Labor campaigns against privatising buses

Brisbane City Council bus services will suffer and fares will go up if the Newman government wins a second term, the Labor party has warned.

Federal deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek joined the party's candidate for the Brisbane seat of Chatsworth, Paul Keene, on Friday to campaign against the privatisation of the city's buses.

The seat of Chatsworth includes a large Brisbane City Council bus depot at Carina, in Brisbane's inner southeast.

Ms Plibersek claims Premier Campbell Newman wants to privatise Brisbane's buses, which she says will lead to fewer services and higher bus fares as seen in Victoria when former premier Jeff Kennett privatised the state's public transport system in 1999.

"What we saw were fewer services, more chaotic services, substantial price increases, fewer buses, fewer routes and higher costs," Ms Plibersek said.

"Public transport costs rose substantially for commuters in Victoria, including a 20 per cent increase over a one two-year period."

The Queensland government has put the Brisbane City Council (BCC) buses up for tender as recommended in the 2013 commission of audit report led by former Federal Treasurer Peter Costello.

A spokeswoman for Transport Minister Scott Emerson said the government wants the best services and value for money for passengers through a competitive contract process.

"We are currently consulting with all operators about future contracts which are due to expire in late 2015," she said.

She said the government delivered the first state-wide decrease to Queensland's public transport fares in November last year.

However, BCC bus driver Wendy Hodgson said she wants the buses to stay in the council's hands and fears the LNP just wants to privatise them.

"Our buses will no longer be a bus services (under the LNP) but will be profit-making machines," she said.

"The Brisbane City Council buses should stay with the ratepayers who have had this service for over 90 years."

She said the bus drivers were also locals and feared losing their jobs if a private operator wins the tender in September.

Queenslanders will go to the polls on January 31.