14 April 2011

Sunday Timetable this Saturday

| johnboy
Join the conversation
20
buses

Territory And Municipal Services advise that for the third week this year ACTION are going to let down the community and run a degraded service over the weekend.

“The AMWU has informed ACTION they will be placing a further ban on overtime work this weekend which means that buses will not be able to be maintained or re-fuelled,” Mr Roncon said. “In order to minimise disruptions to Monday’s services a decision has been made to run a Sunday timetable on Saturday. Sunday services and chartered services to the Brumbies match will run as per normal.

“With the school holidays next week not as many buses are required to operate the fleet on Monday, however unless we run a Sunday timetable on Saturday services will be impacted next week.

I’m happy to fuel a bus for them.

Join the conversation

20
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

All this while our over-rulers particularly the Greens are trying, nay shaming us into using public transport. Know what I’ll be sticking with.

SheepGroper said :

So – what was the reason for the long wait between buses this morning if not some sort of industrial action? It was rather quiet at the Woden bus interchange this morning considering it was 8:30 AM, the queue for the 333 service had gone behind the bus shelter towards the kiosk where the Action staff are, and by the time the first bus arrived the queue was past the kiosk and heading in the direction of the shops. There were so many people waiting, and so many on the bus that the majority of the would-be passengers had to wait for the next bus.

When the next bus arrived it was pretty full but I was able to squeeze on, blocking a couple of people who were too smart to wait in the queue and thought they could turn up and get straight on the bus without wasting their time like the rest of us.

The Action staffer kept apologising and saying something about buses not being repaired and there weren’t enough on the road. Maybe my expectations are too high but that doesn’t look like a well functioning bus service.

So many things wrong with this, where do I start?

Firstly the 333 hasn’t run for over 10 years!

Secondly, HTFU! Seriously brake down happen at every company, there are always going to be days where there is a bus shortage, in every company, learn to live with it and don’t blame the drivers that they couldn’t get a bus….it isn’t their fault! School runs take priority over route services, if your run is on the same shift as a school run I can assure you the service will never be dropped!

dvaey said :

I think cancelling regular bus services to a major sporting event is letting down the community, do you not?

Except that regular bus services to a major sporting event were not cancelled. ACTION Management decided to err on the side of caution and sub-contracted out the sporting charters for that weekend. No services were cancelled.

colourful sydney racing identity said :

I agree with what you are saying but you are not helping your cause, calm down.

I’ll use a smiley face next time if that helps. 🙂 Besides, it got the desired result – article was updated.

If JohnBoy could be so kind as to delete the duplicated post at 3:18pm. The post disappeared (instead of being listed as awaiting moderation), so I thought my internet connection had dropped out and I re-submitted it.

AndyC said :

I’d be wondering if it had anything to do with the mva on the Monaro. A couple of people said it took them near on an hour for a normal 30 minute trip from Tuggers to Woden this morning…

One of the hazards of having your mass transit public transport system operating on the same roads as everyone else. We have the reserves designated for segregated off-street running, whether it be bus rapid transit or light rail, but the effect is the same – faster and more frequent service due to public transport vehivles not travelling on the same roads as everyone else.

SheepGroper said :

So – what was the reason for the long wait between buses this morning if not some sort of industrial action? It was rather quiet at the Woden bus interchange this morning considering it was 8:30 AM, the queue for the 333 service had gone behind the bus shelter towards the kiosk where the Action staff are, and by the time the first bus arrived the queue was past the kiosk and heading in the direction of the shops. There were so many people waiting, and so many on the bus that the majority of the would-be passengers had to wait for the next bus.

When the next bus arrived it was pretty full but I was able to squeeze on, blocking a couple of people who were too smart to wait in the queue and thought they could turn up and get straight on the bus without wasting their time like the rest of us.

The Action staffer kept apologising and saying something about buses not being repaired and there weren’t enough on the road. Maybe my expectations are too high but that doesn’t look like a well functioning bus service.

