----- Forwarded Message -----
 
To: Tdu Transportdownunder transportdownunder@...>
Sent: Sunday, 19 May 2019, 19:18
Subject: Wed.8.5.19 daily digest

Roderick.

190508W Melbourne 'Age' - Melbourne Southern Cross subway & escalators.
190508W Metro Twitter :- Melbourne Southern Cross escalator failure.- Frankston delays at 17.54 & 17.58.
190508W Melbourne Express - tram & bike.
190508W Melbourne 'Herald Sun' - level-crossing abolition.

Wed.8.5.19 Metro Twitter:
5.31 Upfield line: Because of a technical issue, platform displays are showing wrong information.  Green passenger information buttons may also give wrong information.  Our technical team is working to fix the issue..
- 6.30 The issue has been fixed.
- 8.30 Still not fixed at Batman.
- Why was the 12.53 Batman - Flinders St cancelled?
- We had a train with fault removed from service that cancelled the outbound train and return run.
8.18 Frankston line: Minor citybound delays (an equipment fault near Mentone).
- That doesn’t explain why my train is not going through the loop as it should.
- We had no choice than to alter your service to run direct to Flinders Street as we are currently experiencing congestion in the city loop.  [We can't cope; we don't try; we don't care].
- This is how they meet their punctuality targets.
- There have been delays all week on the line.
11.32 Buses will replace trains between Macleod and Hurstbridge (an equipment fault).
- 11.41 Alternative transport: bus routes 513, 561,566 & 580.
- 11.54 Trains have resumed, with delays up to 30 min.
16.43 Werribee line: Minor delays (police attending to a trespasser at Laverton).  Trains will be held.
- 16.47 clearing.
17.59 What happened to the Frankston line? The 18.02 has been cancelled, and there will be a delay.
- The 17.33 ex Frankston was cancelled (a faulty train).
Buses replace trains North Melbourne - Upfield from 20.20 (maintenance works).
Buses replace trains Newport - Williamstown from 21.00 (maintenance works).
Sunbury/Craigieburn/Upfield lines: All trains will run direct to/from Flinders St from 21.00 (maintenance works).
Sunbury line: Buses replace trains North Melbourne - Sunshine from 21.00 (maintenance works).
Melbourne Express, Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Play a role in Fed Square's future Credit: Joe Armao
Federation Square has its fair share of detractors. If you're among them, how about putting your ideas where your mouth is and playing a part in its future?
Melbourne Knowledge Week organisers are giving people the chance to design their ideal Fed Square with a design hack on May 24 and 25. What's a design hack? Pleased you asked.
A design hack is a creative process that takes a group of people through a number of steps to come up with a solution to a problem - in just eight hours (if only all problems worked like that ...)
There are only 60 places and registration closes on May 11. More info here.
Parking spaces to go in CBD. Here's one that is sure to be contentious. Nearly 130 parking spaces could be removed from Exhibition Street and two traffic lanes closed to cars outside peak hour to make way for two bicycle lanes.
Timna Jacks and Clay Lucas report Melbourne City Council has voted to fund the $2.6 million project, which will see parking spaces removed from the middle of Exhibition Street.
7.02 Good news on the Upfield line: The technical issue with platform displays has been fixed and the correct information is now being supplied.
We're talking Southern Cross Station over at our Facebook page this morning, and the delay in fixing the escalators on platforms nine and 10.
Alan Scott says the issue is "yet another privatisation failure". Matthew Anderson points out an escalator on platforms 15 and 16 has been out for "WAY LONGER" (his caps, not ours).
The delay in sourcing the bespoke part is contributing to commuters' frustration. As Julie Gammon says: "Put someone on a plane to go retrieve the damn part. Seriously? A few more weeks?".
We're going underground on our Facebook page this morning. Specifically under Southern Cross Station, where a network of tunnels exists that commuters reckon could solve current congestion woes. It's not to be sadly.
