RAIL - Back On Track Forum

Not so magic of late ... 

Quote from: ozbob on June 18, 2022, 04:03:55 AM33 service cancellations due to ' staff availability '  for Ipswich region Friday 17th June 2022

Doesn't include bus route 534 (several also). 
Source https://railbot.info/forum/index.php?topic=209.0 which is derived from https://twitter.com/Translink_QLD

Time of notification, details.

1. 5:05am Translink_QLD: The 6.40am route 503 to Bell Street bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 503 to Bell Street bus departs Bundamba at 7.16am.  #TLAlert #TL500s

2. 5:11am Translink_QLD: The 6.48am route 502 to Bell Street bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 502 to Bell Street bus departs Bundamba at 7.18am.  #TLAlert #TL500s

3. 6:21am Translink_QLD: The 6.55am route 509 to Yamanto bus is cancelled due to staff availability.
The next route 509 to Yamanto bus departs Bell Street at 7.25am.  #TLAlert #TL500s

4 & 5. 6:59am Translink_QLD: The 7.19am & 7.47am route 502 to Bundamba buses are cancelled due to staff availability.The next route 502 to Bundamba bus departs RiverLink Shopping Centre at 8.14am. Please check the journey planner to find your next best travel option.  #TLAlert #TL500s

6. 7:03am Translink_QLD: The 7.12am route 500 to Bell Street bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 500 to Bell Street bus departs Redbank station at 7.44am.  #TLAlert #TL500s

7. 7:09am Translink_QLD: The 7.18am route 502 to Bell Street bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 502 to Bell Street bus departs Bundamba at 7.48am.  #TLAlert #TL500s

8. 7:21am Translink_QLD: The 7.25am route 509 to Bell Street bus is cancelled due to staff availability.
The next route 509 to Bell Street bus departs Yamanto at 7.55am.  #TLAlert #TL500s

9. 7:21am Translink_QLD: The 7.29am route 503 to Bundamba bus is cancelled due to staff availability.The next route 503 to Bundamba bus departs Ipswich at 7.59am.  #TLAlert #TL500s

10. 7:29am Translink_QLD: The 7.48am & 8.16am route 503 to RiverLink buses are cancelled due to staff availability. Next route 503 to RiverLink Shopping Centre bus departs Bundamba at 8.48am.Please check the journey planner to find your next best travel option.  #TLAlert #TL500s

11. 7:30am Translink_QLD: The 7.34am route 528 to Springfield station bus is cancelled due to staff availability.The next route 528 to Springfield station bus departs Orion Springfield Central at 8am.  #TLAlert #TL500s

12. 7:50am  Translink_QLD: The 7.57am route 509 to Yamanto bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 509 to Yamanto bus departs Bell Street at 8.31am.  #TLAlert #TL500s

13. 7:50am Translink_QLD: The 7.58am route 506 to Leichhardt bus is cancelled due to staff availability.The next route 506 to Leichhardt bus departs RiverLink Shopping Centre at 8.23am.  #TLAlert #TL500s

14. 8:09am Translink_QLD: The 8.14am route 506 to RiverLink Shopping Centre bus is cancelled due to a staff availability.The next route 506 to RiverLink Shopping Centre bus departs Leichhardt at 8.44am.  #TLAlert #TL500s

15. 8:09am Translink_QLD: The 8.18am route 502 to RiverLink Shopping Centre bus is cancelled due to staff availability.The next route 502 to RiverLink Shopping Centre bus departs Bundamba at 8.48am.  #TLAlert #TL500s

16. 8:26am Translink_QLD: The 8.27am route 528 to Orion Springfield Central bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 528 to Orion Springfield Central bus departs Springfield station at 8.57am  #TLAlert #TL500s

17. 8:26am Translink_QLD: The 8.27am route 509 to RiverLink Shopping Centre bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 509 to RiverLink Shopping Centre bus departs Yamanto at 9.01am.  #TLAlert #TL500s

18. 8:27am Translink_QLD: The 8.42am route 502 to Bundamba bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 502 to Bundamba bus departs RiverLink Shopping Centre at 9.12am  #TLAlert #TL500s

19. 9:50am Translink_QLD: The 10.16am route 503 to RiverLink Shopping Centre bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 503 to RiverLink Shopping Centre bus departs Bundamba at 11.16am.  #TLAlert #TL500s

