TransLink crime: Reported incidents increase on Kinetic buses in Townsville

The state government has been forced to act after a major spike in reported incidents on Townsville’s much-maligned public bus network.

Sunbus has rebranded as Kinetic in Townsville. Photo: Claudia Baxter.

The state government has been forced to act after a major spike in reported incidents on Townsville’s much-maligned public bus network.

The Palaszczuk Government says that reported incidents on TransLink’s Kinetic buses, formerly known as Sunbus, have soared from 70 in 2022 to 105 so far in 2023, an increase of 39 and climbing.

There was also an increase in notifications to the Queensland police and ambulance services, from just eight in 2022 to 32 in 2023

The government said that as a direct response, it was “amping up our roll out of (two new) network officers on the Townsville bus network”.

The additions would take the total number of officers to six with each charged with decreasing fare evasion and “encouraging positive travel behaviour on the public transport network”.

Sunbus has rebranded as Kinetic in Townsville. Photo: Claudia Baxter.

The initiative is part of the Palaszczuk Government’s five-year, $60.7m investment to rollout additional network officers across Queensland, a program that has so far boosted the number of security personnel to 65.

Townsville’s Network Officers are funded and trained by public transit agency TransLink and employed by bus-service delivery partner Kinetic.

The additional resources mean that up to three pairs of network officers can patrol Townsville buses and interchange hubs at any one time.

The entire Townsville bus fleet was fitted with bus-driver safety barriers earlier this year.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said the new officers would make a difference to bus safety in Townsville.

“We are taking action to get boots on the ground where they are needed most to promote the safe use of public transport,” he said.

“Most people do the right thing and the vast majority of trips are completed without incident, but we have a zero tolerance policy toward anti-social behaviour.”

He said the new officers would be equipped with a high level of training and support “to enable them to perform their critical roles effectively”.

“The investment in front-line services is all about increasing safety for everyone in Townsville who works or travels on the bus network.”

The Palaszczuk Government said the increase in total reported incidents on Townsville buses, as well the increase in notifications to QPS and QAS was “partly attributable to increased reporting by bus drivers”.

“The Palaszczuk Government encourages this increase in reporting and commends bus drivers for playing their part in ensuring bus safety.”

Thuringowa MP Aaron Harper said passenger and driver safety “must be paramount on our public transport system”.

“I very much welcome the additional officers coming to Townsville.”

According to the Townsville City Council, Kinetic offers 13 bus routes in Townsville, although this information varies widely on other websites.

The service has been labelled “abhorrent” by critics.

Originally published as TransLink crime: Reported incidents increase on Kinetic buses in Townsville