Darwin bus drivers rallied outside Parliament on Sunday demanding the Fyles Government immediately address the increasing levels of violence and anti-social behaviour across Darwin’s bus network to protect drivers and passengers.

“Enough is enough. Stop the abuse. Stop the violence…” transport workers union bus drivers chanted outside Parliament, adding that the problem has become worse lately, even after bus security were recently granted powers to arrest and ban problem passengers.

“I’ve never seen so many assaults, and assaults at interchanges – on drivers, passengers,” John Woloczij, a bus driver for eight years told the ABC.

Last year, both violence and anti-social behaviour incidents spiked on the Darwin bus network. NT Police statistics indicate that property damage increased by 20.6 per cent throughout the Territory and assaults incidences have gone up by 2.15 per cent over the last year to July this year.

Drivers are demanding immediate measures to address safety issues including installing safety screens on buses.

“Perspex screens have been fitted on some buses for a trial beginning this week,” TWU Branch Secretary Ian Smith said.

“They need a safety screen that allows them to do the job safely without fear or favour of being spat on, punched, hit …threatened with a knife.”

Mr Woloczij said that violence against drivers has been a long-standing issue and that drivers are not just worried about their safety but also the safety of their passengers.

“I talk to some of our regular passengers … they don’t want to catch the bus anymore, they’re not willing to let their kids catch the bus anymore. We have concerns for the passengers,” he said.

Bus drivers also said they are getting close to considering strike action.

“We’ve lost a lot of good drivers and there’s still a lot of drivers thinking of leaving. The whole industry, if it keeps going the way it is, could come to a screaming halt because there are no drivers. No drivers, no buses, no services,” he said.

Transport Minister Eva Lawler spoke to the drivers at the rally on Sunday, saying the government has committed to putting on additional transit officers and security guards as part of new legislation granting transit officers more power, although she would not provide actual numbers.

Amendments to the Public Transport (Passenger Safety) Act give transit officers the power to arrest people for offences like assault and property damage and ban problem passengers.

Ms Lawler continued to insist that Darwin buses are safe, despite a surge in violent and anti-social behaviour incidents last year.

“It’s been probably this year [that] we’ve seen an escalation in incidents and I think that reflects the anti-social behaviour that we’ve seen in the community,” Ms Lawler said.