Qld bus drivers at risk as union calls for safety fearing someone will die

Queensland bus drivers are being bashed, stabbed and spat on as violence on the public transport network spirals out of control.

• Stats: Terrifying reality of Brisbane buses

Queensland bus drivers are being bashed, stabbed and spat on as violence on the public transport network spirals out of control, with unions warning it’s only a matter of time before another driver is killed.

Despite a $70 million safety pledge under the former Labor government, bus drivers remain unprotected, with 817 attacks recorded across Brisbane alone in 2024.

The Transport Workers Union and Rail, Tram and Bus Union are urgently calling on the state government to fast track safety upgrades before another tragedy.

It follows an alarming assault last Saturday, when a 67‑year‑old driver was stabbed in the neck while eating lunch on his bus in Caloundra due to not having access to a safe lunchroom.

Union members have shared horrifying tales of abuse at the wheel, including former Bus Queensland driver Terry Russell who was punched, spat on and threatened countless times during his 11-year career.

Former bus driver Terry Russell has had a knife at his throat was abused and threatened. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

“I was assaulted on the bus by two women on ice who were able to reach around the little half screen and hold a knife to my throat,” he said.

“It really is quite a regular occurrence on most buses.

“Adults who don’t want to pay even though it’s a 50c fare, they’re abusing you and punching panels.

“I’ve been to a lot of bus safety forums over the years, we kept suggesting things and the government gave what I called a mirror response – we’ll look into it.”

Another driver, who wished to remain anonymous endured 11 serious assaults over 16 years, including being punched, spat on, and burned by a cigarette.

She said serious assaults often went unreported.

Brisbane’s buses can be a dangerous place.

“I’ve had two sets of stitches, from assaults, one of those was by kids and the other was a bottle which was thrown at me,” she said.

“It made it through the partial screen, bounced off it and smashed and got the back of my head.

“We’re not seeing safety officers out there, if anything the kids have gotten worse.

“Vaping is worse on the bus too. I’ve had asthma attacks because of it. If I have a serious attack at the steering wheel I can kill someone.”

In Townsville, a driver left his seat to help a 92-year-old passenger who had dropped papers and needed help getting off the bus when he was suddenly grabbed by the neck, punched and spat on.

The passenger then launched a second attack while the driver was in his seat which had not been fitted with a protective screen.

The safety of buses has been called into question.

And an Ipswich driver is receiving treatment for psychological issues after being held at gunpoint by a passenger last year, later realised to be a gel blaster.

RTBU secretary Tom Brown has demanded CCTV of “hundreds of assaults” on drivers be released by councils and operators to show the extent of the ongoing attacks faced by drivers across the network.

A southeast driver told the Courier-Mail aggression was increasing and drivers facing attacks had nowhere to escape while assailants blocked their exit.

“We’re seeing more weapons, we're seeing violence escalate, people snapping over small things,” he said.

“At the end of the day how much is their life worth? Does the government want to see another driver killed?”

In 2023, the former Labor government committed $70m to retrofit buses with protective screens and hire extra safety officers after the horrific death of driver Manmeet Alisher, who was set on fire and killed in a random attack in Brisbane in 2016.

Since then, just $6.7m has been spent retrofitting buses, a TransLink spokesman confirming 1800 of its 2500 urban buses had partial or full barriers.

“The retrofitting of bus driver safety barriers requires a bus to be out of service for multiple days, which means there is a cap to the rate of retrofitting,” the spokesman said.

The LNP has allocated $3m for additional screens in its 2025/26 budget.

But TWU Queensland organising director Josh Milroy says the rollout has fallen far short.

“Screens should have cost between $15m and $18m,” he said.

“To say they’ve only spent $6.7m was surprising. We fought hard for one standard (full) screen, but TransLink left the decision to operators.

“You can lean around partial screens, pour liquids, spit on drivers.

“Manmeet Singh, the driver set alight, I’m not saying a full screen would have saved him – but it’s far more likely.”

TransLink employs 42 Senior Network Officers (SNOs) and funds delivery partners for 87 Network Officers (NOs) to monitor hotspots for anti-social behaviour and fare evasion.

The remaining $60m from Labor’s pledge went to wages, training and resources for these officers.

The TWU is now calling for a fast-tracked rollout of full screens, reinstatement of the Bus Safety Forum, harsher penalties for offenders, and a statewide review of bus interchange break rooms.

The safety of Brisbane’s buses has been at the centre of claims.

“A lot of major interchanges don’t even have a rest area – Nerang on the Gold Coast and Caloundra, where the stabbing occurred, are examples,” Mr Milroy said.

“Drivers on breaks are sitting ducks.”

Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg, after inquiries by this masthead earlier this week, announced a bus safety roundtable on Thursday, with operators, drivers and stakeholders to address the crisis.

“We are focused on frontline transport worker safety and taking an important step forward to ensure we’re tackling this issue head-on, collectively,” he said.

Safety screens, facilities and legislative changes will be on the agenda, with the date for the roundtable yet to be set.

Originally published as Qld bus drivers at risk as union calls for safety fearing someone will die