The PTC was established pursuant to the Public Transport Commission Act 1972 (NSW) and led to the abolition of the offices of Commissioner for Railways and Commissioner for Public Transport.[1][2]
The Public Transport Commission consisted of five commissioners appointed by the
Governor of New South Wales, two of whom were nominated by the
Minister for Transport. Two of the Commissioners were full-time one of these was appointed by the Governor as Chief Commissioner. The Commission acquired the assets and liabilities of the former commissioners, were bound by current agreements or contracts, and were responsible for the completion of business commenced by them. The Commission inherited the functions of the previous Commissioners as prescribed in the Railways Act 1912 (NSW) and the Transport Act 1930 (NSW).[3]
The first Chief Commissioner of the PTC was
Philip Shirley, a former chairman of
Cunard, who came out of retirement to take up the position. Shirley had been involved with the
Beeching cuts being vice chairman of the
British Railways Board in his native United Kingdom in the 1960s. His cost-cutting approach was criticised by sections of the public, trade unions and the parliamentary opposition. Shirley retired in 1975, two years before his commission was due to conclude. His successor, until the PTC was disbanded in 1980, was
Alan Reiher. Upon the dissolution of the PTC, Reiher became chairman of
VicRail.[8]
A mandarin blue and riviera white livery was introduced on buses, suburban electric trains and ferries while freight wagons were painted in a teal blue livery.[25][26][27][28] From November 1976, trains reverted to Tuscan red while ferries would revert to their Tuscan and green liveries in the 1980s.[29] In November 1979, a modified livery for locomotives was introduced with the colours on the Tuscan and yellow painted ends reverted.[30][31]
The original logo had the letters NSW with arrows pointing east and west. It was replaced in 1975 by the L7 logo.[32][33] It would continue to be used, albeit with different colours, on buses and ferries until 1989 and on trains until 2010.
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abcd"PUBLIC TRANSPORT COMMISSION ACT, 1972". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 110. New South Wales, Australia. 20 October 1972. p. 4122. Retrieved 7 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"PUBLIC TRANSPORT COMMISSION ACT, 1972". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 155. New South Wales, Australia. 28 November 1975. p. 4974. Retrieved 7 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^
abc"PUBLIC TRANSPORT COMMISSION ACT, 1972". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 59. New South Wales, Australia. 30 April 1976. p. 1842. Retrieved 7 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"PUBLIC TRANSPORT COMMISSION ACT, 1972". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 51. New South Wales, Australia. 28 March 1980. p. 1389. Retrieved 7 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"PUBLIC TRANSPORT COMMISSION ACT, 1972". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 159. New South Wales, Australia. 27 December 1974. p. 5083. Retrieved 7 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"PUBLIC TRANSPORT COMMISSION ACT, 1972". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 134. New South Wales, Australia. 28 September 1979. p. 4819. Retrieved 7 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"PUBLIC TRANSPORT COMMISSION ACT, 1972". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 156. New South Wales, Australia. 14 December 1973. p. 5331. Retrieved 7 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"PUBLIC TRANSPORT COMMISSION ACT, 1972". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 156. New South Wales, Australia. 14 December 1973. p. 5332. Retrieved 7 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"RE will of ERIC DOUGLAS ARCHER, late of Strathfield". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 52. New South Wales, Australia. 10 May 1974. p. 1807. Retrieved 7 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"PUBLIG TRANSTORT COMMISSION ACT, 1972". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 81. New South Wales, Australia. 5 July 1974. p. 2590. Retrieved 7 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"PUBLIC TRANSPORT COMMISSION ACT, 1972". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 135. New South Wales, Australia. 17 October 1975. p. 4265. Retrieved 7 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"PUBLIC TRANSPORT COMMISSION ACT, 1972". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 162. New South Wales, Australia. 17 November 1978. p. 4707. Retrieved 7 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"PUBLIC TRANSPORT COMMISSION ACT, 1972". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 153. New South Wales, Australia. 16 November 1979. p. 5725. Retrieved 7 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"PUBLIC TRANSPORT COMMISSION ACT, 1972". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 73. New South Wales, Australia. 16 May 1980. p. 2432. Retrieved 7 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"PUBLIC TRANSPORT COMMISSION ACT, 1972". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 80. New South Wales, Australia. 30 May 1980. p. 2741. Retrieved 7 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^New colour scheme for Sydney transport Network December 1972 page 2
^New Livery for Government-owned Transport Fleet Railway Transportation December 1972 page 10
^
abcTravers, Greg (1982). From City to Suburb a Fifty Year Journey. Sydney: The Historic Commercial Vehicle Association.