We could all see it coming a mile off, and thus it has come to pass. Canberra’s new bus network has just been introduced, and is plagued by all the same problems that have arisen as possibilities in consultations and trials over the past two years.
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One of the most fundamental is that the ACT government has still not been able to guarantee that there will be enough bus drivers to service its expanded - and much-vaunted - weekend timetable.
ACTION buses still relies on bus drivers volunteering to work weekends, as compulsory weekend work has been left off the table in enterprise bargaining negotiations with the Transport Workers Union.
Union secretary Klaus Pinkas has said it will be a case of wait and see, as the new system is rolled out.
“I can’t sit here and tell you we’re going to have enough drivers,” he says.
“I’m not saying we won’t have them. We'll just have to wait and see. We’ve indicated to ACTION it may be a problem but ACTION are proceeding like it won’t be."
To even the most casual observer who may or may not be availing themselves of the expanded services, it seems incredible that such a vital wrinkle in the new system has not been ironed out in time.
Meanwhile, thanks to the delays behind the yet-to-launch light rail, the bus system is already behind schedule, having been introduced well into the first term of the school year. Parents across the city have been waiting nervously to see if the worst-case scenarios - young kids passing through busy interchanges unsupervised, students having to cross busy roads to get from the bus drop-off and into school - will become a reality.
It’s not that many of these perceived problems have been met with silence: based on 13,000 pieces of feedback, the government made 37 changes to 58 routes, as well as adding 78 additional school services each school day.
The fact remains that school kids are going to be spending more time on buses and changing more frequently at bus interchanges. To address this, Transport Minister Meegan Fitzharris has assured that there will be increased safety networks associated with school buses, such as CCTV cameras on every bus and more school crossing supervisors.
But a Transport Canberra spokeswoman has stated that one of the most significant features of the feedback involved complaints about weekend bus services - a seemingly constant source of frustration and consternation for residents and visitors alike.
"One of the key areas that came up with dissatisfaction was our weekend services so that's also played into our focus on delivering more frequent and more weekend services," the spokeswoman has said.
Why, then, has the weekend driver issue not been a priority in rolling out the new system? Canberra has waited long enough for a reliable public transport system that we can be proud of, or at least not embarrassed by. The very notion that weekend services may still be reduced because of a long-running industrial stalemate should no longer be part of the narrative.