Two Brisbane bus services are no longer stopping in the western suburbs after dark, following claims bus drivers servicing the routes "don't want to go to work" due to safety fears.
The 100 bus service will no longer make any stops past stop 67 on Blunder Road, including the Forest Lake shops.
The same will apply for route 110, which will not go past stop 59 on Mortimer Road or stop at the local shops at Inala Plaza.
In an online service update, Translink said the change would remain in place until further notice for safety reasons.
One bus driver, who asked to remain anonymous, told ABC Radio Brisbane a bus driver had been spat on and had human faeces thrown on him.
"You might be approaching a stop and see a few people waiting … then as soon as you open the doors 10 or 12 people appear out of nowhere and just swarm onto the bus," he said.
"We've got people who just don't want to go to work when they have to do those runs.
"When drivers are approaching the Forest Lake or Inala area, their anxiety levels are going through the roof."
However, Tom Brown from the Rail, Tram and Bus Union said the catalyst for the route changes was not fears for drivers' safety.
He said the changes were made after a rock was thrown into a bus window where two girls were sitting.
"The girls were terrified and vowed never to catch a bus again," Mr Brown said.
Senior network officers in place
Senior network officers have been employed to assist with security on buses.
But Mr Brown said these security guards were not permanent.
"There is a contingent of 34 of these officers network wide and currently all of them are in the Inala network … the optimal number is 72 and it also means they aren't assisting any other routes," he said.
Local councillor Angela Owen said there was clear evidence youths were coming onto buses and threatening drivers and passengers.
"There is capacity for senior network officers to be re-directed to travel these particular routes that are of concern," she said.
Mr Brown said when he started as a bus driver the job was considered safe, but that was no longer the case.
"These two routes in Forest Lakes and Inala are head and shoulders above every other route in Queensland as far as violence goes," he said.
"Obviously we don't want buses stopping short of Inala to continue, but we need drivers to be safe."
Call for action on youth offenders
Queensland opposition leader David Crisafulli said a spike in murders and violent crimes in Brisbane allegedly committed by teenage offenders required urgent action from the Palaszczuk government.
"We need to focus on early intervention and try and stop young people from getting involved in crime," he said.
"We also need consequences for actions, because we've got violent offences that are ripping communities and families apart."
Leading Griffith University criminologist Ross Homel accused both the government and the opposition of playing political games.
"The track we are on in Queensland, where we incarcerate twice and many young people than NSW and Victoria, is not a healthy one or evidence based," Dr Homel said.
"We are living in a time of economic stress and high inflation and that is the brewing pot for this surge in crime.
"We know that the young people committing the most serious crimes generally have a long record and they started young … we need a strategy of targeting these people earlier."
Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said Brisbane City Council was "the employer and the lead on these matters".
"I've been in ongoing discussions with TransLink, and relevant unions about ways to make Queensland buses safer, working with TransLink and our bus drivers to find an appropriate solution," he said.
