Help is on the way for passengers on the Northern Beaches hit hardest by the shortage of articulated 'bendy' buses. The Government is addressing the gap in the aging high-capacity bus fleet by moving to buy 50 new diesel-powered Euro 6 articulated buses as well as 10 double decker buses to supplement the B-Line fleet.
The Northern Beaches bus region, known as Region 8, has faced serious issues with a shortage of high-capacity buses since 83 Volvo articulated buses were temporarily removed from service in October 2024 because of safety concerns after cracking had been found in their chassis. More than half of these buses normally operate in Region 8.
Procurement of these much-needed extra buses will improve reliability on the B-Line and increase capacity across the Northern Beaches, North Shore and the wider network. They will be the first new articulated buses bought in 14 years and will provide a big boost to the ageing fleet after more than a decade of neglect by the former Liberal Government.
These new buses are expected to roll out and enter service towards the end of 2025.
Repairs to the first six existing articulated buses are currently underway and are forecast to return to service from April 2025. Transport is currently working to deliver a repair program for the remaining articulated buses for a staged return to service over 2025.
Pressure on northern beaches key routes is expected to ease over the coming months as the repaired articulated buses begin to return to service.
During this challenging period Transport is also improving support at key locations like Dee Why and Wynyard to assist with bus loadings and passenger communications.
Transport has also worked with the operator to mitigate the impact on passengers, including measures to protect priority services from cancellations like dedicated school services, other trips carrying high numbers of students, minimising consecutive cancellations and first and last services of the day.
The procurement of these new high-capacity buses are in addition to the new standard size Zero Emission Buses (ZEB) that will begin entering service at Brookvale Depot over the next 12 months.
This will enable Transport to deliver more and improved bus services in Region 8, Region 14 and across the wider network. As more buses are added to the network, Transport will progressively work towards the restoration of the full timetable.
Significant progress has been made to address the bus driver shortage that is especially acute across the North Shore and beaches regions. There are currently 154 driver vacancies across metropolitan Sydney as of 3 March 2025, down from more than 500 in April 2023.
Transport is also investing in future high capacity zero emission buses which are in the early stages of development. Transport has ordered four articulated ZEBs to test and trial for suitability in Sydney conditions.
Minister for Transport John Graham said:
"We know it's been a difficult couple of months for bus passengers on the Northern Beaches who've been dealing with the shortage of articulated buses. Our drivers have been doing their best, but the fleet shortage has meant many services haven't been up to scratch. That's why we're bringing in more high-capacity buses.
"As these additional high-capacity buses and repaired articulated buses enter service over the next 12 months this will mean fewer disruptions, improved reliability and bus services that better meet the needs of the people who rely on them
"The rollout will be prioritised to the areas of greatest need and provide a solution to ease the fleet shortage on the northern beaches.
"We should start to see the 50 new articulated buses on the road progressively and we expect the first repaired bendy buses to re-enter service from April."
