Transdev John Holland awarded Region 9 bus contract in Greater Sydney

Credit: Transdev

Following a competitive tendering process, the Transdev John Holland joint venture has been awarded the Greater Sydney Region 9 bus contract by Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW), which covers the eastern and south-eastern suburbs of Sydney and the Central Business District (CBD). The region includes some of Sydney’s busiest bus routes, with an annual typical ridership of 67 million customer journeys.

The eight-year contract, commencing in April 2022 until 2030, represents a further extension of Transdev’s existing public transportation footprint in Australia’s largest metropolis. With Transdev operating buses in Sydney since 1998 – currently in regions 10, 12 and 13 – as well as operating Sydney’s iconic ferries and light-rail services, the Group will be in the unique situation to be truly multimodal.

This contract marks the first time that Region 9 buses will be operated privately, taking over from the State Transit Authority (STA). Key highlights of the contract will be the introduction of 136 new zero emission battery-electric buses in Region 9, replacing phased-out diesel buses, on top of 10 electric buses, which will be introduced by March 2022.

“With this new contract, Transdev is proud to be reinforcing its presence in Sydney’s public transportation network, strengthening our scope beyond existing bus, ferry and light rail services in Australia’s largest metropolitan area. Most important is the thrust placed on deploying a massive fleet of zero emission buses, standing by our commitment to provide better, safer, more reliable and sustainable bus services to our customers in Sydney,” said Thierry Mallet, Chairman and CEO of Transdev Group.

Transdev John Holland will be responsible for delivering more than 33,000 weekly services, as part of the new network, including 11 All Day Frequent Network bus routes operating every 10 minutes or better during the day, seven days a week. Bus services will be operating out of three depots in Greater Sydney, located in Randwick, Waverley and Port Botany and managing a total fleet of close to 500 buses. Transdev John Holland will begin operating contracted services on 3 April 2022, following a period of transition with STA.

Region 9 bus routes connect Sydney’s CBD to the Eastern Beaches, La Perouse to the south, the suburban centers of Darlinghurst, Kings Cross, Randwick, Redfern, Waverley, Bondi, Coogee and Mascot, and the harbour-side suburbs of Elizabeth Bay, Double Bay and Vaucluse.

Transdev has been a global leader in zero emission buses since 2015, currently operating some 1,400 electric buses and aiming for some 2,200 zero emission buses by year-end 2022. Transdev has also been pioneering the deployment of hydrogen electric buses and coaches in Europe (The Netherlands, France, Sweden) and in New Zealand (Auckland), starting in 2022.

Transdev John Holland Buses (NSW) is an integrated joint venture partnership between Transdev Australasia (75 per cent) and John Holland (25 per cent), combining the know-how of one of the world’s leading mobility companies and one of Australia’s leading integrated infrastructure, transport and building companies.