20. 11:21am Translink_QLD: The 11.26am route 509 to Yamanto bus is cancelled due to staff availability.
The next route 509 to Yamanto bus departs RiverLink Shopping Centre at 12.26pm.  #TLAlert #TL500s

21. 11:32am Translink_QLD: The 12.01pm route 509 to RiverLink Shopping Centre bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 509 to RiverLink Shopping Centre bus departs Yamanto at 1.01pm.  #TLAlert #TL500s

22. 12:25pm Translink_QLD: The 12.42pm route 502 to Bundamba bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 502 to Bundamba bus departs RiverLink Shopping Centre at 1.42pm.  #TLAlert #TL500s

23. 12:47pm Translink_QLD: The 1.16pm route 503 to RiverLink Shopping Centre bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 503 to RiverLink Shopping Centre bus departs Bundamba at 2.16pm  #TLAlert #TL500s

24. 2:41pm Translink_QLD: The 2.34pm route 528 to Springfield station bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 528 to Springfield station bus departs Orion Springfield Central at 3pm.  #TLAlert #TL500s

25. 3:18pm Translink_QLD: The 2.47pm route 503 to Bundamba bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 503 to Bundamba bus departs RiverLink Shopping Centre at 3.17pm.  #TLAlert #TL500s

26. 3:58pm Translink_QLD: The 4.12pm route 502 to Bundamba bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 502 to Bundamba bus departs RiverLink Shopping Centre at 4.42pm.  #TLAlert #TL500s

27. 4:34pm Translink_QLD: The 4.46pm route 503 to RiverLink Shopping Centre bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 503 to RiverLink Shopping Centre bus departs Bundamba at 5.16pm.  #TLAlert #TL500s

28. 4:53pm Translink_QLD: The 5.47pm route 503 to Bundamba bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 503 to Bundamba bus departs RiverLink Shopping Centre at 6.17pm.  #TLAlert #TL500s

29. 5:34pm Translink_QLD: The 6.41pm route 502 to RiverLink Shopping Centre bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 502 to RiverLink Shopping Centre bus departs Bundamba at 7.11pm.  #TLAlert #TL500s

30. 6:22pm Translink_QLD: The 7.21pm route 500 to Redbank station bus is cancelled due to staff availability. Please check the journey planner to find your next best travel option.  #TLAlert #TL500s

31. 7:23pm Translink_QLD: The 7.33pm route 531 to Yamanto bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 531 to Yamanto bus departs Orion Springfield Central at 8.28pm.  #TLAlert #TL500s

32. 7:24pm Translink_QLD: The 8.24pm route 531 to Orion Springfield Central bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 531 to Orion Springfield Central bus departs Yamanto at 9.24pm.  #TLAlert #TL500s

33. 7:25pm Translink_QLD: The 9.28pm route 531 to Yamanto bus is cancelled due to staff availability. Please check the journey planner to find your next best travel option.  #TLAlert #TL500s

I think it is time the Minister for Transport started doing more about these issues.

 

Quote from: ozbob on June 18, 2022, 04:27:10 AMhttps://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1537866148653731841

Oh dear, they are cancelling rail replacement buses now 

https://twitter.com/Translink_QLD/status/1538017931052797952

https://twitter.com/Translink_QLD/status/1538019488074846209

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1538025250289774592

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1538030438299889665

Route 200s  Bus cancellations due to ' staff availability ' Saturday 18th June 2022

Source https://railbot.info/forum/index.php?topic=212.0 derived from https://twitter.com/Translink_QLD

Includes six timetabled rail replacement bus services cancelled!

Notification time, details:

R signifies a timetabled rail replacement (track closure Cleveland line - Park Road <> Cleveland)

1. 11:23am Translink_QLD: The 11.35am route 252 to Capalaba station bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 252 to Capalaba station bus departs 252 to Capalaba station at 1.35pm.  #TLAlert #TL200s

2. R 12:14pm Translink_QLD: The 12.37pm route R295 to Cleveland station bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route R295 to Cleveland station bus departs Boggo Road station at 1.07pm.  #TLAlert #TL200s

3. 12:16pm Translink_QLD: The 12.59pm route 272 to Cleveland station bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 272 to Cleveland station bus departs TownCentre, Victoria Point at 1.59pm.  #TLAlert #TL200s

4. 1:52pm Translink_QLD: The 1.50pm route 282 to Loganholme bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 282 to Loganholme bus departs Victoria Point at 2.50pm.  #TLAlert #TL200s

