‘Frustrating’: Passengers fed up with public transport crisis

After a series cancellations and delays have occurred on Toowoomba routes over the past 12 months, several members of the community have weighed in on the issue demanding action be taken.

An advertisement looking for bus drivers is seen on the back of a TransLink Bus Queensland bus as it is driven on a Toowoomba CBD street. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Queensland’s public transport system has come under fire after a series of Toowoomba bus routes have been delayed or cancelled with passengers demanding more communication.

The daughter of a regular Toowoomba passenger who has asked to keep their identities anonymous, has issued a plea for reliable bus services to return after her mum was left stranded.

Her 86-year-old mother was waiting for a bus at a Darling Heights stop on March 14 around 2pm, but panic quickly set in as the bus which was her only way of getting to a hospital appointment, never arrived.

“This does happen a lot but sometimes the buses are just late so mum will just wait and wait for them, but this was different because she had an appointment,” the passenger’s daughter said.

A TransLink Bus Queensland bus is driven on a Toowoomba CBD street. Picture: Kevin Farmer

The elderly passenger eventually phoned TransLink directly and was told the bus had been cancelled.

While she eventually managed to find a different bus to catch, she never made the appointment and frantically called her daughter.

“She ended up ringing me and saying she just couldn’t do it – it was all just too overwhelming for her,” the passenger’s daughter said.

“We’re lucky because mum is very independent and lives in walking distance of a couple of stops, but her legs are very, very weak so walking to another stop isn’t always an option.”

The daughter said while this was just a routine appointment, she worried what this would mean for future hospital appointments which her mum has regularly since she was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago.

The bus 906 at 4pm was canceled in Toowoomba. Not good enough bus Queensland if you cancel buses all the time and don’t provide a better service you don’t deserve the contract to run buses 🚌 in Toowoomba pic.twitter.com/fFGAyB6lqq

— pete (@peterachilles) March 13, 2023

Living on a pension, the passenger’s daughter said her mum could not afford to take a cab every time a bus failed to show up.

Her daughter also lives on the opposite side of town which meant her mum relied heavily on public transport.

In addition to her mum missing her appointment, her daughter also said she felt uncomfortable with her mum and other older passengers waiting on isolated streets for long periods of time due to the ongoing youth crime crisis.

She said this fear had only intensified since Robert Brown was tragically killed on a busy CBD street while waiting for a taxi.

“It’s frustrating and it’s just not good enough,” the passenger’s daughter said.

“I just hope they can fix the issue so people can depend on buses again because a lot of people do, particularly the elderly or people who don’t have access to cars.”

Member for Toowoomba South David Janetzki said he wrote to the Minister of the Department of Transport to highlight the issue.

“I have received several complaints about Toowoomba bus services over the years,” he said.

“It’s not good enough.

“This pensioner, like many others in Toowoomba, relies on the bus service to maintain her health and independence.”

An advertisement looking for bus drivers is seen on the back of a TransLink Bus Queensland bus as it is driven on a Toowoomba CBD street. Picture: Kevin Farmer

A spokesman for TransLink said the organisation was responsible for a bus network which runs almost 20,000 weekday services in Southeast Queensland and nearly 3000 in regional Queensland, but a staffing shortage had impacted services across the state and country.

“We work with bus operators to ensure the timely and reliable delivery of public transport services across this large and busy bus network,” the TransLink spokesman said.

“Driver availability as a result of an Australia-wide labour shortage and above average absenteeism from illness including Covid-19, has resulted in impacts to some buses on time running across Queensland.

“Where there are impacts to service reliability, TransLink monitors and works with bus operators to ensure appropriate service levels are maintained and to minimise customer disruption by prioritising high impact services.

“Particularly those transporting children such as dedicated school bus services; along with first and last services of the day and those services that operate at an hourly frequency.”

Bus drivers across the region are also calling for better wages, working conditions and more security measures to be put in place to protect staff and passengers.

Toowoomba man Andrew Kucks was previously employed by Bus Queensland – a TransLink contractor – for four years before resigning in February.

Mr Kucks who has worked in the industry on and off since 1999 said he has always loved being a bus driver and connecting with his passengers.

“For me the passengers are the best part and I love the customer service side of things,” Mr Kucks said.

“We have some wonderful drivers here in Toowoomba and from across all walks of life but there are a lot of opportunities for drivers in the Toowoomba area, so I imagine people are leaving to get a better deal elsewhere.”

