Nick Proud was driving through Erindale, in Canberra’s south, on Friday morning when he saw a group of people who looked confused at a bus stop.

He had heard earlier that bus drivers in the city had suddenly gone on strike in an unprotected action, citing concern for their safety.

Drivers said they suffered attacks from passengers and their concerns were not being heard by the ACT government.

Bus services in Canberra returned to normal on Saturday morning after an agreement was reached, but there were no public buses running on Friday.

Mr Proud said he pulled over to inform people at the bus stop that no bus would be arriving.

“I told three people who were quite shocked and one had a bit of an urgent medical (appointment) to get to in Tuggeranong so (I said) ‘Come in. I don’t have a meeting until 10.” said Mr. Proud.

He ended up driving a car full of people to their destinations.

In his red Mustang, he was hard to miss.

“It’s an old red ’64 Mustang, so when it pulls up, it usually draws the eye, so (they were) shocked on both levels,” he joked.

“One of them took a selfie with the car. They were quite happy with the whole experience.”

“It was a lot of fun – Pat, Sarah, Sasha,” Mr Proud said, naming some of those who got the facelift.

“At one point I had four people in my car. They’re all strangers, they’re all laughing.

“From that difficult circumstance it was a bit of fun. It was great meeting people.

He said he had sympathy for the bus drivers involved in the strike.

“I think it’s a justifiable situation that … the bus drivers have obviously taken a stand,” Mr Proud said.

Small steps taken for drivers “not worth the paper they’re written on”

The snap strike was prompted by an incident on a bus in Canberra the night before, the Transport Workers Union said.

Bus driver David, who is not his real name, said he had been involved in a number of “serious incidents” over the years – and while none resulted in injuries, they still had “a strong impact and duration” on him.

“However, I know many colleagues… too many colleagues who have not been as fortunate and have lived worse than me.”

David said that as well as bullying, he had witnessed other anti-social behavior that affected his professional life, much of it involving “out of control” young people who faced no consequences for their actions.

“In dedicated school services, I’ve had graffiti on the bus, rubbish left everywhere and on one occasion a used pregnancy test left on the floor of my bus,” he said.

“It’s not just kids though… I’ve had grown adults blame me for failing to meet bail requirements simply by following the scheduled schedule and I’ve been abused for asking people to secure that seats are available to be used in crowded places. services.

David said he wanted to see “meaningful action” from Transport Canberra.

“It is clear that this is not a situation that can be resolved overnight or even in the coming weeks, however it is out of control,” he said.

“The small steps that are being taken, such as the workplace orders the minister is referring to, are not worth the paper they are written on and achieve next to nothing.”

“This can’t go on”

20-year-old Canberra bus driver Todd, who is not his real name, said most of what he saw and experienced was quite minor compared to the stories of his colleagues.

Todd said he arrived at the bus depot on Friday to find the gates locked and his colleagues gathered outside after deciding “enough was enough”.

“We are calling for violence. We are saying this cannot continue. We had to speak in the strongest possible way,” he said.

“I am a member of the union (and) I stand with them. It is our decision not to lead.”

Transport Workers Union ACT undersecretary Klaus Pinkas said the lack of notification was a consequence of existing systems.

Mr Pinkas said Transport Canberra had for a time agreed to some of the strategies proposed by the union – including better screens between drivers and passengers and the ability to suspend passengers without going through court – but during that time they had not happened

“While people are thinking, ‘Yeah, this is out of the blue,’ this has been brewing for a long time and has reached a crescendo,” he said.

“Forty recorded attacks per month (on average) is simply unacceptable. No workforce should have to put up with this.

“I think we have sent the message loud and clear that we will not tolerate inaction from Transport Canberra on this issue as it is a fundamental right to go to work and be protected by your employer.”

Speaking to the media yesterday, Transport Minister Chris Steel said the government was committed to ensuring the safety of workers.

“ACT Labor made an election commitment to introduce a new team of transport officers on our bus routes to promote safety and we will deliver on that commitment.

“We developed this commitment after meeting with drivers to hear their concerns.

“We are also committed to reviewing legislative powers for transport officers to tackle anti-social behaviour.”