5. R 2:16pm Translink_QLD: The 2.35pm route R296 to Manly bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route R296 to Manly bus departs Boggo Road station at 3.05pm.  #TLAlert #TL200s

6. 2:26pm Translink_QLD: The 2.49pm route 282 to Victoria Point bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route 282 to Victoria Point bus departs Loganholme station at 3.49pm.  #TLAlert #TL200s

7. R 2:37pm Translink_QLD: The 3.09pm route R295 to Boggo Road station bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route R295 to Boggo Road station bus departs Cleveland station at 3.39pm.  #TLAlert #TL200s

8. R 2:43pm Translink_QLD: The 3.35pm route R296 to Manly bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route R296 to Manly bus departs Boggo Road station at 4.05pm.  #TLAlert #TL200s

9. 3:24pm Translink_QLD: The 3.50pm route 282 to Loganholme station bus is cancelled due to staff availability. Please check the journey planner to find your next best travel option.  #TLAlert #TL200s

10. R 4:11pm Translink_QLD: The 4.35pm route R296 to Manly bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route R296 to Manly bus departs Boggo Road station at 5.05pm.  #TLAlert #TL200s

11. 4:11pm Translink_QLD: The 5.35pm route 252 to Capalaba bus station bus is cancelled due to staff availability. Please check the journey planner to find your next best travel option.  #TLAlert #TL200s

12. R 6:08pm Translink_QLD: The 6.09pm route R295 to Boggo Road station bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route R295 to Boggo Road station bus departs Cleveland station at 6.39pm.  #TLAlert #TL200s

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1538220803128709120

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1538223484509487104

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1538302555172012032

More rail bus replacement cancellations again today:

> https://railbot.info/forum/index.php?msg=22807

 

^

Route 200s  Rail replacement bus cancellations due to ' staff availability ' Sunday 19th June 2022

Source https://railbot.info/forum/index.php?topic=212.0 derived from https://twitter.com/Translink_QLD

R 1. 10:11am Translink_QLD: The 10.28am route R296 to Boggo Road station bus is cancelled due to staff availability. The next route R296 to Boggo Road station bus departs Manly station at 10.58am.  #TLAlert #TL200s

R 2. 12:31pm Translink_QLD: The 12.37pm route R295 to Cleveland station bus is cancelled due to staff availability. This next bus route R295 to Cleveland station will depart Boggo Road station at 12.52pm.  #TLAlert #TL200s

R 3. 12:34pm Translink_QLD: The 1.09pm route R295 to Boggo Road station bus is cancelled due to staff availability. This next bus route R295 to Boggo Road station will depart Cleveland station at 1.24pm.  #TLAlert #TL200s

R 4. 1:53pm Translink_QLD: The 2.37pm route R295 to Cleveland station bus is cancelled due to staff availability. This next bus route R295 to Cleveland station will depart Boggo Road station at 2.52pm.  #TLAlert #TL200s

R 5. 6:42pm Translink_QLD: The 7.07pm route R295 to Cleveland station bus is cancelled due to staff availability. This next bus route R295 to Cleveland station will depart Boggo Road station at 7.22pm.  #TLAlert #TL200s

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1538589939918852096

Couriermail --> Hundreds of buses in Ipswich, Logan cancelled as flu, Covid trigger driver shortage $

QuoteBus users across the southeast are bracing for another week of cancellations after an unprecedented driver shortage due in part to the flu and Covid.

A bus driver shortage, blamed on an early flu season, Covid and vaccine mandates, has plunged Ipswich and Logan bus users into a service cancellation crisis.

In one day last week, there were 126 bus services cancelled across the state with 79 of those axed from Ipswich.

Ipswich route 503, which runs from RiverLink Shopping Centre, had 16 cancellations in the 24 hours to the end of Friday's morning peak rush, with 15 services axed on the sister route 502 and a further 10 dropped on route 509.

Logan services also copped the brunt of the staff shortages with 21 cancelled over the same period to 10am on Friday.

The worst affected Logan service, with four cancellations, was route 573, which runs from Loganholme train station into Brisbane. ...

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1546609440610488320


 

The bus network is in absolute disarray this morning. North Quay at Vic Bridge/Adelaide St was blocked earlier (around 7:30 from what I can tell, not sure why) and buses were quickly banking up through the CBD and along the SEB. By around 8am, bus control was telling all SEB services terminating at QSBS via South Bank to run via the CCB instead. Buses have just been dropping passengers wherever there is the slightest bit of kerb space available (including potentially on the busway for people to walk along past stationary buses from what I saw at Mater Hill).

