Transport NSW

BUS AND COACH OPERATOR ACCREDITATION: WHAT IS IT AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

WHAT IS NSW ACCREDITATION?

Accreditation is a bus and coach operator licence called BOAS (Bus Operator Accreditation Scheme) and is obtained through Transport for NSW. A course is held at a NSW University and it requires applicants to first meet the common core standards for Public Passenger Bus Services.

Accreditation is for an operator that runs a public passenger transport service that carries passengers in minibuses, standard buses or coaches for a fare which are for the following services.

• Long Distance Service
• Tourist Service
• Charter Service

To be accredited, the person or company must be,

• Of good repute, supplied by two-character references (two individuals who have known you for more than two years)
• Fit and proper for the purpose of accreditation
• Demonstrate that you possess the necessary knowledge and level of competency to operate a bus service
• Financially viable to operate a passenger bus service, demonstration via a credit report from an accountant
• Have a current Criminal History Check
• Have access to adequate maintenance facilities for the vehicles
• Have written approval from the applicable local council

Some of these above points are usually enough to prevent the substandard operators from gaining such an important title. Under the Passenger Transport Act 1990, all operators of public passenger bus services must be accredited to be able to provide services legally in NSW.

An operator is independently audited thoroughly by certified auditors and reported back to the governing body, in this case, Transport for NSW (TfNSW). There have been many instances that operators have had their accreditation revoked due to poor accreditation standards.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

It is extremely important that you engage an accredited company as this means that all their buses and coaches are accredited to

• carry passengers, use bus lanes, have all safety and compliance signage on board,
• are maintained to manufacturer’s standards, use genuine parts, are serviced every 6 months or 10,000km (whichever arrives first),
• have insurances, including public liability, display the accreditation on the side of the vehicle, have VMD’s (Vehicle Monitoring Devices) and are inspected by the Heavy Vehicle Inspection Scheme (HVIS) every 6 months.

The standard also includes a concise Safety Management System and Registers of risk, compliance, complaints, fleet details, driver compliance, medicals, inspections, incidents, insurance, maintenance and much more.

There are many non-accredited businesses online with websites claiming to be a bus company but are in fact not, just ‘middlemen’ looking to take a cut and pass off the job to the cheapest ‘man with a bus’ which is not only deception, but these companies are not accredited which means they have no idea of the industry and its safety and legal requirements.

Don’t risk it. Go with Accredited Bus and Coach Companies Every Time.