The State Labor Government has been accused of failing passenger and bus driver safety with revelations of cuts to Translink officers on Sunshine Coast buses.
Member for Maroochydore Fiona Simpson said that despite growing public concerns over safety and fare evasion on Sunshine Coast buses, the Palasczcuk Labor Government had cut the number of Senior Network Officers (SNO) who were supposed to police the problems.
“The cuts in the number of these officers on our buses is outrageous when they are vital to improving safety and compliance with the law to pay fares,” Ms Simpson said.
“There are 11 fewer senior network officers policing the public transport network than three years ago and that’s outrageous.
“The Government claims they have eight new Translink recruits coming on board later in the year which will bring the region’s figures to 57 but that’s still 3 fewer than three years ago.
“No wonder there is a problem with safety and fare evasion on Sunshine Coast buses and the Government are still in denial.”
Ms Simpson said that for the public transport network to truly be a public service that met the growing needs of the region it had to be safe for all ages and law abiding commuters had to know their bus fares weren’t subsidising those who were squibbing paying.
“It’s time for a shakeup with safety and fare compliance at the forefront. There are 8000 more people moving to the Coast every year and the public transport system needs to be safe and accessible.”
Click here: Question on notice answered May 2019 compared to today’s revelations about the number of Translink (SNO) officers.
