Transport Regulation in NSW
In regulating safety, there are three separate agencies that each look after the different modes of public transport – Rail, Bus and Ferries. The Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) is responsible for road safety.
Rail : The Independent Transport Safety and Reliability Regulator (ITSRR) is responsible for rail safety regulation.
Bus: The Ministry of Transport is responsible for bus safety regulation.
Ferries: NSW Maritime is responsible for ferry safety.
ITSRR, the Ministry of Transport and the RTA report to the NSW Minister for Transport whilst NSW Maritime reports to the Minister for Ports and Waterways.
Transport Safety Investigations
The Office of Transport Safety Investigations (OTSI) is responsible for investigating safety occurrences involving bus, ferry and rail transportation. The purpose of these investigations is to identify why an occurrence took place and make recommendations to prevent recurrence. To support this style of investigation, a 'just culture' approach is used. OTSI provides investigations reports to the NSW Minister for Transport. As of 1 July 2005 OTSI become operationally independent from ITSRR.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is an independent body within the Federal Department of Transport and Regional Services and is Australia’s prime agency for transport safety investigations. The bureau is entirely separate from transport regulators and service providers. The ATSB investigates aviation, marine, road, road and rail accidents. OTSI has protocols in place with the ATSB to cooperate with (and not duplicate) investigations of rail accidents that occur on the Defined Interstate Rail Network (DIRN). OTSI may conduct an investigation on the DIRN if the ATSB choses not to.
Coordination across transport modes
Through the Transport Regulation Executive Committee (TREC) ITSRR works in partnership with the Ministry of Transport and NSW Maritime to deliver better coordinated safety strategy, policy and regulation across transport modes.
Reliability Monitoring
ITSRR provides advice to Government and publishes reports on the performance and reliability of publicly funded transport which includes rail, bus and ferry services. ITSRR's service reliability reports reflect rail industry performance, the longer term viability of transport networks and rail customer attitudes through surveys and analysis.