The association advises Members who have recently received a letter from DIER outlining the change to the period of the Interim Service Contract from 26 June 2005 to 30 June 2008 to sign and return the letter to ensure the continuity of your previously signed contract beyond June 2005.

The association advises all members who have received Interim Service Contracts (ISC) to replace the current thirty day contracts to not return the signed contract to the department until you have followed what is outlined below

Members with Regular Passenger Transport contracts for top up services who have not signed ISC are advised to return the signed contract to the department as soon as possible as there are no GST implications with these contracts.

The association website has been completed and should be on line from the 20 December. The site will initially have limited information available but will be upgraded early in the New Year.

The association offers to all members who have their own website to have a link from the TBA site. If you wish to take up this offer please forward to the association office your web address so that the link may be created.

The association conducted most successful regional meetings in Hobart Launceston and Ulverstone during December with approx 100 people attending the meetings.

The main topic at the meetings was a presentation by Mr. John Pauley from DIER in regard to the core passenger transport review process which has now commenced. In this newsletter there is a copy of the terms of reference for the review process together with a synopsis of what was discussed at the meetings regarding the review process.

The AGM/Conference for 2005 is to be held at Hotel Grand Chancellor Hobart on Monday 30 May.

Following from the commencement of the core passenger transport review process, further negotiations has resumed between the association and DIER to finalise the model. The negotiations are to now cover the operational costs that have been previously discussed, the capital and profit margin are to be completed and a new indexation process developed from the model.

To meet with government timeframes the association and DIER has set a completion timeframe for negotiations to be at the end of April 2005 which will enable DIER to present to government in June 2005.

The association has been involved in the development of the proposal for Annual Bus and Coach Inspections. The proposal is very near to completion and should be operational by mid 2005.

The scheme for annual inspections will be made available to all accredited operators of large passenger vehicles who apply in writing to the Transport Operator Accreditation branch of DIER for inclusion in the scheme. The association will advise members when the scheme is to commence.

A part of the scheme will be that random inspection of buses throughout the year will be undertaken.

It is now four months since the association provided all members with a copy of the Heavy Vehicle Inspection Manual that outlines tolerances and methods as to checking of tolerances.

The association would recommend to all operators that they familiarize themselves and their staff who may be present at time of vehicle inspections, as we are still receiving reports that defects have been recorded which upon investigation may have been questionable. It is too late to question a defect after it has been repaired

Members who wish to query the defect noted must contact the Senior Inspector in your area before any repairs are undertaken for another assessment.

The association office will be closed during the Christmas New Year period from close of business on Tuesday 21 December and reopening on Tuesday 11 January.

In accordance with the requirements of Regulation 8 of the Passenger Transport (Transitional) Regulations 2000 undertake a review of core passenger services in Tasmania by:

We are compiling data from various Departmental sources into one database that will eventually contain the details of every operator, timetable, map of route, and vehicle specifications. This has been a significant task, but effort is well spent as we seek to understand what currently exists.

We have commenced one on one site visits with operators and ridden buses at Rosebery, Smithton, Scottsdale, and the Sorell district. These visits are helping us to improve our understanding of what is actually happening, and to verify data we have collected from various Department sources.

Site visits across the remainder of the State are planned during Term 1 next year. It is our goal to visit every operator.

The Review Team has reviewed the existing "ground rules" or policy and noted the interlinked nature of these "ground rules". Gaps have been identified, which may account for some of the uncertainty within industry and with user groups. As part of our communication and consultation process, we realise that we need to work closely with all stakeholders to clarify the "ground rules" and fill the gaps so that there is more certainty around how core passenger services are delivered.

There is now agreement to work through the incomplete components of the BCM, and assess its suitability as a cost index. This work is being done in partnership with the Tasmanian Bus Association.

The Review is required to make a recommendation to Government on every route and service by 30 June 2007. Therefore, over the Review’s 3 year time frame we will be focusing on the following:

For some years now, even prior to me starting with the BIC, just over 2½ years ago, the industry has been asking the National Road Transport Commission (now the National Transport Commission –NTC ) to play a role in ensuring that accreditation requirements for bus operators and their enforcement are uniform across Australia.

National uniformity will remove state barriers to market-place entry, improve the safety standards of industry and with effective enforcement of accreditation regimes remove unscrupulous operators from competing unfairly against those willing to do the right thing. This would, I believe, open new business opportunities for bus operators, encourage fairer competition and result in better services for customers and in the longer term improve patronage numbers.

