'Frustration' as no-shows increase with popularity in free public bus transport

Since the Tasmanian government made public transport free in March this year, bus company Kinetic says there has been a record number of people using its inter-city bus services.But the free fares have had an unwelcome side effect: there has also been an increase in the number of people reserving seats and not showing up."The fact of the matter is that if you're not paying for a seat, typically there's not as great an incentive … to cancel because you're not losing any money," Kinetic Group CEO Michael Sewards said.In an effort to prevent no-show bookings, the company is rolling out a new reminder system, following a two-week trial on the Hobart to Launceston service.'Frustration' as unused bookings increaseThe number of people using Kinetic's intercity bus services has increased by about 20 per cent since public transport was made free, according to Mr Sewards.But as patronage has increased, so too has the number of unused bookings.Christer Osbeck often rides the bus to Hobart and says it's "sad" people were missing out on seats. (ABC News: Georgia Hogge)Mr Sewards said this increase has been a "significant issue" for people wanting to travel on the buses, though it's not clear how many have missed out on seats as a result."The issue was, people were having to go to the transit centres and stand and wait and hope that the people who didn't turn up didn't turn up, [so] they can get on the bus," he said."The issue was process and the frustration and the uncertainty of people not knowing if they could actually get on the bus or not. And so that's what we've been trying to remove."Northern Tasmanian Christer Osbeck said he used Kinetic's service to visit his kids in Hobart."It's free, it's cheaper than the car and it's relaxing," Mr Osbeck said.He said it was unfortunate people were missing out on seats due to others not turning up."It's a bit sad, some people want to book it and can't but it's a fact of life; people are how they are," he said."I always book ahead of time; a week maybe. I've never missed out."Reminder system trial promisingIn a bid to address the issue, Kinetic has been trialling a new reminder system on the Hobart to Launceston service, which sends passengers a text message and email 48 hours before departure, asking them to confirm or cancel their booking.Mr Sewards said the two-week trial has been a success, with nearly 10 per cent of people taking the option to cancel when prompted.In a trial of the new reminder system, 10 per cent of people took up the offer to cancel when prompted. (Supplied)"We've also seen at transit centres a significant reduction in the use of standby queues, so more people are having the ability to get on the bus and use the bus," he said.Following the trial, Kinetic will now roll the reminder system out statewide.Despite the improvement, Mr Sewards said there are still some bookings that are not being used.The company said it will continue to monitor booking behaviour, and explore further options if unused bookings remain an issue.One of those options, according to Mr Sewards, would be requiring passengers to confirm their booking in order to keep their seat."We've seen an improvement, most definitely, but if we did not see an improvement, we would have to think about saying to people, 'if you don't confirm, then we can't take your seat'," he said."But at this point, we haven't done that yet. We're allowing people to click on to cancel and to click on to accept."Transport minister welcomes initiativeTransport Minister Kerry Vincent welcomed the work Kinetic has done to reduce no-show bookings.Kerry Vincent says other works to improve Tasmania's public transport system were on hold. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)"We understand that free fares has put pressure on the systems with people on no-shows, which is really, really disappointing for those genuine people needing to move around the state," he said. "But that doesn't change the fact that the industry is working to resolve that issue, and the SMS system seems to be working very very well."New ticketing system 'on hold'At a press conference this morning, Mr Vincent was also asked about planned upgrades to Tasmania's public transport ticketing system.The government contracted transport ticketing provider Cubic in 2024 to roll out a new "smart" ticketing system across Tasmania's public transport network, which would allow passengers to pay for fares with smart phones and bank cards.But Mr Vincent this morning said the work has been on hold since public transport was made free."The Cubic ticketing system is on hold at the moment, while we work through some of these issues and look at how effective free fares are going to be now and into the future," he said.Public transport will remain free in Tasmania until June 20, 2027.