There are fears bus drivers are being encouraged to take risks on the road thanks to a $5,000 weekly prize that’s being offered to the ‘most often on time’.
The Daily Telegraph revealed that Transit Systems, the private company that is contracted by the state government, is offering the cash every week to a driver in Sydney’s inner west.
Posters, reportedly put up this week, advised the drivers that each person would be entered automatically and that all they needed to do was ‘their best’.
There are fears a $5,000 prize is encouraging Sydney bus drivers to break road rules
But sources told the paper that there had been several ‘near misses’ since the prize was introduced, including a driver who allegedly continued to drive a bus that had a flat tyre in an effort to meet the deadlines.
Transport Workers Union NSW secretary Richard Olsen told Daily Mail Australia that ‘having incentives to stick to timelines can only introduce a dangerous behaviour.’
‘There is something wrong with the timeline if people need to speed,’ he said.
‘Where the real problems lie are with the scheduling and turnaround times and of course traffic and significant congestion on Sydney roads.’
Transit Systems is offering the large prize every week to the most on time
Labor transport spokeswoman Jodi McKay said the prize was ‘dangerous’.
‘It’s not only outrageous, it’s dangerous. Drivers shouldn’t have this kind of pressure on them. Bribes for drivers has the potential to create unsafe situations for passengers,’ Ms McKay said.
Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance, hit back at the detractors saying the the prize was a ‘great way to incentivise’ the drivers.
‘To suggest professional drivers would speed is plain ridiculous,’ Mr Constance said.
The prize money has been labelled as dangerous by detractors
CEO of Transit Systems Clint Feuerherdt said that drivers who broke the rules would be immediately disqualified.
He acknowledged that a flat tyre had been reported but said that it had been handled appropriately.
‘All major incidents are logged and reported and we are pleased to report there have been no major incidents since we transitioned the contract on the 1 July,’ he said.