Roads and Maritime Services Rozelle bus bulletin – November 2017 (PDF version)

Members might be aware from newspaper reports in the Illawarra Mercury of the issues regarding Rozelle bus operations.

The PSA and combined unions negotiated operation of the bus following the decision to move staff into the Rozelle offices after the North Sydney relocations. The very limited public transportation options required the facilitation of the bussing option.

Both the Berejiklian Government and NSW Opposition have provided comment on the future operations of the Rozelle bus and have decided the costs associated with its operation are too high. Upon notification of the newspaper article, the PSA has sought immediate discussion and consultation regarding the proposed changes to the bussing operations.

Public servants using this service had no part in the decisions to relocate staff to the Rozelle office and the reduced availabilities of public transportation for this relocation were highlighted by the PSA and discussed at length.

The Mercury reports Minister Pavey has requested RMS to “examine and determine what other options are available to ensure staff can get to and from work, including existing light rail and bus services’’. The PSA is aware an examination of this nature was done and discounted before the decision to relocate staff to the Rozelle office.

The expectation is that the RMS will avail themselves of different options and come back to the combined unions with a solution, as the issue of getting to the Rozelle worksite is not going away in a hurry. The PSA is always willing to discuss options that save the NSW taxpayer and support public services. However, without any other options on the table, the PSA expects RMS to uphold its commitments made to the PSA, combined unions and staff.