00:00 Tim's waiting for his bus. Something he's found himself doing more of lately.
00:06 One of my buses is cancelled. It's probably once a few days now, probably, yeah.
00:12 Metro's been cancelling about 70 services a day on average.
00:16 But today, a spike in driver illness meant 190 buses didn't arrive in Hobart.
00:22 Commuters say they're fed up with the disruption.
00:25 I catch a 5.11 bus in the morning at 7.44. Like today, it was not there.
00:29 Like, how am I supposed to get there? My next bus is at 9 o'clock.
00:32 Really annoying. I have to either walk down or get a taxi.
00:36 It makes it pretty annoying to plan the day and then not get your bus.
00:41 Antisocial behaviour on buses has led to bus drivers quitting,
00:45 which in turn has meant frequent cancellations.
00:48 The union says it's been told more permanent service cuts are on the way.
00:52 Later this week, Metro, we believe, will be making an announcement
00:56 and be announcing that there'll be something in the order of, I believe,
01:00 155 services removed from the timetable.
01:04 I'm aware of some changes that Metro are working through
01:09 to ensure that we do improve that consistency and reliability
01:13 and enable us to address what is a challenging time in terms of workforce pressures.
01:18 Metro wouldn't comment on whether it will slash services,
01:21 but says it's working to improve reliability.
01:24 It's already prompted concerns from the opposition.
01:27 The cuts could disproportionately impact people from low socioeconomic backgrounds.
01:32 Some families have no other option but to use public transport as their mode of transport
01:36 to get to work, to get to school, to get to hospital appointments
01:40 and to participate in the community.
01:42 [no audio]
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