Metro Tasmania cancels 12,300 trips over 2023

There have been almost 12,300 trips dropped from Metro's bus schedule so far in 2023 due to bus driver shortages, however, this has been mostly contained to Hobart.

A Metro spokesman on Friday said as the Launceston and Burnie networks were smaller, they were less impacted by operator shortages.

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Government minister Roger Jaensch said the government would continue to invest in the bus company to ensure it had the workforce needed to staff all the routes commuters needed.

"The priority has been at a time of workforce shortage that we provide as much certainty as we can for commuters who rely on those services," he said.

Labor's Josh Willie said it was clear that Metro had a driver recruitment and retention issue and the government needed to step in and better support the company and its workers.

He said the government needed to resource the company to allow them to place transit officers on buses with enforceable powers to curb anti-social behaviour.

Rail, Tram and Bus Union organiser Byron Cubit said bus drivers believed their safety needed to be prioritised and the government needed to provide funding for transit officers on buses and protection screens for drivers.

"I'm having conversations very regularly with drivers who feel scared because they are out there every day exposed," he said.

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Mr Cubit said transit officers needed specific powers to enforce acceptable behaviour on buses as deterrence was only an effective measure for a short period of time.

"That's what we saw with temporary security guards," he said.

In the Legislative Council this week, Mr Willie asked for the government to provide statistics related to violent and anti-social behaviour on Metro buses this year.

There have been 41 reported incidences of violent or anti-social behaviour on buses in Launceston, nine in Burnie and 208 in Hobart.

Eight reports in Launceston and two reports in Burnie related to an aggressive person.

Twenty reports in Launceston related to inappropriate behaviour.

There were six reports in Launceston and one report in Burnie for inappropriate behaviour on a school bus.

There were three reports in Launceston for passenger-on-passenger assault and one in Burnie.