In rural and regional areas of NSW, bus operators provide regular passenger services to fare-paying passengers under contracts between them and the NSW Government. The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of NSW (IPART) is responsible for setting the maximum fares operators can charge for these services, in line with the requirements of section 28J of the Passenger Transport Act 1990 (Appendix A). We have completed our 2011 review of the maximum bus fares that these operators can charge, and have determined new fares to apply from 1 January 2012. The purpose of this report is to explain our fare determination and the analysis that supports it.