Glen Janetzki, 42, has been cycling for 20 years. Leading the news this morning: the rise of the MAMIL. The increase of middle-aged men in lycra has led to soaring hospitalisations and a doubling in the number of deaths for cyclists aged over 45.
Police are offering $50,000 to find who is responsible for placing tacks on the Yarra Boulevard, targeting cyclists on bike paths and roads in Kew.
Detectives have been investigating the person who has come to be known as the Boulie Tacker since 2014. About 1000 punctured tyres have been reported in the past five years. Other cyclists have suffered serious injuries as a result of the tacks.
The tacks also pose a threat to road users, including pedestrians and those walking with pets. As well as the reward, two mobile CCTV units will monitor high-risk areas.
5.54 Heads up on the Upfield line. Platform displays and passenger information buttons are giving wrong information. The technical team is working to fix the issue. In Oakleigh, there's an accident blocking both ways on Warrigal Road at Dandenong Road.
<www.theage.com.au/melbourne-news/melbourne-express-wednesday-may-8-2019-20190508-p51l2f.html>
Dragged by Melbourne train, caught in doors: Passenger ordeals raise red flag May 8, 2019. 36 comments
The last thing John Roberts remembers is the train hitting the side of his head.
He doesn’t recall getting knocked from his feet, or being dragged 20 metres next to the train before his crumpled body was slammed into the platform wall.
The train kept moving. A man on the platform raised the alarm.
That was at Heatherdale station on Easter Saturday. The 57-year-old father from Lilydale has been at the Royal Melbourne Hospital ever since.
Paul Roberts visits his brother John in the Royal Melbourne Hospital on Tuesday.Credit:Robyn Grace
He has undergone six operations and will probably need more. His brother Paul said he’d been told John may not walk again.
CCTV shows John tried to board the train after it had taken off.
Even so, Paul said the accident could have been avoided if there had been a guard on the train.
"Metro has a moral obligation to take care of the passengers. They take their money," he said.
"There are plenty of old, frail people out there struggling to get on trains."
The Roberts family is not alone in calling for guards to be reintroduced after carriage doors separated a mother from her baby in a pram at Southern Cross Station last Friday.
Metro Trains has revealed similar incidents in which children are separated from their parents happen about once a fortnight.
At Southern Cross Station, the mother rushed to the doors as they were closing but only managed to get the pram carrying her child on board. Passengers took care of the child, and mother and baby were reunited at Flagstaff station minutes later.
Luba Grigorovitch from the Rail Tram and Bus Union.Credit:Jason South
While passengers sometimes do the wrong thing, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union believes the incident is indicative of a broader safety problem.
The union is calling for Metro to have guards on trains or safety staff on all platforms to tackle problems arising from Melbourne's booming number of commuters and the increased pressure on drivers to stick to timetables.
"It’s not enough to continue with business as usual. The safety and reliability of our network demands adequate staffing now," union secretary Luba Grigorovitch said.
She said new high-capacity trains being introduced for the Metro Tunnel posed additional risks due to greater length, poorer visibility and more passengers.
There have been 23 "passenger boarding" incidents so far this year, compared with 33 in the same period last year. These include incidents involving doors, or the gap between a station platform and a train.
It is not known how many times passengers were at fault, but Metro executive director of safety Tim Maher said the message was simple: "Never try to force open the doors of a departing train."
"It's not worth risking serious injury, or worse, in the rush for a train."
Tim Haslett and his grandson Winton, whose arm was caught in a train door.Credit:Luis Ascui
Tim Haslett wasn't doing the wrong thing. He was simply getting off a train with his wife and two grandchildren at East Richmond last December when his four-year-old grandson Winton’s arm was caught in a carriage door..
It happened in a split second. They were slowed getting off the train when the wheel of their pram got stuck in the platform gap. The doors closed around Winton’s limb and didn’t open again.
Mr Haslett was holding Winton’s hand. He pulled hard enough to free him before the train took off.
Winton wasn't injured, but Mr Haslett is haunted by what could have easily been a horrendous outcome.
