Labor welcomes the commencement of security guards on Tasmanian Metro buses as an interim and immediate measure to address antisocial behavior and fare evasion, but it is important actual transit officers become permanent government positions in the long-term.
If transit officers are going to make a real difference to Tasmania’s transport troubles, they need to be secure employees, with powers to curb anti-social behavior, not privately managed security officers.
Being a transit officer will be a challenging job.
It is vital that the Tasmanians who take on this role have the full support of Metro and are able to work with drivers as equal colleagues, and not as contractors with a degree of separation.
We are glad the Government has finally listened to drivers’ concerns and introduced security guards, but it is disappointing that it took multiple news stories and consistent bad publicity for nearly 12 months for action to be taken.
The Liberals still have a long way to go to fix Tasmania’s public transport system, which remains crippled by massive daily cancellations.
Labor will continue to hold the government to account until Tasmanians can again access reliable and safe public transport.
Josh Willie MLC
Shadow Minister for Transport