As I speak, an inbound 150 that left Browns Plains at 7:07am this morning only just arrived into QSBS, some 3 hours later. Most buses barely moved IB along the SEB through South Bank for over an hour from around 7:45am.

There are currently over 30 buses showing up on tracking still over 1 hour late, with close to 100 buses over 30 mins late!! I can only imagine how much in overtime wages the public has to fork out for this morning alone. The traffic is still in gridlock in and around the City, so I wouldn't be surprised if some of these bus delays flow on into the early afternoon too.

Due to BCC's idealology that every bus needs to runs into the CBD, the network has absolutely such volatile reliability that falls apart with even the slightest incident. It's simply inexcusable that Routes like the 460 still run all the way into the City, when they would be a perfect candidate as a higher-frequency feeder service. It would mean they wouldn't get caught in the mess we saw this morning, running completely independently from the CBD gridlock, continuing to shuttle people to/from train stations and key suburban destinations rather than experience extreme delays and huge service gaps of nearly 2 hours like today.

But hey, a boy can dream right?


Edit: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-03/transport-chaos-brisbane-cbd-bus-train-delays/101294982

QuoteBrisbane's CBD was hit by transport chaos on Wednesday morning, with roadworks and several accidents causing delays of up to 45 minutes.

Translink informed commuters that all CBD buses were delayed due to congestion, with some passengers told their buses would divert to nearby train stations due to a "massive backlog into the city".

A section of Adelaide Street between North Quay and George streets was closed for safety reasons, according to a statement from Brisbane City Council (BCC).

"This decision was made for safety reasons after a contractor reported an issue with tunnelling works beneath Adelaide Street for the Brisbane Metro project," Brisbane Civic Cabinet Chair for Transport Ryan Murphy said.

Mr Murphy said no-one was injured and further updates would be provided as they became available.

Some commuters were stuck in buses for more than an hour while others were turned away from boarding buses in some locations.

Police motorbikes have been dispatched to Adelaide Street and George Street in an attempt to get traffic flowing.

There have been complaints of drivers blocking intersections, exacerbating the issue.

QuoteBut hey, a boy can dream right?

Don't worry, Flying Uber vehicles are coming, straight out of the 1960's. 

https://translink.com.au/updates/148821

Quote12.13pm route 631 to Nambour station bus delayed 16 mins

The 12.13pm route 631 to Nambour station bus is delayed 16 minutes due to late running of previous service.
This bus is now due to arrive at Nambour station at 1.44pm.

Real-time tracking showed the 631 arrived into Nambour 13 mins late at 1:41pm. The 1:38pm connecting southbound train departed 2 mins late at 1:40pm. Is anyone able to confirm if this train was held for the late bus, and if not, why?

Maybe they need to turn some of these bus routes into feeder services to free up some resources where possible. Wouldn't that be nice? 

Must take up a lot of staff resources to run and maintain the huge amount of duplication on Coronation Drive, Old Cleveland Road etc. 

^ Exactly.  Thank you.

https://translink.com.au/updates/233776

QuoteDelays 20 mins - South East Busway, Brisbane

Buses travelling towards Brisbane City along the South East Busway, Brisbane are delayed up to 20 minutes due to an earlier broken-down bus.
There are no delays expected for buses travelling away from Brisbane City.

Buses were queued back all the way to Mater Hill this morning, with some taking over 30 mins to get from South Bank to Cultural Centre.

Sent to all outlets:

Update on reported bus service disruptions by Translink

18th February 2023

Greetings,

RAIL Back On Track monitors the reported bus service disruptions for Queensland by Translink.  Since school resumed on the 23rd January 2023 the number of reported bus service cancellations has escalated to devastating levels.  The impact on passengers is very serious.  There seems no acknowledgement by the Minister of Transport or the transport authorities about this impact.

Most of the reported service disruptions are service cancellations.  Brisbane and the Gold Coast bus regions are unable to deliver their timetables. All regions have varying problems, but the worst by far is Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Record is kept here > https://railbot.info/forum/index.php?topic=229.0

For the period 8 September 2022 through to 20 January 2023 average reported bus disruptions per day was 80.

Remember this is just the ' reported ' service disruptions.  We know a number are not reported.

