NSW pirate bus fights privatisation issues in Sydney

Date: 31.05.2023

In the lead-up to the recent NSW state election, Ken Wilson came up with a devious plan to lead the charge to restore bus services around Sydney following the issues of bus privatisation.

Wilson onboard his mutiny bus

Willoughby resident Ken Wilson remembers when his town viewed its public transport network as a shining light.

"We once had the best bus service in the world," Wilson told ABC.

"In 1992, when they added a bus lane to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, it was a complete public transport boom."

Unfortunately, things changed in 2021 when the NSW government elected to privatise the remaining 75 per cent of Sydney’s buses. Wilson says new residential projects and planning that tried to address growing population density with more toll roads were in vain as public transport descended into chaos.

When Wilson’s local 272 bus route was cancelled, he hatched a plan to raise awareness of the situation.

"In Willoughby, we started seeing the old Channel 9 TV tower replaced with 460 apartments, many without car parking," Wilson says. "Between a traffic report recommending new residents use one of four local bus routes and a later approval for the apartment block, all those services were cancelled."

Wilson acted against the chaos, writing to local ministers and Transport for NSW. He was dismayed at the lack of action, as well as the cancellation of so many popular bus routes that left many Sydney-siders stranded in horrific traffic.

It was then that he launched the mutiny bus. After crowdfunding $420 to hire a "government-looking bus", Wilson put on his private service of the cancelled 272 route for local residents recently.

The idea of a pirate bus came from the old Pirate Radio in the UK after BBC announced it was against rock’n’roll music. When people were unable to set up radio stations to play rock’n’roll and rebel against BBC’s stance, they got a ship.

Wilson’s version of this was his own private bus that soon arrived to pick people up and take a stance against the government’s bus service cutting.

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"We kept asking for bus services to come back and only received pushback from our local member," Wilson says. "They must’ve known about my plans, because on the day I ran the bus, buses came from everywhere to pick up people before they could get on ours."

It didn’t stop the mutiny bus from having an impact. Despite these tactics, Wilson’s bus had plenty of passengers onboard, some dressed in pirate clothing. From what Wilson knows, it made quite a splash at NSW’s Government House.

 

The mutiny bus soon gained more attention and crowdsourced money kept rolling in, fuelling Wilson’s idea to run a second service. After hiring another bus, Wilson ran a private 340 service earlier this year that went down to Bondi Beach and back.

In the lead-up to last month’s NSW state election, Wilson’s mutiny bus manoeuvres caught the eye of now NSW Premier Chris Minns, who tried to clear his schedule to hop onboard.

With local Teal independents joining Wilson’s fight for more buses, the bus services have become a major part of NSW’s push for more bus services to be returned.

Yet Wilson’s efforts aren’t yet finished. The head pirate of the mutiny bus is now seeing which other private services he can run on his own with crowdfunding to make the burden of catching public transport around Sydney a little bit easier for everyone else.

"Following the election, the mutiny bus is now in limbo as I consider my next move," Wilson says.  "I’m interested in helping the netball association who have also lost services to their 20-court facility here in Willoughby. I’m wondering if I can run shuttles from local transport hubs – I’m open to help from anyone in the bus industry.

"The services in Willoughby are now a little better because of our stance, but I want to help get the message across that the entire state’s bus network needs to be changed to help the people out as I fear that they have just taken services away from other commuters to keep us quiet."

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