Page 2920 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 14 August 2019
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I acknowledge that many Canberrans have been impacted by weekend bus reliability, and that is why we are taking action. To be clear, Transport Canberra is now delivering more weekend bus services compared with the previous timetable, despite the reliability issues. Based on the current average of around 88 per cent reliability, on weekends during school terms Transport Canberra is delivering around 3350 bus services each weekend.
In the previous network there were only 2,344 timetabled bus services weekend of which Transport Canberra delivered on average around 98.9 per cent each weekend over the same period from 28 May to 12 August 2018. This means that on a typical weekend more than 1,000 additional bus services are provided than prior to the introduction of the new network. This is in addition to hundreds of light rail services now being delivered reliably by Canberra Metro each weekend under contract to the territory.
Nonetheless, Canberrans have told us that the current reliability rate is not acceptable, and the government agrees. We are taking strong action and are acknowledging the issue. It is wholly unsatisfactory that Canberrans cannot rely on public transport on weekends. The actions we have been taking have been early in the piece following the new network coming on. In coming into the transport minister role shortly after the new network commenced I instructed my directorate to use every means at its disposal to meet its reliability targets on the weekend. First and foremost this includes stepping up the recruitment of bus drivers to deliver the increased services. That is a critical focus of the government in ensuring that we can deliver more services on the weekend.
Streamlining recruitment and providing flexible training solutions for bus drivers is also a focus, including moving to a rolling recruitment campaign rather than an annual recruitment for bus drivers. We have already begun that work. That means that Transport Canberra is always accepting new applications from potential drivers. I put out a call out to the Canberra community: if you would like to become a bus driver and participate in secure, well-paid work, please get in touch with Transport Canberra.
Increasing the number of drivers being trained is a focus. I mentioned in question time that 10 new drivers are due to graduate on Friday. A further 12 will commence training this month, building on the 80 drivers recruited since October last year.
Unfortunately, it is not feasible, as the opposition has suggested, to provide information days in advance about which services will and will not be delivered. That is not now how the system works, unfortunately, and that is because Transport Canberra’s focus is on delivering as many weekend services as possible. As a result, staff in Transport Canberra continue to allocate drivers to weekend services under the rostering system up to and including the day they operate.
We will be reviewing the way in which information is provided to passengers on weekends advising them of cancelled services, and I am looking forward to reporting those findings back to the Assembly. The reality of running a bus network with a rostering system with 450 buses or thereabouts and around 800 drivers is complex. One shift comprises between six and ten different routes across the network.
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