ComfortDelGro Australia (CDC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SGX-listed ComfortDelGro (CDG), has won the Northern Territory government tender for a six-year contract to become the sole operator of public bus transport services in Darwin, Palmerston, the rural areas and special needs services within the region.

The tender was won through CDC’s subsidiary, CDC Darwin. CDC Darwin was formerly known as Buslink NT.

The Darwin and Urban service contract areas cover a significant part of the public transport network in the Northern Territory, with 170 vehicles operating across more than 180 bus routes, and moving some 5.7 million passengers annually.

These contract areas are in addition to Alice Springs, Batchelor and Jabiru school services, which were awarded to the entities under CDC in late 2021. CDC also continues to operate the Urban bus network contract in Alice Springs.

The contract will begin on July 1, in which CDC will operate under the new CDC Northern Territory branding, replacing the former Buslink branding.

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With the contract, the company will employ over 340 people and operate over 210 buses in the Northern Territory.

Tony Hopkins, the CEO of CDC’s regional Australia division, said that the growth of the company in partnership with the Northern Territory government will be fruitful for the communities it serves, its current and future bus customers, as well as the additional employees who will be joining the company to serve the contract.

“We are very pleased that the performance and expertise of our current operations and the way we treat our customers and employees in the Northern Territory has been recognised during the tender process for the Darwin contract,” says Hopkins.

“For customers, it means they will be served by a long-term operator which has invested significantly in its Northern Territory operations to consistently deliver a safe and reliable service,” he adds.

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In addition, transitioning employees will be looked after by “a company with a strong track record in retaining staff, providing good working conditions and long-term opportunities”, he continues. Surrounding communities will also be looked after by the company, which has “demonstrated its commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander reconciliation and other important social causes”.

Northern Territory Minister for infrastructure, planning and logistics, Eva Lawler, said that public transport is vital for the Northern Territory community.

“The awarding of this tender will see 340 Territorians supported through employment, and Territorians supported through reliable public transport. We are delivering services for Territorians in our urban centres and in the bush, with 170 vehicles operating across more than 180 bus routes,” she says.

“The addition of the new hybrid buses supports our commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050,” she adds.

Shares in ComfortDelGro closed 2 cents higher or 1.39% up at $1.46 on June 1.

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