Date	Day			Number
23 Jan 2023	Mon			66
24 Jan 2023	Tue			62
25 Jan 2023	Wed			113
26 Jan 2023	Thu	PH		29
27 Jan 2023	Fri			137*
28 Jan 2023	Sat			31
29 Jan 2023	Sun			33
30 Jan 2023	Mon			93
31 Jan 2023	Tue			352*
1 Feb 2023	Wed			89
2 Feb 2023	Thu			140
3 Feb 2023	Fri			147
4 Feb 2023	Sat			48
5 Feb 2023	Sun			25
6 Feb 2023	Mon			108
7 Feb 2023	Tue			158*
8 Feb 2023	Wed			171
9 Feb 2023	Thu			95
10 Feb 2023	Fri			131
11 Feb 2023	Sat			43
12 Feb 2023	Sun			27
13 Feb 2023	Mon			116
14 Feb 2023	Tue			131
15 Feb 2023	Wed			208
16 Feb 2023	Thu			233
17 Feb 2023	Fri			351

From: https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=15050.0

*27th January 2023 there was a bus with mechanical failure that blocked CC outbound for a while, and both directions of busway closed while bus was removed. This has bumped it up a bit.

*31st January 2023 Industrial action with Gold Coast bus services. Massive service cancellations.

*7th February 2023 Broken down bus on SEB. Lots of delays. These are generally not reported individually.

This is a very serious situation and needs urgent action, and a public statement as to what is being done to fix our bus networks.

Thank you.

Regards
Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org

Facebook ...

This is basically guaranteed to lead to bus delays to many 4xx routes, but nothing (that I can see) from Translink.

https://twitter.com/QLDTrafficMetro/status/1630477911697371136

Sent to all outlets:

Bus networks in serious disarray

15th March 2023

Good Morning,

There is  one thing about the reporting of on-time running (OTR) of Queensland Rail Citytrain it is honest and a true reflection.  Generally it is good compared to other state systems.  QR Citytrain does have a very tight definition of on-time running as well.

I cannot say that about the bus network. The reported bus OTR which is made available in the Translink PT Performance Dashboard has poor correlation with the reported bus service disruptions, which by the way continue at an ALARMING rate.  I have made requests to Translink to have the methodology of determining the bus OTR explained to me, but I keep getting fobbed off.

I have been monitoring the reported bus service disruptions closely since the beginning of the school term (see https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=15050.0 ).

Brisbane, Gold Coast and Toowoomba bus operators particularly are unable to deliver the timetable.  Consequently many passengers are left stranded.



It might be time for the Minister for Transport and Translink to detail what is being done to address the driver shortfall.  In the case of Brisbane, it might be time to do some network reorganisation and rather than continue to run buses in parallel to rail, start feeding the rail network properly. 

We expect a response please.  Thank you.

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org

Facebook ...

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1636130117574610944

Sent to all outlets:

Re: Bus networks in serious disarray

16th March 2023

Greetings,

Just to update you.  15th March 2023  138 reported bus service disruptions.

So far 16th March 2023, cut-off is midnight but there have already been 131 reported bus service disruptions.

( https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=15050.0 )

Do any of you actually care? 
Feedback on our Facebook post ( https://railbotforum.org/yourls/4v)  on this is damning.

This is a crisis and needs action.  Not silence.

Treat us as mushrooms, we soon turn into toxic toadstools.

Best wishes,
Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org

Quote from: ozbob on March 15, 2023, 23:45:19 PMSent to all outlets:

Bus networks in serious disarray

15th March 2023

Good Morning,

There is  one thing about the reporting of on-time running (OTR) of Queensland Rail Citytrain it is honest and a true reflection.  Generally it is good compared to other state systems.  QR Citytrain does have a very tight definition of on-time running as well.

I cannot say that about the bus network. The reported bus OTR which is made available in the Translink PT Performance Dashboard has poor correlation with the reported bus service disruptions, which by the way continue at an ALARMING rate.  I have made requests to Translink to have the methodology of determining the bus OTR explained to me, but I keep getting fobbed off.

I have been monitoring the reported bus service disruptions closely since the beginning of the school term (see https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=15050.0 ).

Brisbane, Gold Coast and Toowoomba bus operators particularly are unable to deliver the timetable.  Consequently many passengers are left stranded.



