Taking action to protect workers exposed to Asbestos

State Transit management has agreed to implement a program of testing members employed at the organisation during the 80s and 90s for asbestos related diseases after learning about asbestos brakes used in this period.

The union questioned State Transit about its planned response to the discovery, saying that it had to take responsibility for the impact this could have on its employees now and into the future.

The program is a good news from State Transit, but should only be the first step. The union will continue to advocate for the organisation to take appropriate actions take responsibility for work practices that put employees at risk all those years ago. Read more »

Drivers left exposed as late night abuse continues

Two more drivers have come under attack on the job in the past week.

One driver has undergone abuse at the hands of a disgruntled passenger in the early hours of Sunday morning. Ryde member, Warren Graves – known to everyone as Barney – was spat on and called a f***ing c***. Luckily for Barney his glasses copped most of the spit otherwise it would have ended up straight in his eye. Read more »

RTBU BBQ tour goes Novocastrian

The RTBU took the BBQ tour to Hamilton last week, where Chris, Gary and David took over the BBQ, cooking up a storm in the depot and having a chat with local members about the problems they are facing behind and away from the wheel.

It was great to hear about a the implementation of a protocol to help drivers deal with rock throwing but there is clearly still a long way to go to keep drivers safe on the job from hooligans and vandals, particularly at night and when alcohol is involved. Read more »

Minister assigns Kings Cross security but more needed

Minister for Transport, Gladys Berejiklian has responded to the RTBU’s demands for increased security on bus services, by committing to security on new all night services from Kings Cross.

The RTBU wrote to the Minister following a number of assaults on bus drivers, requesting increased security on buses, particularly at night. Read more »

Randwick driver raises reflection issue on new buses

When a reflection started appearing in the nearside mirror of the new 2400 series of Scandia’s and Volvo from a poorly placed new sticker on the buses at Randwick, a quick thinking member had the foresight to photograph the problem and report it.

The problem after investigation occurs when the sunlight hits the bus on the right had side causing a reflection off the sticker to occur in the nearside mirror.

STA placed the stickers there and when a complaint was put in said that no one was allowed to move the sticker but themselves.

As such, drivers began booking up the entire 2400 series at Randwick for maintenance. Read more »

Bus goes up in flames on Oxford St

The back of a bus caught fire yesterday morning while it was travelling along Oxford St into the city carrying 30 passengers.

This incident is reminiscent of the explosion of a gas bus last year which prompted the union to call for increased safety measures on gas buses to protect drivers and passengers.

On site shortly after the bus caught fire Divisional Secretary Chris Preston called for all buses to be fitted with fire suppression systems to avoid any further fires occurring.

“These incidents simply should not be happening. We have the technology to stop these fires from happening and we should be using this on all buses. Nothing should be more important than safety on our public transport services”

Click below to see the story covered on Channel 7:

Radios go down with no security back up for drivers, passengers

Last Monday night the radio service providing the only way for bus drivers to alert police and security to any safety issues on their bus went down at 10 pm and did not come back online until early the following morning.

There was no contingency plan put in place by STA to deal with this serious safety issue. Following the brutal assault of two bus drivers in the past two weeks, this is simply not good enough.

Drivers are coming under increasing danger of assault on the job and what we need to be seeing is more security measures put in place to support them, not instances where their only line to call for help can go down without any notice.

The RTBU’s Bus and Tram Division has written to the Transport Minister to request increased security, particularly at night, to ensure the safety of drivers and passengers but so far there has been no response.

But the union will not let this issue be ignored. We will continue to demand better workplace safety for our drivers. Everyone deserves to feel safe and secure at work and we won’t allow drivers to be an exception.

Union calls for increased security on bus services

The RTBU has written to the Transport Minister following another two brutal assaults on bus drivers in the last week. The union is demanding increased security on services at night particularly in party hot spots such as the city and Kings Cross to help protect drivers from aggressive, alcohol fueled passengers.

Bus diver safety must be a priority in Kings Cross fix-it

The callous assault of yet another bus driver over the weekend highlights what drivers have long known. We need increased security for public transport drivers on late night services from Kings Cross and in the city.

The State Government’s proposals to introduce more public transport between 1am and 4am will put even more bus and train drivers in potential danger of violent passenger behaviour.

There is no doubt that increasing public transport so alcohol-fuelled revellers get home faster will help alleviate some of the issues of violence and anti-social behaviour in Kings Cross and surrounding areas. But we won’t stand by and have this come at the expense of driver safety.

In the last three days alone we have seen two assaults on bus drivers – both who had to seek medical attention.

CCTV cameras in buses and on train stations are a good safety measure but they really only help to apprehend the offender after the fact.

The RTBU is now calling for increased security and transit officer presence on public transport late at night across the transport network to keep potentially violent people in check and ensure assaults don’t happen in the first place.

Drivers must be able to expect to finish a shift without a trip to the nearest hospital emergency department. So any proposal to increase late night public transport services must be accompanied by increased security for drivers.

Police have now released CCTV footage of the man alleged to have attacked the driver. If you see this man be sure to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 

Government dragging its feet on gas bus safety measures

One year after a gas bus exploded in Hillsdale, prompting drivers to pull them all off the roads, promised safety measures for the buses have not yet been implemented.

Click to watch to whole story

STA said it would oversee the installation of fire suppression systems for each gas bus, but not one has been installed.

RTBU officials were called bullies and thugs by the Premier when they took the decision to remove all gas buses from service.

But a recent report by the NSW Office of Transport Safety Investigations vindicated drivers’ actions and gave a further mandate for action to improve safety on buses.

Gary Way spoke with Channel 10 about his concerns saying the lack of action so far was a real concern for drivers.

“It is critical the STA and the Government act now to ensure the safety of drivers and bus travellers,” he said.