Public Transport Minister responds to fury over pandemic bonuses for Metro and Yarra Trams

Victoria’s Public Transport Minister has responded to calls for Metro and Yarra Trams to hand back taxpayer-funded bonuses for exceeding performance targets last year.

Together, the two operators received $16 million in bonuses during the pandemic, when public transport patronage was down by 91 per cent on usual figures.

Public Transport and Roads Minister Ben Carroll says he knows there’s “some grumpiness”, but the payments were warranted.

“I know there’s some grumpiness about payments to the private operators but they have kept their workforce on,” he told Neil Mitchell.

“We were very committed to running a full service to support essential workers and to make sure we could keep the distancing on public transport.”

Press PLAY below for more.

Mr Carroll also revealed a childhood incident which put road safety at the forefront of his mind.

“I always, everyday of my life, have thought about road safety,” he said.

“I was in a car accident as a young boy and not wearing a seatbelt.”

Press PLAY below to watch Ben Carroll explain why road safety has “always” been on his mind.