Transport Canberra bus driver Sam Colbert behind a protective screen in one of the electric buses. Photos: Ian Bushnell.
Canberra bus driver Sam Colbert is one of the lucky ones. He hasn’t been spat on or had his nose broken or ended up in hospital like some of his colleagues, but it’s been scary enough on some routes, particularly late at night with unruly passengers.
Mr Colbert welcomed the new safety screens being fitted to all Transport Canberra buses to protect drivers as part of a $37.4 million public transport package in the upcoming ACT Budget that also includes new transit officers and 30 new electric buses.
He said the screens would provide a greater sense of security.
“I’ve driven the electric buses a lot, with a bigger screen, which they’ve had from the get-go, and you do feel way more protected in there and not at risk of getting hit or spat on,” he said at a pre-budget announcement at Belconnen Interchange.
Mr Colbert said some passengers lashed out if they were having a bad day or drunk, saying hot spots were city routes at weekends when alcohol was consumed.
He would definitely feel safer and less intimidated.
“I reckon these screens will have a good level of protection; it’s quite hard to reach around them and try to hit you, also spitting as well, they’ve really got to go out of their way now for the new screens to be able to get to you,” he said.
Treasurer and Transport Minister Chris Steel said that after consultation with drivers and the union a design had been chosen that kept drivers safe but still enabled them to speak to passengers.
He said the move was not unique to Canberra with Hobart and South Australia also forced to fit screens to driver cabins.
Drivers would also undergo extra de-escalation training to help them calm situations on board.
The $500,000 measure won’t be the only response to a persistently high rate of attacks on drivers.
Treasurer and Transport Minister Chris Steel at Belconnen Interchange: “We want to see what difference this will make.”
$2.9m will be spent on beefing up the number of transit officers to provide frontline support and deter antisocial behaviour.
They already have powers to move on people behaving badly on public transport as well as causing damage and littering, but the government was considering adding more to their armoury.
Treasurer and Transport Minister Chris Steel said the number of incidents, ranging from threats to physical violence, had fallen from the 80 a month reported last year to 40 in April but this was still too high.
He said nine new network officers would be recruited in coming months as well as four new transit enforcement officers as part of a one-year trial.
“We’ll be undertaking an evaluation at the end of the one year, and we do expect it to continue,” he said.
“We want to see what difference this will make in terms of reducing the number of occupational violence incidents on our transport network, particularly on our bus system.”
He said the network officers would play a similar role to those operating on light rail, supporting passengers but also checking tickets and ensuring passengers pay their fares.
The bulk of the budget finding will go towards the 30 new electric buses to be delivered in 2026-27, which will boost the electric fleet to more than 130.
Mr Steel said this new procurement was part of Labor’s election pledge to buy 110 new battery electric buses this term.
How the 30 buses would be procured and what make they would be was still to be decided.
Mr Steel said the delivery of the 90 electric buses on order would be complete next year.
“So the future is electric,” he said.
Mr Steel said the new buses would replace old diesel buses but also grow the fleet, particularly on weekdays at peak times to increase the frequency of local services to every 20 minutes, as promised.
The budget will also fund more frequent local buses on Sundays.
Mr Steel said Rapid Sunday services were now quite frequent but the government acknowledged that local services weren’t good enough.
“We’ve heard that feedback from the community,” he said.
“We’ve stepped up frequency on Saturdays, and we will now be increasing the frequency to hourly on Sundays from Term 3.”
The Public Transport Association welcomed the Budget announcement but said the government needed to go further to create the frequent, reliable, and convenient public transport system that Canberra needs.
“Labor’s election promise of future 20-minute local services and new Rapid routes was great to see, but Canberrans need a clear timeline and a firm commitment. A convenient service is a service that runs frequently, seven days a week,” PTCBR chair Dr Amy Jelacic said.
“To truly tackle road congestion, build patronage, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the ACT needs a bold, ambitious vision for public transport. PTCBR will continue to advocate for comprehensive investment in service frequency that connects all of Canberra, all week long.”
