Bus drivers on Hobart’s Metro network will stop collecting fares as part of industrial action in response to what their union calls an “alarming rise” in violent incidents.
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) announced the fare collection ban after health and safety representatives issued a cease-work direction to protect frontline workers from robberies and assaults.
RTBU secretary Byron Cubit said the measure aims to eliminate a common trigger for conflict.
“Banning fare collection removes a well-established escalation point which all too often leads to assaults on drivers,” he said.
“No bus driver should have to go to work fearing for their life. The rise in robberies and physical assaults has created an unacceptable risk to our members safety.”
However, Metro management disagrees with the move. “Metro believes this direction to be invalid and is not in line with our incident response procedures,” a spokesperson said.
“Therefore, Metro advises that it expects passengers to pay a fare for travel and drivers to assist customers to do so.”
The union is urging the state government to follow through on its two-year-old promise to deploy transit officers statewide and speed up the rollout of a new ticketing system that would eliminate cash handling by drivers.
“They’ve been dragging their heels for far too long,” Cubit said. “They deployed security guards with no powers in these tough conditions who unfortunately have become targets themselves.”
While the fare collection ban currently applies only to Hobart, the union said it is assessing conditions in Launceston and Burnie to determine if similar measures are warranted.
The ban takes effect from the start of bus operations on Friday and will continue indefinitely.
A state government spokesperson said “any assault” on bus drivers is “totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated”.
They did not comment on the fare collection ban but said work was underway to install security screens and deploy more transit officers.
“Metro undertook extensive consultation and testing with drivers on different [security screen] prototypes to avoid unintended impacts, such as glare or blind spots,” they said.
“The screen design is currently awaiting approval from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.”
An “operating model” for transit officers is in development, the spokesperson said, adding that officers will be hired later this year once the Transport Commission signs off on it.