I’d be wondering if it had anything to do with the mva on the Monaro. A couple of people said it took them near on an hour for a normal 30 minute trip from Tuggers to Woden this morning…

So – what was the reason for the long wait between buses this morning if not some sort of industrial action? It was rather quiet at the Woden bus interchange this morning considering it was 8:30 AM, the queue for the 333 service had gone behind the bus shelter towards the kiosk where the Action staff are, and by the time the first bus arrived the queue was past the kiosk and heading in the direction of the shops. There were so many people waiting, and so many on the bus that the majority of the would-be passengers had to wait for the next bus.

When the next bus arrived it was pretty full but I was able to squeeze on, blocking a couple of people who were too smart to wait in the queue and thought they could turn up and get straight on the bus without wasting their time like the rest of us.

The Action staffer kept apologising and saying something about buses not being repaired and there weren’t enough on the road. Maybe my expectations are too high but that doesn’t look like a well functioning bus service.

colourful sydney racing identity4:19 pm 14 Apr 11

ML-585 said :

Which is not the same as “third week running”. It is only two weeks in a row that weekend services have been altered. Please correct your article!

I agree with what you are saying but you are not helping your cause, calm down.

ML-585 said :

I’m not. That’s nowhere near the same level of disruption of cancelling a whole days service and eliminating Saturday morning and evening services.

If you want to be pedantic, he said third time theyre letting down the community, then explained the timetable changes. I think cancelling regular bus services to a major sporting event is letting down the community, do you not?

This would be more of a problem if there was actually any decent weekend bus service running in this city to begin with. People who catch a bus on the weekend in Canberra expect to have to wait a long time and irregular services.

I’m not. That’s nowhere near the same level of disruption of cancelling a whole days service and eliminating Saturday morning and evening services.

the third week this year ACTION (will) … run a degraded service over the weekend.

Still incorrect. Unless you count contracting football services to Deane’s as a degraded service. It will only be the second time this year that regular weekend services have been disrupted.

For f***s sake, JB, get your act together!

georgesgenitals said :

Well, s***, better stop the presses for that one!

Damn straight. Better yet: get the facts right in the first place.

ML-585 said :

Which is not the same as “third week running”. It is only two weeks in a row that weekend services have been altered. Please correct your article!

Please correct your post – it states 3rd week this year, not 3rd week running..

for the third week this year ACTION (will) … run a degraded service over the weekend.

Still incorrect. It is only the second week that weekend services have been disrupted this year.

For f***s sake, JB, get your act together!

georgesgenitals3:00 pm 14 Apr 11

ML-585 said :

Which is not the same as “third week running”. It is only two weeks in a row that weekend services have been altered. Please correct your article!

Well, s***, better stop the presses for that one!

Which is not the same as “third week running”. It is only two weeks in a row that weekend services have been altered. Please correct your article!

ML-585 said :

Third week ?????

Third week this year services have been disrupted by maintenance overtime bans yes?

Before the bus driver hatred starts up again, let’s attempt to get a few facts straight:

1. It’s not the third week, it’s the second.

2. The AMWU has not imposed a “further ban” on overtime – their current ban (see last week) is still ongoing.

3. An overtime ban does not mean that you are opposed to working overtime, it is simply the easiest form of Industrial Action to take since you can’t be fined or stood down for refusing to work voluntary overtime. (Part of the dispute does seem to involve rostering mechanics to work evenings and/or weekends rather than having this work be voluntary as it is now, but since the AMWU is not issuing press releases on the internet it is hard to get the other party’s story.)

4. It is ACTION management’s decision (not the union’s) to alter the Saturday timetable in the interests of having enough buses available for Monday.

“I’m happy to fuel a bus for them.”

Careful Johnboy, such talk will get you branded as a non-union scab who is willing to put at risk the cushy pay and conditions of his brother workers all for the sake of the minor matter of a functional bus service!

Third week ?????

for f***s sake… When are Action going to get their act together.. never?

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.