Post by ferryfast admin on Jun 29, 2011 11:56:24 GMT -5
Ferry hopefuls to stage joint bid
Jacob Saulwick-Transport
Sydney Morning Herald
www.smh.com.au/nsw/ferry-hopefuls-to-stage-joint-bid-20110629-1gqyt.html
June 30, 2011
TWO of the companies deemed most likely to win the contract to run Sydney's ferry services have teamed up for a joint bid.
Veolia Transdev, a French multinational which operates private bus services in Sydney, will bid with Transfield Services, which has won a $500 million contract to run Adelaide buses.
The chairman of Transfield, Tony Shepherd, declined to offer a detailed picture of how ferry services would be different under a private operator.
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But he said he did not expect a confrontation with waterfront unions, who are resisting privatisation, if his bid won. ''We are happy to work with our workforce and the unions to make this a successful and happy transition.''
The government aims to have a private operator running Sydney ferries by the end of next year.
Almost 30 firms registered an expression of interest when tenders were called last month and the government will provide more details about what it wants in the next couple of weeks.
The former chief executive of Qantas Geoff Dixon, the advertising executive John Singleton, and the investment bankers Mark Carnegie and Greg Woolley have put together a consortium that is expected to compete with Veolia Transdev and Transfield.
State Labor is opposed to privatising the ferries but the former Labor prime minister Bob Hawke is the chairman of a company, Solar Sailor, which wants to be part of the privatisation process. The chief executive of Solar Sailor, Robert Dane, said the privatisation was a good opportunity for his firm.
''There is an opportunity for someone to get in there and revamp the whole thing. New vessels, new routes, new attitudes, new everything,'' he said.
Solar Sailor would be looking to establish a relationship with a company procuring Sydney's next fleet, Dr Dane said.
Jacob Saulwick-Transport
Sydney Morning Herald
www.smh.com.au/nsw/ferry-hopefuls-to-stage-joint-bid-20110629-1gqyt.html
June 30, 2011
TWO of the companies deemed most likely to win the contract to run Sydney's ferry services have teamed up for a joint bid.
Veolia Transdev, a French multinational which operates private bus services in Sydney, will bid with Transfield Services, which has won a $500 million contract to run Adelaide buses.
The chairman of Transfield, Tony Shepherd, declined to offer a detailed picture of how ferry services would be different under a private operator.
Advertisement: Story continues below
But he said he did not expect a confrontation with waterfront unions, who are resisting privatisation, if his bid won. ''We are happy to work with our workforce and the unions to make this a successful and happy transition.''
The government aims to have a private operator running Sydney ferries by the end of next year.
Almost 30 firms registered an expression of interest when tenders were called last month and the government will provide more details about what it wants in the next couple of weeks.
The former chief executive of Qantas Geoff Dixon, the advertising executive John Singleton, and the investment bankers Mark Carnegie and Greg Woolley have put together a consortium that is expected to compete with Veolia Transdev and Transfield.
State Labor is opposed to privatising the ferries but the former Labor prime minister Bob Hawke is the chairman of a company, Solar Sailor, which wants to be part of the privatisation process. The chief executive of Solar Sailor, Robert Dane, said the privatisation was a good opportunity for his firm.
''There is an opportunity for someone to get in there and revamp the whole thing. New vessels, new routes, new attitudes, new everything,'' he said.
Solar Sailor would be looking to establish a relationship with a company procuring Sydney's next fleet, Dr Dane said.