"The consequences of my not having got Winton out of the doors ... he would've been dragged along … and eventually he would've come loose and fallen on the tracks. He would've been dead," he said.
“He would've been dragged along … and eventually he would've come loose and fallen on the tracks. He would've been dead.”
Tim Haslett
A Metro review of the incident seen by The Age confirmed the driver didn’t leave the doors open for an appropriate length of time and the area was not clear when the "door closure procedure" was activated.
Drivers use side mirrors, video monitors and cabin warning lights to ensure passengers are safely on board. If a door is unable to close, the system is programmed to immediately alert the driver and render the train immobile.
If a train door is identified as faulty, all passengers have to get off and the empty train has to travel back to the depot.
Mr Haslett, a systems theorist who has worked with the Australian Defence Force, said "everyone on Melbourne’s trains will have seen people getting stuck in the doors" and Metro’s response was "not good enough".
"I'm 75. I don't think Metro should be saying to me, 'You need to be moving quicker, Tim.' "
More than 400 train guards were removed from the network in the early 1990s.. V/Line, however, has kept conductors on every train.
Peter Gregory was a guard, driver and trainer of drivers during a 35-year career working on Melbourne trains. He said there was an incident "every single trip" when he was a guard.
Drivers faced an unfair burden of responsibility since guards were removed, he said.
"You're on your own and if anything happens you have to suffer the consequences on your own."
Martin Stewart, who lost his arm and part of a leg in a train accident in 2002.Credit:Joe Armao
Blind activist Martin Stewart was one of the first people to campaign against the removal of guards, warning injuries and deaths were an inevitable consequence.
Little did he know, the accident he predicted was his own.
It was February 4, 2002. Heading home from work via Richmond station, Mr Stewart reached out with his cane to feel for a door and fell in a gap. His accident occurred exactly where the guard’s carriage used to be.
He lost his right arm, half his right leg and part of his left ear.
The train driver did not see Mr Stewart fall. Nor did they see the person who ran to the front of the train to warn them not to take off.
Mr Stewart suffered serious friction burns to most of his body as he was dragged under the carriage.
The father of four describes train guards as the "lifeguards" of the transport system.
He said technology would never replace humans who could hear, see and communicate danger.
"You’ve got to have someone whose specific duty is to watch over people on and off the train," he said.
"It’s just a commonsense thing to keep people safe."
Mr Stewart met NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance last year before the state ruled out its own introduction of driver-only trains.
Mr Constance instead agreed to permanently roster two staff on each inter-city train, "to help people with disabilities, parents with prams, or the elderly to get on and off at stations".
That decision has set Mr Stewart back on the warpath.
"Every time I hear about an accident I know is avoidable, it traumatises me further," he said.
Metro employs more than 1100 station staff and 300 authorised officers, deployed strategically across the network.
Authorised officers are tasked with "active platform duties", including helping passengers get on and off trains safely. However, they are also responsible for reducing fare evasion, providing customer service to commuters and helping prevent anti-social behaviour on trains.
Protective services officers also play a role in supporting safety around train stations. They're at train stations after 6pm until the last train and are now patrolling trains.
Metro is trialling new platform markings at Richmond station and a "visual countdown" in the City Loop, alerting commuters to when a train is boarding or about to depart.
Public Transport Victoria chief executive Jeroen Weimar said the safety of passengers was "always the No. 1  priority".
"There are currently a number of measures being trialled to further improve the way passengers get on and off trains, while authorised officers and station staff work hard every day to ensure passengers get where they need to go and home again safely," he said.
The National Rail Safety Regulator and Metro Trains are investigating the Heatherdale incident.
Do you think we need humans to ensure safety, or can we rely on automation to do the job? Should we put the burden on drivers to ensure it's safe to depart? Are passengers just plain irresponsible, flouting the rules too much? What do you think can be done to improve safety on Metro trains?
Join the conversation in our new Facebook group, What's Got Melbourne Talking.
