Brisbane bus drivers beaten and spat on amid record-breaking monthly assaults
Assaults on Brisbane bus drivers have reached record levels, with one veteran worker unlikely to get back behind the wheel after suffering a broken jaw, neck and nose in an attack this month.
Two Brisbane bus drivers a day are being beaten up or spat on, with a record 208 assaults in September, the bus union has revealed.
In the worst recent attack, on November 7 on route 340 at Kelvin Grove, a veteran driver was left with a fractured jaw, fractured neck vertebrae, a broken nose and several missing teeth.
Rail Tram and Bus Union state bus secretary Tom Brown said it was unlikely the father of three, who emigrated from Lebanon for a better life, would ever return to work.
“He had begged for a bus with a full protective barrier but was told none were available even though there are 30 at the Virginia depot,” Mr Brown said.
“There are only 300 buses out of 1300 with full screens and we will get to only 400 by mid next year.
“When you’ve got a full screen you cannot be punched, you cannot be spat on, you cannot have objects thrown at you, you are completely safe.”
He said the former state government funded council for full screens but it instead installed half screens.
Drivers were given a vote only on half or three quarter barriers and chose three quarter barriers.
Mr Brown said in one horrific case an attacker reached around a partial barrier and put the driver in a headlock and continued to “punch at will”.
“What we know is these drivers are never the same again,” he said.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said he was unable to find a report into the latest attack and was not able to say why there were no full barrier buses available on November 7 for the driver who was attacked.
But he said night services and those on known problem routes were prioritised.
He said the former government stopped funding full barriers, with the LNP government resuming funding.
“We have called on the new government to contribute. They have given us $950,000 so far,” he said.
“We want our team to feel safe. Our staff are instructed to do everything possible to accommodate requests for full barriers.
“No violence or attacks or abuse against our drivers is acceptable. We’ve always had that view.”
Mr Schrinner said a trial several years ago concluded that partial screens were the preferred option.
However, the Labor council Opposition said the former government had in fact allocated $3 million over five years, in 2022, for Brisbane City Council bus shields.
Maurice Blackburn lawyer Sophie McKenzie said assaults had increased since she began handling worker’s compensation claims for Brisbane bus drivers in 2019.
“Now, every week, I speak to a bus driver who’s been assaulted when it was preventable,” she said.
Originally published as Brisbane bus drivers beaten and spat on amid record-breaking monthly assaults
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