time around is a bus that's not available for providing services to the public, therefore increasing the number of vehicles that are needed in the fleet overall.

If a depot needs 40 buses to provide peak services, plus 2 to be available for driver changeovers, you need 42 buses instead of 40.

It makes absolutely no sense to spend $1,000,000 to purchase two more buses than you really need to allow for vehicles to be available for driver changeovers, when you could spend $40,000 purchasing a pair ofToyota Yaris hatchbacks for that purpose.

[Stu]

STA has been using cars & utes as staff buses regularly as a regular fixture for a number of years now to save using a bus.

When raining, utes are also used for relief at Darley St, Mona Vale and Norton St, Leichhardt.

The ute is preferred as a relief vehicle at Clemton Park for 400-OUT services as it would not be possible to fit a 12.5m bus and a 14.5m bus within the physical bus stop parameters and end up blocking a driveway.

[boeing]

It makes absolutely no sense to spend $1,000,000 to purchase two more buses than you really need to allow for vehicles to be available for driver changeovers, when you could spend $40,000 purchasing a pair ofToyota Yaris hatchbacks for that purpose.

Well I suppose there needs to be extra buses "laying around" for bus breakdown changeovers, and lets face it, a depot at 7pm is very different from a depot at 4pm when it comes to "spare" buses. I think comparing the cost of a couple of Yaris hatchbacks to the cost of a couple of buses is probably an overly simplistic approach.

[Daniel]

It’s a bit of a balance. You get other situations where management or workshop require the cars/utes and bus drivers are therefore required to take an otherwise spare bus to a changeover point. Also a bus doing a changeover might be listed on the status sheet as “ok” but only for limited running awaiting a service or fault rectification etc, but not fit for an in service shift.

[Linto63]

Seems to be a few budding Nostradamuses here predicting how much of a spectacular success / failure privatisation will be after just a couple of days. Truth is that none of us really know. There will probably be things that go well and things not so well, but realistically it will be at least a year, maybe even longer, before an objective assessment can be made.

[1whoknows]

Many private companies interstate (including those contracted to "government" services plus many many private and government operators overseas use cars. So I guess it must be cheaper and/ or more efficient. Some of the comments here just show how much of a dinosaur culture was/ is prevalent in STA.

[Ray]

Yes, a bit of "me too" syndrome, methinks.

[tonyp]

At this point, I could ask "what about bicycles?"

[acermark]

On Tripview, 400 and 410 trips are coloured according to the operator, so you can see which trips are operated by which operator in one glance.

Transit Systems has now been changed to be the same as State Transit (blue). The app developer says the change to green was "unintentional", I wonder if other operators having other colours is unintentional as well?

[Swift]

Torrens Transit in Adelaide(as did Light City buses) use 2nd hand cars/Toyota Corollas for driver change.over.

That's a smart way to do it. Why buy brand new when low kilometre used will do? This is a sensible option the STA would probably not consider where a private company who doesn't draw on the public tab, evidently would.

[moa999]

Afaik all driver transfers occur during shoulder/off-peak periods where buses will be available.

Why buy an extra fleet of cars which have to be purchased/serviced/stored if no need.

Also once buses finally go cashless (and accept contactless cards) I wonder whether the need for drivers to travel in an independent vehicle might disappear (at least for some routes)

[stajourneyman]

It makes absolutely no sense to spend $1,000,000 to purchase two more buses than you really need to allow for vehicles to be available for driver changeovers, when you could spend $40,000 purchasing a pair ofToyota Yaris hatchbacks for that purpose.

.....or perhaps a couple of their oldest buses equalling probably only $5,000 to $10,000 in value. A lot cheaper than a pair of Yaris'!

[BroadGauge]

.....or perhaps a couple of their oldest buses equalling probably only $5,000 to $10,000 in value. A lot cheaper than a pair of Yaris'!

I'll let you replace your car with a cheap second hand bus, and you can get back to me on how much more cost effective it is.

[Stu]

Afaik all driver transfers occur during shoulder/off-peak periods where buses will be available.

Why buy an extra fleet of cars which have to be purchased/serviced/stored if no need.

Also once buses finally go cashless (and accept contactless cards) I wonder whether the need for drivers to travel in an independent vehicle might disappear (at least for some routes)

Maybe with some operators do although not with STA and with what Transit Systems have inherited. STA schedule driver relief in the peak times regardless if a staff bus/car is required or if the driver is required to walk - this effects 2 x drivers (shifts) and the following timetabled trips.

[neilrex]

I have noticed on quite a few times in Melbourne that replacement drivers turn up to change drivers in a yaris-like car, and they are often late based on my limited sample.

[tonyp]

Aren't there any tall bus drivers? I can't even fit in a Yaris! Perhaps something from one of the manufacturers that knows how to design internal space, like a Skoda Fabia or some other Europeans.

[burrumbus]

From my observations most private operators either buy new the smallest possible car available or buy secondhand cars to effect their driver changeovers.Obviously the idea is to do the changeovers in the most efficient,cost effective way possible.Some operators are very fortunate due to depot locations that they don't need changeover many cars.Interline,Punchbowl the former Grenda operation in Melbourne I can think of.
I have noticed with Punchbowl for the routes they can't changeover near their depot they use one of several depot utes.

[boronia]

And P seems to do changeovers near Kingsford for runs that start within a few hundred metres of the depot. Using a staff bus.

[Linto63]

Perhaps something from one of the manufacturers that knows how to design internal space, like a Skoda Fabia or some other Europeans.

Maybe they could use those French cars with sliding doors, would help with the all important dwell time.