There is a twisted piece of logic at play in the New South Wales government’s plans to privatise bus routes across Sydney’s inner west.



The excuse for this move was the 12,000 complaints the government said it had received over a four-year period, mainly about buses running late or not leaving their depots on time.

Leaving aside the fact that other regions have higher levels of complaints – an analysis by the Guardian showed the solidly blue-ribbon Liberal seats in the inner north fared the worst for reliability – we should doubt the central proposition that because buses are running late, we should privatise them.

I’ve been a Sydney bus driver for more than 21 years and I am just as frustrated as everyone else with the traffic and delays across Sydney. But every Sydneysider knows that traffic in the city is gridlocked during peak times and buses are “late” because they are stuck in the very same Sydney traffic that everyone else is. Visitors are advised to add an extra half an hour to the normal travel time if they want to be anywhere near on schedule. Many commuters try to avoid peak hour completely, instead attempting to leave very early or very late.

Factcheck: just how bad are buses in Sydney's inner west? Read more

If you go to Leichhardt depot in the inner west for the morning shift, you will see buses backed up trying to get out of the depot on to Balmain Road, which is equally jammed with traffic.

What’s the Liberal party’s solution to this? Blame the drivers and privatise the bus network, as though a private operator will be able to part Sydney traffic like Moses parting the Red Sea.

We love and care about our jobs and we take pride in doing them well. And despite the frustrations of Sydney traffic, it’s still a wonderful job.

There are 3,500 drivers in the same situation as me. If we lose our jobs, it would be a devastating blow – financially and psychologically – and the truth is we know it won’t solve a thing. By selling off the buses, the government is telling us, “we don’t value what you do. We don’t care about the sacrifices you make.”

Yes, there are challenges. But privatising our buses will not fix them. We’ve seen public bus systems privatised before and it has led to poorer services and higher fares.

In the UK, the privatisation of bus services has become a source of widespread and justified disgruntlement leading to chronic delays, “virtually no evening travel”, old “clapped-out buses”, infrequency, poor punctuality and extortionate prices.

Sydney bus drivers defy court orders to continue strike over privatisation Read more

No one should be surprised. Private bus operators put profit before people. To make money, they’ll close down unprofitable routes, remove stops and put off maintenance. Children, the elderly and poor people without cars will be the ones left stranded.

The impact of this in the UK has been a fall of 50% in bus trips. That is not more people staying at home or walking – that is more people on the road.

Therein lies the bizarre logic of the New South Wales Liberals. Privatisation as a solution to buses being delayed in traffic will actually worsen the traffic buses are stuck in.

The “complaints” argument was merely a ruse. The Liberals believe business should run all our services – from electricity to hospitals to transport.

Rightly, many in the government are trying to find wisdom behind what’s happening. Bus drivers and the people of Sydney already know the answer.

• George Salena is the pseudonym of a Sydney bus driver