Minister for Public Transport Ben Carroll has announced via a tweet that Melbourne’s late night public transport is getting axed for the next two weeks as part of a lockdown crackdown.
In an attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19 and enforce the strict 9pm curfew the city is under, public transport services between 1am and 5am on Saturday and between 1am and 6am on Sunday are just… not going to run for the next two weeks.
Carroll said that if people can stay home, they should, and reminded everyone that in metro Melbourne, there are currently only five reasons you can leave your home: for essential food and supplies, authorised work, care and caregiving, exercise, and getting the jab.
To help stop the spread of coronavirus, late night public transport will not run on Fri & Sat nights while the curfew is in place.
If you can stay at home, you should stay at home.
If you are leaving home for 1 of the 5 permitted reasons, a mask must be worn.— Ben Carroll (@BenCarrollMP) August 17, 2021
Public transport will run as normal at all other times “to ensure essential workers and those who must travel for a permitted reason can get where they need to go” but, this doesn’t seem to take into into account essential workers who start or finish work between the hours when public transport will be axed????
The announcement has incited panic online as people ask the obvious question: how the fuck are essential workers meant to travel to and from work without public transport? Not everyone has a car or can afford an Uber.
So how do emergency and essential shift workers get home Ben? #springst
— James Newbury MP (@newbury3186) August 17, 2021
Umm how am I supposed to get home from my supermarket job late on Friday night?
— Kurt Bryant (@KurtBryant) August 17, 2021
This is an awful decision. Shift workers need public transport. Esp in Melbourne where trams and buses coverage means it’s easier to live without a car in a decent proximity to city. But esp for folks in poorer burbs badly served. This is just lose-lose-lose
— nicola (@peacenicsta) August 17, 2021
So I hope the govt is paying taxi fares for all your essential workers who will be the most disadvantaged at this. You know, nurses whose shift change is 10 or 11pm
— LouieLou (@LouieLouLouigi) August 17, 2021
And, of course, the press release said absolutely nothing about late night essential workers because clearly expecting competency here is asking too much.
re: this terrible idea –
Ben Carroll's phone isn't going through, his office hasn't replied to emails, and there's nothing in this press release (https://t.co/A4AM2ue16P) that explains wtf essential shift workers without cars are meant to do. https://t.co/mMLIoxg6Cc
— Alex Bruce-Smith (@alexbrucesmith) August 17, 2021
We’ve reached out to ask how essential shift workers without a car are expected to get home from work during their late shifts, because the Vic government sure as shit didn’t think about them first.
So far we haven’t received a response, but we’ll let you know the moment we do.
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