Related Article Metro Trains. Mum's horrific ordeal as peak-hour train leaves with baby inside
Related Article John Roberts is fighting for his life in hospital after being dragged by a train in Heatherdale. Father dragged by Melbourne train may never walk again
<www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/dragged-by-melbourne-train-caught-in-doors-passenger-ordeals-raise-red-flag-20190508-p51l4f.html>
* I for feel for this man, but people do need to take responsibility for themselves. I hope this serves as a reminder to others to adhere to the rules stated by Metro - to not attempt to force your way into a train if the doors are closing or are closed.
* The Stations have video footage and they can determine who is at fault. I see it daily, the trains doors close but people think they can make it and do and force the doors open if they are strong enough. Like everything else, no one wants to accept responsibility for their actions.
* We all predicted that these accidents would happen when they did away with the Guards. Sometimes being in the right doesn't give any satisfaction!
* I fail to see how Metro can be held responsible for mature people making 'poor' decisions.
* One of the first lines of the artical says it all. "He tried to board the train after it had taken off." If someone engages in dangerous activities is it any wonder they got hurt. Saying that guards are just a "common sense thing to keep people safe." I would retort that common sense is all thats needed here to keep people safe.
* "John tried to board the train after it had taken off". No more needs to be said
* Much is made of the efficiency of the Tokyo subway system (and other international systems). It's important to note the level of human involvement in this system - it doesn't just rely on technology to run efficiently. The 'point and call' safety system (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointing_and_calling) is fascinating and includes a human on a station indicating that the train is safe to leave (ie there is not a person stuck in a door).
* You know... Years ago, many years ago, trains did not have automatically closing doors. On the blue 'Harris' trains and the even older red 'Tait' trains the doors were opened and closed by passengers. Indeed, in those days, with no aircon most train doors would be left open on hot days. People would ride along, standing right next to open doors, reading their newspapers as the train rattled along. I do not remember anyone falling out or any other mishaps. Maybe they happened but not to my knowledge. But then again, the world was a different place. People took responsibility for their own actions. Now it is always someone else's fault when a problem happens.
* Some fault on both sides i'm sure, but the big stations like Southern Cross do have announcements to "stand clear, doors are closing". And yet people still rush at the doors even after the doors have closed. Frequently. It's like the people who run across crossings when trains are arriving etc.
The other thing that is a problem is people standing in the doorways, slowing down those exiting and entering.
* No this man should not have tried after the train left.
But what about the many instances of people getting caught due to short stops, crowded platforms?
In Sydney and Brisbane, the two other biggest cities in Australia, the trains have guards on trains - they are onto stupid or dangerous situations.
We in Victoria were so smart in getting rid of them, as one driver can keep an eye on so many things - including stupidity.
If anyone has seen the stations such as Kooyong, or a few others on the network with massive curves, the guards used to have to stretch their necks to see the whole platform to let the train go.
But now a driver has to see it all.
Also, as drivers have to assist people needing assistance (wheelchairs, etc..) they are constantly delaying the trains. If the guards were on the delays would not be as much.
But like many people we want more for less - what a clever country, and state.
* Real metros don't have guards. People keep living in the past.  Forcing doors is understandable: Melbourne's misnamed 'Metro' runs infrequent services: miss one, and the wait can often be 20 or 30 min.
* This happened to my father just weeks ago. He was at the station waiting for the train and the door would not open for some reason, and then the train took off. He fell over and was stuck on the platform unable to get himself up. Don't be so quick to assume the person is always at fault. If you continue reading this article you will see that people have done nothing wrong and still the trains have taken off putting them in danger. Someone is going to get killed soon.
* I was a drivers Union delegate when DOO (Driver Only Operation) was introduced. We were promised in cab CCTV monitors for every platform but the current union delegates have let this slide for 20 years, apparently they are satisfied with the rear view mirrors to look back along a 160 metre train. We got a good pay increase for introducing DOO and apparently that is all it took to let the promise of in cab CCTV fall by the wayside.
