Buses in the Brisbane CBD. Credit:Michelle Smith However the history of current operator Metro, which took over from Connex in 2009, is plagued with problems, including failure to meet on-time targets, braking faults, and conflicts with employees over everything from tackling fare evasion to security. A recent report from the state's Auditor-General found “outstanding weaknesses” across the city's transit system, and that “satisfaction for all public transport modes deteriorated over the past decade”. “It basically found the potential cost savings did not materialise to the extent they were projected to for a variety of different reasons since privatisation,” Melbourne's RMIT transport expert John Odgers explains. “Blame for that can be laid at the feet of both the private and public sector.”

Mr Odgers says a lack of investment in transport infrastructure by successive state governments had left Melbourne with a network that was “not 21st century”. As a result, Metro's failure to meet targets for punctuality – a condition set by the state government as part of the franchise agreement - was not necessarily the fault of the private operator. But it could be a different story for Brisbane, Mr Odgers said, as the city's buses and trains had been relatively better funded for longer, and the network was largely integrated, making it more attractive to commuters. “A private operator will find that very attractive,” said University of Canberra Associate Professor of economics Dr Cameron Gordon. “They've actually done public transit fairly well in Brisbane so, unlike Sydney, where you'd have to clean up a mess before taking it to market, you have a solid base in Brisbane which could be easily tendered if so desired.”

However the interests of the private sector and the private individual using the service do not always align; fare increases are a result of privatisation, and bus commuters can expect changes to their routes depending on the contract's design. “Typically the user is going to pay more despite the illusion privatisation means better pricing,” Dr Gordon says. “Users will pay the higher price for improvements to the network, and if fares are too low, too many people will use the network – there's also the idea a private company can make decisions that would be politically unpopular, like cutting routes no one uses for example. “But the devil is in the detail – it comes down to the shape of the contract at the end of the day.” This was also recognised in Mr Costello's audit. In regards to the privatisation of Brisbane's transit services, the report noted that the extent of savings through privatisation depended on whether “TransLink is able to negotiate contracts based on best practice”.