More than 100 Hobart bus services cut two years ago as a “temporary” measure will remain cancelled indefinitely, the state government has confirmed.
Independent MP David O’Byrne told parliament that Metro Tasmania has no plans to reinstate 120 of the 177 services suspended in August 2023.
The revelation emerged only after O’Byrne pressed Metro officials during scrutiny hearings last week.
“In 2023, we were told these cancellations were temporary,” O’Byrne said.
“Metro have now confirmed the bleeding obvious – these services are permanently cancelled.”
He questioned why the information hadn’t been shared sooner.
“Why did it take questions from me in scrutiny hearings for Tasmanians to discover that these bus services will remain cancelled, pending the outcome of a review – a review with no timeline?”
Premier Jeremy Rockliff, responding on behalf of the transport minister, said Metro had made “the difficult step to suspend some of its less frequent services while maintaining its more popular services”.
He said about 33% of the suspended services had now been restored in two stages.
The most recent tranche was in August this year, returning 29 Monday-to-Thursday services and 31 Friday services.
Rockliff pointed to a greater Hobart network review currently underway, with the first phase expected in early 2026.
“We’re continuing on the greater Hobart network review and look forward to it being released for public consultation,” he said.
The premier acknowledged “there is still a lot of work to do” but noted Metro’s customer satisfaction had risen to 78% in 2025.
He said Metro runs more than 2,300 trips daily across Tasmania and is continuing efforts to recruit more drivers.
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