* I for feel for this man, but people do need to take responsibility for themselves. I hope this serves as a reminder to others to adhere to the rules stated by Metro - to not attempt to force your way into a train if the doors are closing or are closed.
* I don't think he was, it didn't say that. I hate travelling on the train with two kids under five. I know of a mum who managed to get her very young son to step into the train, she tried to get the pram and baby in, but the train left.  When she complained, Metro said, "oh, she must have been distracted and talking on her phone". I was angry on her behalf, but she was not 'Australian', she had moved quite recently and was scared by the whole experience and lack of care.
* The Stations have video footage and they can determine who is at fault. I see it daily, the trains doors close but people think they can make it and do and force the doors open if they are strong enough. Like everything else, no one wants to accept responsibility for their actions.
* We all predicted that these accidents would happen when they did away with the Guards. Sometimes being in the right doesn't give any satisfaction!!!
* I thought I had recently read that the train is not supposed to be able to move if the door is ajar by a millimeter. So how does a train take off with someone hanging out the door?
In any event, Metros #1 priority is clearly not passenger safety because if it was, they’d have guards. End of story. Just because they same something doesnt make it true...
* I fail to see how Metro can be held responsible for mature people making 'poor' decisions.
* You failed to read the entire article.
* My decision to get off the train was not a "poor decision". Nor did my wife decide to get the pram wheels caught between the train and the platform.
* One of the first lines of the artical says it all. "He tried to board the train after it had taken off." If someone engages in dangerous activities is it any wonder they got hurt. Saying that guards are just a "common sense thing to keep people safe." I would retort that common sense is all thats needed here to keep people safe.
* Several other examples given in this article, are you incapable of reading a whole article? John was the only one "to blame" for being injured or having kids put in really bad situations thanks to network as it is.
* "There are currently a number of measures being trialled to further improve the way passengers get on and off trains, while authorised officers and station staff work hard every day to ensure passengers get where they need to go and home again safely," he said." And we all say: Just put the guards back on the trains. Simple.
* Perhaps it is time to move to a fully automated train system. I had the opportunity to travel on the metro in the French city of Toulouse. All their trains are driverless, and all the stations automated. You don't have access to any platform or train until the train arrives in the station and stops. Then doors open and you can get access only to the open doors of the stopped train, and not to the tracks. Train doors close automatically when no passengers are on the platform and before the train starts again. No possibility of accidents like the ones described in the article happening.
* "John tried to board the train after it had taken off". No more needs to be said
* If you cannot read one article what hope do you have of forming a valid opinion?
* In our case: "A Metro review of the incident seen by The Age confirmed the driver didn’t leave the doors open for an appropriate length of time and the area was not clear when the "door closure procedure" was activated."
* Maybe we will get to the point where there is a train every 10 minutes and people won't bother trying to board a moving train but whilst there is up to a 33 MINUTE wait on the lines going past Ringwood during the day any wonder they try and board.
Put a commuter train at Ringwood to meet the Lilydale and Belgrave trains during the DAY not just at night and give those passengers the same timetable everyone gets on the city side of Ringwood.
* There used to be a guard at the back of all trains. He gave the ok to the driver. The Kennett government privatised the rail network and these jobs were axed. Profits before safety of passengers
* Why try to get on a moving train?
* Trains in HK and SG have doors which re-open automatically..... and stop the train from moving.... if there is anything in contact with the doors.
This is in addition to station attendants on all platforms who can stop the train
.... and panic buttons on all trains and all platforms..
.... these 2 measures are mainly for situations where people or things fall on to tracks or anything goes down between the train and the platform edge
* I'm all for bringing back guards on the trains, and conductors on the trams, but the story says there have been "23 "passenger boarding" incidents so far this year, compared to 33 in the same period last year."
Out of how many million passenger movements, what would that be as a percentage?
There will always be incidents.
The story also says, "CCTV shows John tried to board the train after it had taken off"
Users of public transport have a responsibility to take care on the system.
