Buses and 1000 drivers needed to avoid Olympic transport roadblock

Transport experts say south-east Queensland faces a real challenge to temporarily boost its bus fleet – and find the required drivers – for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

With rail projects taking years to deliver, the window for new Olympics infrastructure has already effectively closed.

Public transport advocate Robert Dow, from Rail Back on Track, said that meant the 2032 Games would rely heavily on buses, particularly at venues without rail access.

Brisbane will need an expanded bus fleet for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.Credit: Harrison Saragossi

“That’s a problem because there isn’t going to be enough bus drivers in 2032 to drive these bloody things,” he said.

Professor Matthew Burke, the deputy director of Griffith University’s Cities Research Institute, said it was a “big issue” for organisers – not just sourcing the drivers and buses, but what would happen to those excess buses afterwards.

“We’re going to have to have a lot of bus drivers – something like 1000 or more – and that’s a very large number,” he said.

“A few retirees might come back and say, ‘I’ve still got my heavy-vehicle licence, I’m here’, but at that scale, that’s a lot of volunteers.”

Burke said he would expect bus drivers in other Australian cities to take holidays to come to south-east Queensland, something he said happened during the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

But that came with some significant issues.

“They were ringing up a week before the Sydney Olympics and saying, ‘Where are we staying?’,” Burke said.

Many of those drivers were billeted with local colleagues, Burke said, which highlighted another logistical issue.

“[In Brisbane] work has already started on accommodating volunteers, including bus drivers, who are a very large, very important part of that volunteer pool,” he said.

Comment was sought from Transport Minister Bart Mellish. Instead, a response was provided by a spokesman from his department.

“While the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games are almost eight years away, the Department of Transport and Main Roads has commenced planning for the additional demand on the public transport network – including the future bus fleet and drivers,” he said.

“Transport plans and arrangements for spectator travel will be finalised when venue locations, crowd sizes and competition schedules for the Games are confirmed.

“Brisbane Metro and Cross River Rail will also provide new and improved services, transforming travel in south-east Queensland.”

Questions about driver recruitment and bus procurement went unanswered.

An LNP opposition spokeswoman said such transport matters would be “one of the key terms of reference” for a would-be Crisafulli government’s 100-day Olympic review.

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