Regardless of whether there is a ‘private operator’ or not, Transport for NSW has and always will determine the routes, frequency of services and timetable for the bus network.
After three years of persistent cancellations and service issues, and with the Government still unable to recruit the drivers needed to deliver the existing timetable, Mr Griffin said it was time to acknowledge that the timetable is simply not feasible.
With roughly 160 drivers currently missing from the workforce, continuing to demand a timetable that cannot be reliably delivered will only produce the same outcome: cancellations, delays, ghost buses and a workforce stretched thin.
Mr Griffin is therefore calling on Transport for NSW to go back to basics and review the network from the ground up, with reliability prioritised over frequency.
Mr Griffin is calling on Transport for NSW to urgently:
- Create a timetable that guarantees reliability, built on the reality of today’s workforce: not the driver numbers Labor has spent three years promising but failing to deliver.
- Make reliability the measure of success, not frequency: three years of missed promises have shown that an aspirational timetable means nothing if the buses don’t turn up.
- Plan the network for future housing approvals: major developments such as the Warringah Mall proposal should have transport impact assessed and funded before approval, so growth isn’t bolted onto an already stretched network.
“Residents have explained to me that they would much rather have a bus that reliably arrives every 20 minutes than a timetable promising one every ten minutes when there is no guarantee that bus will actually turn up,” Mr Griffin said.
“This is about designing a network that can actually be delivered with the workforce we have and ensuring commuters across the Beaches have the reliable connections they need.”
In March, Mr Griffin called on the Minns Government in NSW Parliament to consider terminating its contract with Keolis Downer if Transport for NSW deemed it necessary. The Minister has since told Mr Griffin that the Government is not prepared to terminate the contract.
The Government have had three and a half years to ‘fix the problem’. It’s time to get real and design a timetable that matches reality and what we need, rather than continued promises to fix something that never eventuates.
The need for a serious rethink is becoming even more urgent as the Minns Labor Government pushes ahead with significant increases in housing density across the Northern Beaches without investing in the transport infrastructure needed to support that growth.
Without proper planning and oversight, large-scale developments such as the Warringah Mall proposal could deliver thousands of additional commuters to the network, placing further pressure on roads and public transport already struggling to meet existing demand.
The NSW Liberals’ recently unveiled Low and Mid Rise (LMR) Alternate Plan Pathway could circumvent this, permitting local councils to submit their own housing delivery plans provided they meet or exceed their existing housing targets. This would allow councils to pursue growth in a way that is better suited to their communities and supported by the infrastructure needed to accommodate it.
Additionally, the Northern Beaches Road Network Review, commissioned following the Minns Government’s cancellation of the Beaches Link tunnel in 2023 and handed down at the beginning of this year will provide no immediate relief to transport issues.
“Residents waited more than two years for the Northern Beaches Road Network Review, and what we received was a document effectively telling us what we already knew: that our roads are congested,” Mr Griffin said.
The Review does not adequately account for the scale of population growth now being pursued across the Northern Beaches.
The Minns Government Transport Minister has known about the transport problems on the Northern Beaches having attended a forum in 2024 hosted by the Independent Members for Wakehurst and Warringah, which was hailed at the time as productive and a win for the community.
Two years on from that ‘forum’, many of the same problems remain unresolved, with no clear commitment from the State Government to deliver the road and transport infrastructure required to support the growth it is pursuing.
“The Transport Minister sat in a forum with local politicians two years ago and said they’d fix these bus problems. Nothing has happened. No more forums, we just want solutions.” Mr Griffin said.
“Transport for NSW needs to go back to the drawing board and design a bus timetable that is realistic and capable of being delivered with the workforce we currently have.”
“It has been three years of promises and residents have been more than patient. It is time that Transport for NSW takes responsibility for the network it controls.”
Last modified: August 12, 2026
