Wheels of abuse go ’round and ’round: Enough
There is no doubting Hobart is in the grips of an escalating transport crisis. A fortnight ago, the city came to a standstill after one truck crash on the Tasman Bridge caused every major road to bottleneck, congest and stop.
Our city leaders want more people to use public transport and take cars off the roads – but how can we, when the system is so clearly plagued with serious ongoing issues?
As we report today, Metro Tasmania has cancelled almost 60 routes over the past three days, blaming driver sickness.
But the union and those in the industry know this is only the tip of the iceberg of what is really going on behind those bus doors.
The Mercury has covered public transport woes for years, and over the past 18 months we have highlighted the serious safety concerns of Metro bus drivers and commuters around anti-social behaviour of youths that has led to driver abuse.
And, for months, those who have the power to do something about it have promised change.
But once again, we are forced to report on more incidents of bus driver abuse — and now services being cancelled because drivers are not up to getting behind the wheel.
Greens leader Cassy O’Connor’s argument that it all comes down to the government’s “mismanagement of Covid” is an incredibly long bow given the issues around anti-social behaviour and drivers feeling unsafe at work from unruly passengers.
Masks are not going to stop little thugs throwing physical or verbal abuse at our bus drivers tasked with getting people from A to B safely.
Rail, Tram and Bus Union secretary Ric Bean says “an in-depth forum” is urgently needed for those in power to actually work out a plan to fix these issues, and the Mercury is 100 per cent behind that idea.
Security cameras, specialised security staff and security screens are some proposed fixes that need to be officially put on the table now.
But all stakeholders need to properly sit down and listen to those who live and work in the conditions every day: Our bus drivers.