Commuters expect Transport Canberra’s buses to turn up, on time. File photo.
Everybody in this town will have their own now apocryphal stories about Canberra’s weekend ghost buses, the ones that never arrive because of a lack of drivers, despite what the timetable might say.
For my son, it was being left stranded in the city and Woden after visiting a friend in the north, and trying to make it home to Weston Creek. It was an experience that galvanised him to get his driver’s licence as soon as possible so he didn’t have to gamble on a notoriously unreliable service.
That was a long time ago now and yet with Canberra, as we are so often told, maturing into a city proper and the Government touting a new integrated public transport network, the evaporation of weekend services is still happening.
Last weekend (4-5 May) Transport Canberra had to cut 4 per cent of services due to not enough drivers volunteering for shifts. With 36 driver duties not covered, 148 out of the scheduled 3721 services did not happen.
It’s a situation that has been the bane of governments over the years who have tried to wrangle the ACT’s bus drivers into a compulsory seven-day roster but have met consistent intransigence from the Transport Workers Union, which is prepared to go to the picket line over any threat to voluntary weekend shifts.
Late last year Transport Canberra backed away from demands for compulsory weekend work in its Enterprise Agreement negotiations with the TWU in the face of industrial action, something the Government would have been eager to avoid in the lead-up to launching the new transport network.
Transport Minister Meegan Fitzharris. The voluntary weekend roster is undermining her attempts to establish a reliable and efficient service. Photo: Transport Canberra.
Transport Minister Meegan Fitzharris insists the TWU had committed under the terms of the new Enterprise Agreement to ensure that all weekend duties were covered at all times.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the TWU and their members to help ensure they deliver on their commitment and help us deliver a seven-day network for Canberrans,” she said this week.
But TWU ACT branch secretary Klaus Pinkas has dashed any hopes this is the case by declaring the relevant clause was but a hangover from agreements from the 1990s and meant nothing.
What he wants are more drivers recruited to cover the increased services of the new network and Ms Fitzharris says Transport Canberra is busy doing just that.
She said more drivers for both buses and light rail were being recruited and ‘we hope that over time we can meet the community’s expectations with our weekend services’.
This is not the nineties and the community’s expectation is that the buses turn up as per the timetable, unless there is a mechanical reason why it cannot.
It is simply not good enough for a Minister to have to rely on the goodwill of drivers when she is trying build a reliable and efficient public transport network in a growing city where the car remains king, partly due to attitudes like the TWU, which refuses to join other service industries where weekend work is not optional.
Every cancelled service translates into the loss of long-term customers, and continues to damage public transport in the ACT, something the TWU should consider when it next thinks about holding commuters to ransom.
Yes, the loss of a worker condition and potential overtime pay is a serious thing but for the overall health of the public transport system and its future in Canberra. Which is why it’s time for the TWU and Transport Canberra to get creative for a win-win solution.
Then the long-suffering weekend commuter will be a winner too.
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Weekend work is indeed voluntary but the real issue is that there are about 450 weekend shifts and about 800 drivers. Under the national heavy vehicle regulations drivers can work a maximum of 12 days in 14. So even if all drivers averaged 2 weekend shifts a fortnight TC does not have enough drivers to cover the shifts they created.
Honestly why did they think of this when they were planning this.
um, the bus drivers themselves don't organise the timing of the routes and what to cover where. They drive where they are told.
This is a management issue.
Stop being dumb arses and blaming the drivers....
pay weekend penalty rates and you wont have a shortage of workers
So the author favors the arbitrary change of drivers basic conditions despite the opposition to it? As oppossed to maybe hiring actual weekend drivers?
Flat rate of pay, with no incentive to work more than Monday to Friday. This is why no public entity should be in charge of public transport. All should be privately run, with appropriate rates for weekend work and overtime.
Have you seen how bus services are run in the UK? Outside of London, fares are high and on weekends there are barely any services for small villages and towns.
Anura Samara fares should be proportionate to cost for the company, as are many goods and services.
So I assume that the government can also declare that any “relevant clause was but a hangover from agreements from the 1990s and meant nothing” and introduce a 7 day roster. I could be mistaken but I thought if you signed off on an agreement then you agreed with all conditions, not just the bits you choose. That’s why there is a negotiation phase before you form an agreement surely.
What a mess Fitszharris has done to the bus service is shamefully Shame on You Meegan Fitszharris . no one goes out any more as there no reliable service anymore you have completely lost corole over the network Sgame on you Fitsharris Demistration on way ? Shame on Meegan Fitszharris we the people have no trust in your authority ?
One week end on one weekend off ?
I'd be happy with a bus service that doesn't leave my kids behind at bus stops anytime.
Struggling with reliability during the week too I’d say
I don’t want to take the risk of being stranded out on the way to Gungahlin, waiting for a loop bus. No longer going to take public travel any time I’m doubtful.
TWU doesn’t know how to negotiate wages and penalty rates Other wise the trucking industry would have fare rates.
No penalty rates on week ends. I wouldn’t even apply for job in the first place.
The penalties are rolled into the base wage. Its is pretty common thing to do, but only works properly where weekend and night shifts are non negotiable. So in essence those refusing weekend work are taking home the penalties in their base pay but not really 'earning' that by not doing weekend shifts
What happened to the weekend warriors? These weekenders only drivers covered shifts on the weekends.
Two of my sons soccer team turned up after half time due to the Bus not showing up on Saturday. They weren’t even allowed to play after arriving due to team list rules before kickoff.
These guys never had an issue under the old reliable (but less regular) weekend network.
Imagine the impact on young people trying to get to their weekend part time jobs? Let alone a football match. People get sacked for these things if they have had other breaches.
Therecare plenty if industries where, on a fortnightly, roster 7 or 8 or 9 days straight occur.
Mine is one of them.
Yep, keep voting Labour guys. Give unions like this more power. Force people into membership so they can get a cut of your earnings too. Great idea.
Or, you know, tell the TWU and their workers to shove it, then hire non-union drivers under individual agreements. Pretty straight forward. Let them picket all they want. I’m sure there will be people lining up to take their job if the pay is good and the conditions decent. If you want to be a bus driver in Canberra you will have to work a rotating 7 day roster. Otherwise, find a line of employment more suited to your timetable.
Funny how even the liberals seem unable to suggest the obvious solution to the TWU stranglehold. The obvious answer is to put the operation out to the market.
Bill Gemmell Watch the fares go up then
Stephen Matthews they haven't elsewhere in the country when it has happened
Surely the obvious solution is for the government to reach an agreement with the drivers through their union?
Greg Miller they have tried for over 20 years
Bill Gemmell fares will go up, service will go down and the Government will then have to heavily subsidise the service all in all costing the customer and the taxpayer much more money! Happens everytime a service is privatised!
Terry Butters just tell that to the folk left behind the last two weekends thanks
Fares won't go up if it is privatised as the fares are generally set independently by IPART, at least in NSW this is the case.
The wat Action has been structured within the TC structure would make that quite easy to do. Action is already a 'contractor' to TC. TC owns the buses, owns the routes, owns the fares etc, so would be simple to contract out.
Bill Gemmell yeah because privatisation has worked do well in the power industry
Privatisation of public transport is a bit different to power. Within Australia most cities that have contracted out their buses contract out just as a services contract, where the service provider provides the workers and pays running cost, but government maintains the buses, vehicles and collects the fares. A bit how light rail is structured in Canberra.
They have a strong union, and large bargaining power. If the Enterprise Agreement doesn’t require it, the govt (their employer) can’t make them work it.