Mr Kucks said while he holds no malice towards his former employer, the reasons he left came down to three reasons – wages, conditions and security.

He said he believed the network needed an injection to offer more competitive rates and attract more employees, as well as install higher security cabins.

The former Bus Queensland driver said this would also help reduce burnout and get the schedule back on track.

“We’ve all seen the media reports over the years about the (threat to) drivers’ safety due to uncourteous behaviour by some patrons, but we’re starting to see more of those signs here in Toowoomba,” Mr Kucks said.

“Sometimes you get the odd passenger who is swearing or yelling abuse or under the influence and you’re limited to what you can do as a driver – we want zero conflict so it’s pretty heartbreaking when that happens.

“Us drivers are just every day people who want to go to work, do their job and come home safe everyday.”

Mr Kucks said he had never seen so many bus services cancelled in Toowoomba as what he had in the past 12 months.

“This is unprecedented,” he said.

“With school holidays starting, I think we’ll see less delays and cancellations for a while at least.”

A TransLink Bus Queensland bus is driven on a Toowoomba CBD street. Picture: Kevin Farmer

While passengers can be kept up to date via the TransLink website, Twitter account and phone app, many older passengers are struggling with accessing or using this technology.

The daughter of the distressed passenger said while she was not sure how TransLink could improve its communication strategy for older passengers, the current system was not working.

A TransLink spokesman said the contact centre could also be phoned 24 hours a day on 13 12 30 where a customer service officer could provide an instant response about delays.

“They can also assist with helping to provide alternative public transport journey plans for the customer,” the spokesman said.

“TransLink provides multiple channels for customers to be proactively advised of public transport delays or to actively seek information about delays, and we recommend customers use the information source that best suits them.”

Member for Toowoomba North Trevor Watts said the Toowoomba public transport system was “suffering from the lack of planning”.

He said his office had received many complaints from constituents, surrounding bus and transport services.

“As your strong local voice and after a series of complaints last year, I asked the Minister for Transport and Main Roads a Parliamentary Question on Notice to please explain the issues,” Mr Watts said.

“The Government confirmed that there had been network issues. I will continue to advocate for reliable services for my constituents.”

The Toowoomba North MP said with cost of living pressures already affecting many members of the community, affordable public transport services was crucial.

“The safety of all our community is paramount, particularly the elderly and disadvantaged, and delivering a reliable public transport service which is affordable should be a priority,” he said.

“Any changes to bus services should be communicated in a way that is accessible to all.

“Queenslanders deserve reliable and affordable public transport services.”

Toowoomba North MP Trevor Watts and Toowoomba South MP David Janetzki.

A TransLink spokesman said the organisation continued to work with Bus Queensland and the Toowoomba Regional Council and was listening to the “limited community feedback” received.

The spokesman said changes to public transport fares were rolled out in Toowoomba on January 16 this year following a review of fares and zones across regional Queensland.

In preparation of Smart Ticketing, the spokesman said the new fare and zone structure was introduced across the city’s urban bus network.

As a result the city zones were reduced from 11 to seven and Toowoomba’s CBD went from six to a single zone.

“The majority of fares for adults and concession trips in Toowoomba decreased slightly or remained unchanged,” the spokesman said.

“Across Queensland, public transport fares were frozen at 2020 levels until July 2022 to support Queenslanders during a challenging stage of the pandemic.

“Key network improvements to the Toowoomba bus network were made in 2017 and included introduction of additional weekday peak trips and Sunday services, improved coverage to new growth areas, increased hours of operation and more direct routes to key destinations such as Toowoomba Plaza and the Toowoomba CBD.”

Queensland’s Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said labour shortages were happening in many industries and locations across the state.

“I’ll be meeting with the Queensland Bus Industry Council, bus companies and workers representatives about this issue in the coming weeks to try and look at solutions,” he said.

“We’ll also be working with the Federal Government on potentially making temporary changes to the classification of a bus driver when it comes to working visas to boost reliability of services.”

The Transport Minister said he encouraged anyone who had ever considered becoming a bus driver to apply with a “recruitment blitz” happening across the state.

Queensland Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey. Picture: Dan Peled / NCA NewsWire

The TransLink spokesman said as the organisation does not employ drivers directly, TransLink could not comment on issues surrounding employees’ pay and conditions.

He said all employee related issues should be directed the employer and contractor – Bus Queensland.

The Chronicle sought comment from Bus Queensland but they declined to comment further with a spokesman stating “As these services are under contract to TransLink, the TransLink media team handles all inquiries from media.”