by Adam Langenberg and Jano Gibson, ABC
More than 150 daily bus services in Hobart could be slashed as state-owned transport company Metro Tasmania continues to be plagued by cancellations, a union has warned.
On a day when commuters were left stranded after 190 trips were cancelled in Hobart due to driver shortages, Premier Jeremy Rockliff confirmed moves were afoot to deal with the long-running issue.
“I’m aware of some changes that Metro are working through to ensure that we do improve that consistency and reliability and enable us to address what is a challenging time in terms of workforce pressures,” he said when asked about the issue at a press conference today.
Mr Rockliff did not disclose the specific changes that will be enacted, but the ABC understands Metro will announce further details later this week.
Rail, Tram and Bus Union state secretary Ric Bean said his organisation had been told up to 155 services could be permanently removed from Metro’s daily schedule.
Read the full story here: Metro public bus service to slash Hobart services amid crippling driver shortage, union says – ABC News
Vica Bayley MP, Greens Transport spokesperson, 23 August 2023
Bus Cancellation Decision Should be Reversed
A Metro Tasmania decision to permanently cancel over 150 bus services would exacerbate existing pressures on commuters and bus drivers and should be reversed.
The issues facing Metro and its drivers have been growing for years now, with clear warnings about the impact this would have on the workforce and its ability to deliver safe, reliable and efficient bus services. But despite these issues coming to a head in recent months, Transport Minister Michael Ferguson has barely lifted a finger to address them.
A decision to permanently cancel so many buses each day would make it clear the Minister has now given up altogether on trying to fix the issues affecting Metro drivers and their passengers. This is unacceptable for drivers and a terrible outcome for the community. We need to see immediate Ministerial intervention to ensure this decision is not made.
It might be necessary to suspend some services in the short term while other work is underway, but permanently cancelling buses is a step in the wrong direction. After all, with traffic congestion, a growing population and the cost of living continuing to rise, the demand for Metro is only set to grow.
We should be looking at funding options so we can add more bus services, not cutting ones that already exist.
There are the things the Liberals could be doing to improve things at Metro, but they have so far refused.
Improving pay and conditions would help with driver recruitment and retention. Making bus services free would not only deliver a great benefit to the community, it would also help drivers by reducing the anti-social behaviour associated with fares. And a long-term workforce plan is crucial to make sure we plan for the future and grow, not cut the bus services available to the community.
Public transport is an essential community service and its well past time Minister Ferguson recognised this and took the necessary steps to make sure this service can delivering more, not less, transport options for everyone.
Media release – Josh Willie MLC, Shadow Minister for Transport, 23 August 2023
Liberals must come clean on which bus services they plan to scrap
Jeremy Rockliff must come clean on which of the bus services – which so many Tasmanians rely on to get to work, school and to participate in the community – he plans to cut.
A staggering 190 Metro bus services were cancelled in Hobart yesterday, with 120 more today.
Sadly, instead of recognising that they need to do more to fix the issues plaguing Tasmania’s public transport system, the Government’s best response is a plan to cut services entirely so the cancellations go away.
This plan does nothing for the countless Tasmanians who rely on public transport – many of whom have no other mode of transport available to them.
Will the service Rockliff cuts be one that a single mum relies on to pick up her children from school?
Or will it be one a pensioner takes to his regular medical appointment?
Will the remaining services become overcrowded in peak hour, leaving Tasmanians on the curb or standing in the aisle?
Conservative governments have a bad habit of running services into the ground and then cutting them, and that’s exactly what we appear to be seeing with Metro.
And while it’s bus services on the chopping block now, with the Liberals planned budget cuts to come we know they’ll be swinging the axe through hospitals, schools and other services next.
After 10 years of a Liberal Government, services Tasmanians rely upon are falling to pieces. If Jeremy Rockliff has let it get this bad, there’s no chance he is going to fix the issues any time soon.