It might be time for the Minister for Transport and Translink to detail what is being done to address the driver shortfall.  In the case of Brisbane, it might be time to do some network reorganisation and rather than continue to run buses in parallel to rail, start feeding the rail network properly. 

We expect a response please.  Thank you.

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1636553798100582400

Brisbanetimes --> Driver shortage hits home as Brisbane, Gold Coast buses cancelled

QuoteA shortage of bus drivers caused 178 services to be cancelled statewide on Friday amid 205 disruptions, in a major local spike of an emerging nationwide problem.

Brisbane and the Gold Coast were Queensland's worst-hit regions as average daily bus service disruptions statewide rose from 80 in 2022 to 120 in the first three months of 2023, before hitting 205 on Friday. ...

Turn some BCC buses into feeder services and bring forward de-duplication?

Maybe they should start with 4xx series and Coronation drive?

^ it's a good article.  Cr Murphy is trying to suggest there isn't an issue ...

Translink has said there is a problem.

" ... Rail, Tram and Bus Union secretary Tom Brown said Dow's observations were "on the money". He said there was a shortage of 200 to 300 bus drivers in south-east Queensland. ... "

About 85-90% of the reported service disruptions are cancellation of service/s due to unavailability of drivers.
With a bit of sunlight on the issue now, it might help to sort quicker.  Interesting that New Zealand has already prioritised bus drivers " ... In December, New Zealand authorities added bus drivers to a temporary visa pathway to lure them from overseas. ... ". I had a meeting with Translink mid last year where this was discussed, still hasn't been implemented here in Australia 

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1637571482170855424

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1637574406221475840

I have been booked for an interview on ABC Gold Coast radio around 08:45am 21st March 2023, about the bus service cancellations on the Gold Coast.

Some recent examples

Friday 17th March 2023: 

There were a total of 178 bus cancellations all operators, Gold Coast 67 service cancellations ~ 38%

Monday 20th March 2023:

Thee were a total of 117 bus cancellations all operators, Gold Coast 30 service cancellations ~ 26%

====

* " ... An industry source said Kinetic Transport – which runs buses on the Gold and Sunshine coasts, in Melbourne and New Zealand – recruited 80 additional drivers last month. Sunbus is also recruiting.

Translink said bus driver shortages were a nationwide problem. ... "

* https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/driver-shortage-hits-home-as-brisbane-gold-coast-buses-cancelled-20230317-p5ct0k.html

Interview ABC Gold Coast Radio  21st March 2023 Mornings with Host Sarah Cummings

Gold Coast bus cancellations

> https://backontrack.org/docs/abcgc/abcgc_sc_rd21mar23.mp3  MP3 5.1MB

Did a brief interview with 9 News Gold Coast on the buses as well.

https://twitter.com/CrJaredCassidy/status/1638021200646639617

Brisbanetimes --> Bus cancellations to continue unless 500 drivers get on board

QuoteSouth-east Queensland needs 500 extra bus drivers, and until they're on board, bus cancellations and disruptions will continue, Queensland's Bus Industry Council said on Tuesday.

The body's top two priorities for filling the yawning employment gap are attracting overseas drivers and luring pensioners back to work. ...

... Questions to Queensland Transport Minister Mark Bailey were referred to the state government's public transport agency, Translink, which said it didn't employ drivers.

It said that was the purview of individual bus companies and Brisbane City Council. ...

^

Quote" ... Questions to Queensland Transport Minister Mark Bailey were referred to the state government's public transport agency, Translink, which said it didn't employ drivers.

It said that was the purview of individual bus companies and Brisbane City Council. ... "

FMD! 

I called for the State Government and Translink to support our bus operators yesterday.

This attitude by the Minister and Translink is part of the problem. Clearly disinterested and a failure.

Yes, the bus operators employ drivers direct etc. etc. but some support from the State Government and Translink in recruiting drivers could go a long way. 

Crikey, we need a proper public transport authority, with a Minister and staff that are proactive.

Translink have been very slow to do much re the driver shortfall sadly.  I first flagged the problem with Translink early 2022 and took them six months to put some reduced service timetables in place. Mid year last year prioritising bus drivers on temporary visas was discussed.  Still not in place (New Zealand has already done this). The State Government should support the QBIC, and run a recruitment campaign for bus drivers.
We need a Minister that is engaged with the issues, not disinterested.

The State Opposition has done sweet fuk all as well.   What a joke.

At least Cr Cassidy has finally found a voice ...

Facebook ...