Without mutual recognition of some core and common industry standards then the industry will continue to be subject to the differing vagaries of each state requirements or alternatively for those that operate solely within their own state, having to operate in an environment where either:

It is not my role as Executive Director to pick on any particular state or choose which accreditation regime in each state is better or worse.

It is my role as Executive Director to try and co-ordinate the industry view on what the core industry standards should be and then work with State Executive Director’s to try and pull together our state jurisdictions to put in place an effective mutually recognized accreditation program across the nation.

So whilst mutual recognition is important, it is equally important that accreditation modules meet and deliver common standards and that these standards are agreed and accepted by all of the State and Territory jurisdictions.

Back in the year 2000 the NRTC sought to progress this matter by gaining AustRoads approval to undertake the mutual recognition of bus drivers and operators project. Whilst this project has prompted some progress regarding driver accreditation, it has achieved little in terms of practical action for operators.

Since coming on board with BIC, the issue of operator accreditation and mutual recognition has been a key focus of mine but I am possibly as frustrated as bus and coach operators with the lack of progress on this particular issue.

Don’t get me wrong, things are happening in this area and the National Transport Commission certainly has mutual recognition and proposed guidelines for the bus and coach industry on their reform agenda – it’s just that the timeframe in which things are happening are far too slow. 2005 must see some real action with this particular project and see things really happening on the ground.

On 26 July this year, the Executive Director’s of each State Bus and Coach Association and myself met in Melbourne to discuss a national approach to Industry standards with the aim that this may then provide an industry impetus for the NTC and the jurisdictions through the Bus Regulators Group to progress these matters. At the meeting the Executive Director’s agreed that the outcomes we are seeking from agreeing national industry standards and a national and mutually recognized approach to accreditation should be:

The Executive Director’s also identified some core national standards which we felt were appropriate for a national or mutually recognized approach and these would fly under the headings of:

Obviously under each of these headings a range of individual standards would need to be met by operators but each of these are largely based on the existing regimes of each of the jurisdictions.

In January 2004 the National Transport Commission released a publication titled "Guidelines for Bus Operator Accreditation Requirements". These guidelines were a very good first step in identifying the differences that exist between each jurisdiction and the requirements for bus drivers and operators.

For example, it highlighted that there is no clear agreement on the definition of "Bus", something I am sure we all agree should be a ‘no-brainer’ yet each state has its own view on the definition of what a bus is and therefore what should be covered by accreditation, for example;

The fact that we cannot even agree on this basic point and have not progressed this issue in its own right clearly highlights the difficulties that we face.

In my view, this particular issue should be resolved by simply looking at the Australian Design Rules where the definition of Omnibus is a passenger vehicle having more than 9 seating positions including that of the driver.

It would seem only logical that as all buses must comply to the Australian Design Rules (except if they are imported and over 15 years of age – which I hope will be fixed soon) that it would be a simple step for States to then adopt a regime that also accepted this definition of a bus.

It is clear to me that an accreditation program of credibility with a compliance regime of integrity is required in the bus and coach industry and that this must be mutually recognized by the States and Territories.

This will not only raise industry standards and ensure that bus and coach operators are meeting their regulatory requirements, it also puts in place a management system for bus and coach operators to ensure that they are meeting their due diligence and corporate governance requirements and have in place a management and records system that clearly articulates and proves exactly what you do and how you do it.

It must be remembered that industry accreditation is not just about satisfying the needs of regulators but is also about having in place within your own company a management system that allows you to appropriately manage the risks that you face on a day-to-day basis and ensure that you don’t end up in court being sued or prosecuted and end up with a big fine or in gaol for breeches of occupational health and safety laws, environmental laws and the list goes on.

The guidelines for bus and coach operators to meet the Disability Discrimination Act and the Incident Management Guidelines developed by the BIC and the State Associations are just two examples of practical tools that have been developed to help you protect your livelihood and business.

These are merely publications to assist you put in place management systems to meet your due diligence requirements so that you can get on with the business of running and operating buses with a feeling of security that your area is well and truly covered.

The BIC in 2005 is encouraging the National Transport Commission to move forward with this project and in partnership with the Bus Regulators Group which is made up of key regulators from each state jurisdiction to have in place an industry accreditation regime of integrity, of credibility and is mutually recognized across the nation.

This is my last column prior to the Christmas break. I thank you for your support and assistance throughout 2004 and look forward to continuing to work with you to improve the industry and ensure that your business remains viable and profitable.

A Merry Christmas to one and all and I encourage you to mark your diaries with the dates of October 16-19 2005 for the BIC national conference to be held on Hamilton Island. I will provide further information about next year’s conference early next year.

Merry Christmas