* At some stage passengers need to take responsibility for their actions. Running at closing doors, forcing doors to open are user based issues and occasionally lead to horrific outcomes like the ones mentioned in this article. Having guards on every train, having PSOs on all stations at all times will not stop people /passengers doing stupid things. The group I feel for are the drivers who not only have to deal with passengers but also the constant presence of suicidal members of the public who see trains as a viable option.
Potentially much of the passenger dangerous behaviour would be removed by having frequent services - 5 to 10 minute services on all lines from first to last train, seven days a week and increased peak hour frequency. Also having first aiders at more stations so ill patients can be removed from trains would be beneficial.
* Platform markings and a "visual countdown" are of no use to the visually impaired or anyone who doesn't know what they mean. Safety should be for everyone.
* Unfortunate accident but the suggestion that a guard might have been effective presumably would require one guard beside every door in every carriage of every train - and that's not realistic.
Social stigma a barrier to public transport use, study finds May 8, 2019
Taking public transport can be a source of pride or a source of shame, according to new research which is urging urban planners to take social factors into account when developing transport options.
The researchers, from Australia, New Zealand and the UK, interviewed people from countries across Europe and Asia to find out how people with access to both a car and public transport viewed taking a bus or train.
They found that in the UK and the Nordic countries, people were largely indifferent to taking public transport over a personal vehicle, preferring whichever was the most convenient.
Urban planners are being urged to look for ways to overcome social stigmas around public transport.Credit:Alamy
However, University of Queensland researcher Dr Dorina Pojani said in countries such as China and India, it was a different story.
“In Asian countries we were very surprised to find that even though they don’t have a long history of car ownership – in China there was hardly any car ownership until around 1990 – but since then they have formed strong opinions about public transport,” Dr Pojani said.
“In India too they were looking at public transport as a sort of mode of last resort for the poor.”
Dr Pojani said Indian respondents told researchers if they travelled to a large family gathering on public transport it would be seen as an insult to the host, while Chinese businessmen said their partners would see public transport use as a sign of failure.
For Australia, she said the overall cultural feeling tended to be neutral, but all of the Anglo-Nordic countries appeared to view trains as higher-status than buses.
Figures from Queensland's Department of Transport and Main Roads show there were more than 183 millon trips across all forms of public transport in the state's south-east across 2017-18.
That translates to a little more than 500,000 people using south-east Queensland's public transport metwork every day.
But Dr Pojani said personal stigma wasn’t the only social pressure which was influencing public transport use.
“People are aware of pollution, they’re aware if climate change, congestion is getting bad, even in a small city like Brisbane," she said.
“Young people now also want to live in an urban setting, they don’t necessarily want a suburban life, so I think we’re moving away from our love affair with cars.”
Dr Pojani, who herself takes the bus to work, said urban planners needed to find ways to overcome people’s reluctance to use public transport, both in neutral countries like Australia and those with stronger feelings on the issue.
“I see these cultural barriers as even harder to overcome than technical barriers – once the attitude has set in it’s very difficult to overcome, she said.
“We need public transport to be popular, particularly in Asia's megacities such as Beijing or Chennai, where citizens are also suffering from the health impacts of a rapid deterioration in air quality.
“Changing thinking around public transport can help us build a brighter future for all.”
The research has been published this week in the Journal of Transport Geography.
Related Article Tests to trial a replacement to the Go Card to pay for buses, trains and ferries will begin within months. The smart money is on your phone to replace Go Card in Brisbane soon
<www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/social-stigma-a-barrier-to-public-transport-use-study-finds-20190508-p51lcf.html>
Shorten's 'courageous' emissions target draws fire in energy-intense WA. May 8, 2019. 17 comments
<www.watoday.com.au/federal-election-2019/shorten-s-courageous-emissions-target-draws-fire-in-energy-intense-wa-20190506-p51klc.html>
CSR takes aim at energy costs as profit slumps May 8, 2019. 1 comment
<www.watoday.com.au/business/companies/csr-takes-aim-at-energy-costs-as-profit-slumps-20190508-p51l5k.html>
May 8 2019 Weekend buses cancelled after volunteer shortage
The Transport Workers Union has called for Canberra's weekend bus timetable to be pared back, after nearly 150 buses were cancelled due to driver shortages.
