Adelaide Hills Bus Services

The Hon. D.R. CREGAN (Kavel) (15:17): For the second consecutive day, bus services between Mount Barker and Adelaide have been cancelled by the private operator. Many residents in my electorate commute daily to the city. Mount Barker will soon be the second largest population centre in the state, outside of Adelaide.

I am informed that there were not enough drivers to run these critical routes this morning or yesterday. This is a workforce and relief rostering issue that has been building for some time. It is entirely foreseeable. It could and should have been addressed by the private operator well before we came to the position where services out of Mount Barker were being cancelled for days at a time.

For the many residents who commute to the city, buses are the only public transport option. It is not realistic or acceptable to expect local commuters to plan an alternative form of transport at short notice. Many commuters were not aware of the service cancellations until they arrived at bus stops this morning.

The hard truth is that our bus drivers have been treated badly for years. Their pay and operating conditions are inadequate. This is not a union line—I am a centre or centre-right politician. However, we must acknowledge that pay and conditions are part of the problem we now face.