‘Inaccessible to so many’: McKell Institute report exposes Tasmania’s public transport woes
A damning report has shed light on just how dire Tasmania’s public transport system has become, describing services as “patchy”, “unreliable”, and “inaccessible to so many”.
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Tasmania’s investment in public transport continues to lag behind the rest of the nation, according to a new report that has also recommended the state increase transit funding as a “cost-effective” way of delivering economic and social gains across the entire community.
The report, entitled Driving Tasmania’s Future: The Case for Public Transport Investment Over Privatisation, was published by Labor-linked think-tank, the McKell Institute, and found that Tasmania had the lowest per capita public transport spend ($152.06) of almost all states and territories, except the Northern Territory, in 2024-25.
This compared to $636 in Victoria and $243 in South Australia.
The report said that the state government had not made any meaningful investment in Hobart’s public transport network since the Hobart City Deal was signed in 2019.
The Rockliff government has projected that net debt will rise as high as $10.3bn by 2027-28, while Treasury’s Pre-election Financial Outlook has forecast that it will reach $13bn.
But the McKell Institute believes that, despite the state needing to confront the task of budget repair, the next government of Tasmania should focus on pumping more money into improving the under-resourced and unreliable public transport network.
McKell Institute executive director Rebecca Thistleton said Tasmania’s public transport system was “patchy and unreliable after decades of under-investment”.
“Budget repair is critical, but so is dependable public transport,” she said.
“Many Tasmanians want to see their footy team in the national league, but they also want to get to a job interview, or home safely after a night shift.
“So long as buses remain patchy, infrequent and inaccessible to so many, the full benefit of everything else government spends money on cannot be fully realised.”
The report found that areas of socio-economic disadvantage like Glenorchy were lumped with “sparse and unreliable” bus service, which limited access to employment, education, and health care.
It also determined that bus drivers were faced with abuse and rising assaults while on the job.
According to the report, Metro Tasmania should not be privatised, with the McKell Institute warning that this could lead to job losses and higher fares.
It recommended the government legislate a 10-year public transport investment strategy with a clear funding plan that prioritised service expansion in growth corridors, as well as integration of buses with ferries and future passenger rail options.
The report also called for an “overhaul” of Metro’s governance and the introduction of mandatory public reporting on service reliability, coverage, and workforce conditions.
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Originally published as ‘Inaccessible to so many’: McKell Institute report exposes Tasmania’s public transport woes
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