The Queensland Government has declared that it is taking decisive action to solve rising violence against bus drivers through an unprecedented roundtable, which brought together unions, operators, drivers, and other stakeholders to discuss safety issues and also understand safety screens, barriers, legislative reforms, and harsher punishment because violent incidents are terrorizing workers in the transport sector around the state.
Government roundtable addresses decade of safety failures
According to the statements of the Queensland Government, Minister of Transport and Main Roads, Brent Mickelberg, has announced the roundtable that will bring unions, operators, drivers, and other stakeholders to the table to address the rising concerns with regard to the safety of the Queensland bus drivers. Among the main items on the agenda, there are general safety of bus drivers, the facilities offered to drivers, safety screens and barriers, and possible changes in laws.
It took the Labor Government ten years to provide any real solutions as regards the safety of bus drivers, the former Labor Minister not even going to bus safety forums. Violence towards bus drivers is not acceptable, and all Queenslanders should feel safe when they get to work, school, or home, and this is what Minister Mickelberg said.
Besides the roundtable, the Crisafulli Government is collaborating with Sunshine Coast Council to tackle security issues in the Caloundra Bus Interchange, especially in enhancing the facilities at the bus interchange to augment the drivers. The round table will take place in the coming weeks, and the results will be used to shape the future safety plans in the transport system of Queensland.
When you threaten bus drivers, you encounter harsh consequences
The Courier-Mail reports that bus drivers have been giving accounts of horrible experiences with violent passengers as the government thinks about banning or imposing heavy fines on the agitators. The severity of violence against the workers of public transport was revealed in the newspaper reports that reported cases when drivers mentioned attacks as being on top of him like a pack of dogs.
Harsher fines and travel disabilities are some of the solutions under the bus driver safety push, and they also show that the government cares about the safety of the frontline transport workers. The roundtable was the first in a wider approach to safety throughout the public transport system, and Minister Mickelberg has noted that collective action is the key to building more safety in the public transport system.
The role of safety screens and barriers in safeguarding vulnerable drivers
Safety screens and barriers are also prominently featured in the solutions being discussed at the upcoming roundtable as physical protection measures that may offer immediate safety protection to drivers. Such protective measures would provide a shield between drivers and passengers, which can possibly stop direct body attacks without losing the functionality of services based on public transportation.
The announcement by the government is a big change compared to the previous methods, and Minister Mickelberg pointed out that the government is dealing with the frontline worker safety in transport and acting decisively. The Minister said: “We are working on the safety of frontline transport workers and are making an essential stride towards making sure that we are addressing this problem directly, as a group.
The multi-faceted approach to the issue of driver safety within the bus industry of Queensland and its roundtable discussions, infrastructure enhancements, changes in legislation, and more strict penalties against offenders can be viewed as a decisive move toward dealing with the developing issue of violence against people employed in the transport sector, as the multi-faceted approach will meet the immediate needs of physical safety of the workers and the long-term mechanisms of bringing changes to the existing system.