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- In short: Tasmania's main public bus operator Metro says it will cut 180 services to deal with a driver shortage
- What's next? Commuters and Labor have blasted the cuts, with one government minister saying a lack of drivers is due to low unemployment, describing that as a "good problem"
Hobart commuter Sharyn Easthaugh is blunt when asked to describe the ongoing cancellation of Metro bus trips in Tasmania's capital city.
"It's mad, it's crazy," the South Hobart resident said.
"I mean public transport is something you'd expect in a reasonable-sized city, and apparently we can't do that."
Ms Easthaugh was waiting for a bus service at Franklin Square in Hobart's CBD when the ABC spoke to her on Wednesday.
She'd intended to catch the service that left half an hour earlier but it was cancelled, one of about 170 trips that didn't run that day.
"It's annoying because I want to save petrol and save time by catching buses but they're so unreliable that if I have to be somewhere by a certain time I just can't catch a bus because they might not turn up," she said.
But Ms Easthaugh was equally scathing of Metro's plan to cut up services to improve reliability amidst a shortage of drivers.
"That's mad! It's bad enough for me, I live pretty close to the city, but people who are further out who don't own cars, how are they supposed to get to work? It really affects people's lives."
Metro announces 180 services cut
The ABC revealed on Tuesday that Metro planned to cut more than 150 regular bus services in an attempt to make its services more reliable.
In recent months there have regularly been more than 100 trips cancelled each day as the public transport company struggles with a shortage of bus drivers and dozens of drivers calling in sick each day.
On Wednesday, Metro announced it would temporarily suspend about 180 Hobart services from August 28.
"This is not a decision we've taken lightly, but it is something we think is really important to try and improve the customer experience while they're travelling on our services," Metro chief executive Katie Cooper said.
Ms Cooper said school services would be protected and it would be the routes "least frequented in the network" that would be cut.
"There is a genuine staff shortage for both the industry and Metro as part of that Australia-wide," she said.
"We're over 20,000 drivers short. And that is a challenge that we're facing.
"As for… how long it lasts, it's hard to say. We're really adjusting and reacting to the very tight labour market."
The Tasmanian government blames Metro's driver shortage on the low unemployment rate which is preventing many businesses from recruiting all of the workers they need.
"We have record low unemployment in Tasmania at the moment, that's a good problem," government minister Felix Ellis said on Wednesday.
"We don't have a huge supply of qualified bus drivers just sitting on the couch, but of course we'll continue to work hard to make sure that people can get the training that they need so we can deliver those services."
He said the government was focused on working with Metro Tasmania to find solutions to the driver shortage.
Labor blasts 'disruptive' solution
Opposition Leader Rebecca White slammed the decision.
"This is the most extraordinary response by the Liberal government, that they think by cancelling the bus services they can demonstrate that they're dealing with this problem," Ms White said.
She said Tasmanians need reliable public transport services.
"Rather than working with the bus union and working with those workers which is what the government should be doing, they've decided instead to walk away, wash their hands of it, and cancel bus services, which is going to be so disruptive for so many Tasmanians."
'Not going to be a short fix', says ex-driver
Former Metro Tasmania bus driver Kara Browning was sceptical that the service cuts would help Metro fix its driver shortage.
"The problem is keeping their staff. Their retention rate is absolutely horrendous. They are losing more drivers than they are recruiting every year," Ms Browning said.
She said Metro bus driver wages are too low and Metro did not sufficiently support its drivers, who often faced abuse and assault from some bus passengers.
"I had a rock thrown in my face, I've had one of my very good friends get punched in the face by someone, I've had rocks through the window, I've had food trashed throughout my bus, this is not a new thing, this happens day in, day out," Ms Browning said.
She suspected the temporary service cuts would become permanent.
"If they drop these services until they have enough staff, it's not going to be a short fix."
Ability to attend appointments affected, community group says
Bus services are so important to many of the people who go to the Kingston Neighbourhood House that the organisations keeps an up to date copy of the timetable for clients to check.
House manager David Morse says clients often need to catch the bus to attend medical appointments and to connect with service providers in Hobart.
He's very concerned about the prospect of fewer bus services being offered.
"It'll mean people have greater difficulty getting to those appointments, and a lot of those appointments, they're quite time based, so it might take three or four months for people to get a medical appointment.
"By missing those appointments it can put their recovery back significantly."