The ACT Greens have blamed Labor's inaction on bus driver safety concerns for prompting a snap strike that has taken the entire public bus network off the road.
But the Transport Minister said he has acted swiftly since the election to begin work on introducing transport officers to the territory's public bus network.
All Transport Canberra bus service were halted on Friday when the Transport Workers Union called a "spontaneous" and unprotected strike over driver safety concerns.
Andrew Braddock, the Greens' spokesman on transport, said the strike was an expression of huge frustration from drivers who do not feel safe in their workplace.
"The workers say they have made hundreds of other approaches to Labor's Transport Minister, who has been in charge since 2019, but is still yet to implement agreed safety measures," Mr Braddock said.
Mr Braddock said the Greens had seen from within government that Labor could be "slow and complacent when the community is calling for urgent action".
Transport Minister Chris Steel defended his record on bus driver safety measures, saying he had taken immediate action after the election to introduce Labor's promise of transport officers on the bus network.
Transport Workers Union ACT sub-branch secretary Klaus Pinkas said a driver had a bag of fish heads tipped on them on Thursday afternoon, while about 40 incidents were reported each month.
"And enough's enough. What we've said to Transport Canberra is we need some practical solutions implemented. They've agreed to most of the practical solutions. The discussions have been going for years. They've agreed. But there's just no movement, no action on any of these things," Mr Pinkas said.
Mr Pinkas said it was unfortunate that it had come to a strike, but it was the only way the union could get the government's attention.
Mr Steel said he met with transport workers and their union representatives in July, ahead of the ACT election, where they discussed a proposal to have transport officers or transport police on public transport.
"And as a result of that meeting, ACT Labor developed and brought to the election a commitment to dedicate a new team of transport workers that would be working across our bus routes to provide a visible presence to promote safety among passengers, but also to deter and manage occupational violence being faced by our drivers," he said.
Mr Steel said he had already discussed the commitment with Transport Canberra since being reappointed minister after the election. Mr Steel has been the responsible minister since 2019.
A review of legislation will also consider what extra powers might be available for transport officers to manage violence on the bus network, he said.
Mr Steel said there would not be transport officers working on the bus network "overnight" and noted drivers' representatives had been supportive of Labor's election commitment.
"We've now been in government a week, and so I've already spoken to Transport Canberra about the implementation of that commitment," he said.
Transport officials also said they would fit protective screens within the bus fleet in consultation with drivers.
Mark Parton, the Liberal member for Brindabella who served as the opposition spokesman on transport before the election, said the issue of driver safety and assaults had been escalating over a number of years.
"I raised this enormous issue with the Transport Minister ad nauseum. We wrote to the minister on numerous occasions. It was raised in various hearings and in public commentary. I was continually contacted by drivers and also members of the public," Mr Parton told ABC radio on Friday morning.
Mr Parton said he could understand the level of frustration that led to the strike and that he feared the combination of anti-social behaviour on buses and the strike would have a severe impact on consumer confidence in the public transport network.
"I'm in two minds over it, and I don't feel that I can really make a statement on whether we support or we don't, because I understand the frustration but I also understand the frustration of people who are waiting for a bus," he said.
Mr Braddock said the impact of the strike showed public transport was important to Canberrans and it was critical the government supported bus drivers to have a safe workplace.
"The impacts of today's strike on school kids, families, people trying to get to work or appointments has made that plain," he said.
"The ACT government has to look after the people who provide the service, so they can look after all the people who rely on it. Particularly as we look to increase the number of drivers and services in 2025."
