Last year, the state government’s Bus Industry Taskforce expanded its scope to include safety management and regulation. Safety reforms regarding bus and coach seatbelts, vehicle safety and public education were made across NSW and greater Australia.
- The NSW Taskforce’s first report focussed on the implementation of various recommendations regarding seat belts, road and vehicle safety, plus the dangers of standing in buses.
- The second report moved to improve bus reliability and equity.
- The third report is now being prepared for release.
- The Federal Government established a bus safety working group to improve bus safety.
Dean Moule, BIC’s National Technical Manager, spoke with the ABC last week and relayed that there had been a significant increase in regulations implemented since 2023:
“Normally, in any given year, we would see one or two [ADRs]. The last 12 months we have seen eight.”
Dean explained how the NHVR expanded its We All Need Space campaign to let the public know that coaches needed more turn and brake room. There are also plans to increase signage and awareness about wearing seatbelts as part of a bus safety working group.
Regarding calls to establish a federal bus taskforce, Dean welcomed this as it “could look at things like accident data collection at a national level… also infrastructure to further enhance safety for all the road going public, complementing the existing bus safety working group”.
In addition, BIC Executive Director, Roz Chivers, was asked to provide comment by 7News yesterday. Roz echoed Dean’s sentiments about the industry’s unwavering commitment to improved safety provisions, including seat belts, road and vehicle safety. She went on to reinforce bus and coach’s longstanding accolade of being the safest form of road transport in the country.
Member action
Please feel free to pass this onto relevant colleagues within your organisation.
BIC next steps
Safety is the industry’s number one priority, though with advances in technologies there is still room to improve on bus and coach’s enviable safety record. We will continue working to ensure safe passengers, safe drivers and other workers, among with safe road users.
Contact
If you have any questions regarding the ABC interview, please contact Dean Moule directly.