But the ACT government said the cancellations amounted to just 4 per cent of the services scheduled over the weekend.
ACT sub-branch secretary of the Transport Workers Union, Klaus Pinkas. Picture: Jamila Toderas
One of the biggest selling points of the ACT government's controversial new public transport network was that weekend bus services would be bumped up, in exchange for Canberrans walking further and changing modes of transport more often.
But on its first weekend of operation, Transport Workers Union ACT secretary Klaus Pinkas said "a significant number services were dropped over the weekend".
"To sum it up they were scrambling," Mr Pinkas said.
The Canberra Times understands fewer than 150 of the 3721 scheduled services were cancelled. All timetabled services could have gone ahead if 18 more drivers volunteered to work both Saturday and Sunday.
The union warned the government six weeks out from the start of the new network there would not be enough drivers to carry out all the weekend services planned.
While the territory employs nearly 760 bus drivers, staff must volunteer for the overtime shifts under current arrangements, of which there are 147 more due to the network redesign.
The government tried to introduce mandatory weekend work during last year's enterprise bargaining agreement negotiations, but walked away from the proposal to head off potential strike action which could have threatened the launch of the new network.
Asked about the threat of cancellations last week, Transport Minister Meegan Fitzharris said she was "confident" drivers would "do the right thing by the Canberra community" and put their hands up for the extra shifts.
But Mr Pinkas said it was a "big ask" given the hours drivers were already doing.
"We had people working 10 hours on Saturday and eight on Sunday as well as working full-time during the week. There are legal limits on what they can drive and just to cover that huge increase in work on weekends is proving to be problematic," Mr Pinkas said.
Mr Pinkas said the frequency of bus services should be reduced to a more manageable level in order to guarantee the reliability of the network, at least until more drivers could be recruited.
"Full marks for trying to increase services, we are always for increased services, but there's been a little bit of lack of foresight," Mr Pinkas said..
A week ago, Mr Pinkas said the government should not make any kneejerk changes to the network in response to criticism from the public.
Mr Pinkas said while it was a "big call" to make a judgement on the weekend services one week in, Transport Canberra needed to "reassess" how it approached the Saturday and Sunday services.
"I'm a lot more confident the issues on the weekdays will be ironed out, the weekends are problematic," he said.
An ACT government spokeswoman said while they were recruiting more bus and light rail drivers, it was not a shortage of drivers that caused the weekend cancellations but a shortfall in volunteers.
She said the union had promised during the enterprise agreement negotiations all weekend shifts would be fully staffed, and the transport directorate expected them to make good on that.
"The Transport Workers Union have committed under the terms of the recently agreed [enterprise agreement], to ensure that all weekend duties are covered at all times," she said.
"We look forward to continuing to work with the TWU and their members to help ensure they deliver on their commitment and help us deliver a seven day network for Canberrans."
She also disputed the union's assertion that a "significant" number of buses had been cancelled.
"Overall reliability was good, and whilst it was just short of the total service level, we were able to respond proactively to spread cancelled services across high frequency services to reduce the impact on passengers," she said.
"We expect more certainty in delivering scheduled weekend services as we bed down the new network."
Canberra's new public transport network has had a tumultuous start, with reports of overcrowding and confusion as commuters adjust to the transformed timetable.
The government spokeswoman said they were working to manage demand on some routes by putting on larger buses and increasing the frequency of light rail services during peak times.
"Last week was the first week of a big change and we are taking on board all of the feedback received from both current and new users. Some of the issues that have been brought to our attention around passenger capacity or timeliness of services are already being followed up as a priority," she said..
<www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6111418/weekend-buses-cancelled-after-volunteer-shortage>