Gong shuttle drivers and the Transport Workers Union want an extra bus to alleviate the demands of what the union has said is an "unrealistic" timetable.
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The campaign, called Don't Blame The Driver, Give Us Another Bus, aims to draw further attention to the difficulties of the Gong Shuttle timetable.
"It's saying the timetable for bus drivers is just unrealistic, TWU Illawarra secretary Nick McIntosh said at the Gong Shuttle's University of Wollongong stop.
"They're told you've got to keep doing a 40-minute loop and on some occasions you've got to do that seven times in a row without a break.
"For instance, you've got to pull up here, drop passengers off, pick them back up and leave within 60 seconds."
The existence of a timetable has been a confusing issue for Transport for NSW. At first a spokesman said there was no such thing but, after being shown a copy, replied it was "not determined or produced by Transport for NSW".
Mr McIntosh said an extra bus would reduce the pressures on drivers to stay behind the wheel for hours at a time.
"It'd be the same loop but you could actually build into the timetable proper rest breaks," he said.
"So every couple of hours you could have a five-minute break where a driver could pull in, get a drink of water, go to the bathroom and come back and get back into the bus.
"Right now, you've just got to keep doing this constant loop. Another bus would allow you to build in that rest break."
One of the Gong Shuttle drivers, who wished to remain anonymous, said the timetable demands were "unreasonable".
"You've got seven laps of 40 minutes, and there's no doubt you're going to be late because you need to go to the toilet within those four and a half hours, and you've got hydrate yourself," the driver said.
The driver said the timetable meant they couldn't afford to wait for people running after the bus, or pulling away from a stop before people are seated to make up time.
Trying to stick to the timetable also led to drivers being abused.
"People throw things at the bus because you didn't stop and pick them up or you're going past the bus stop and not picking them up because you're running late and have no-one to set down," the driver said.
A Transport for NSW spokesman declined to say whether the government would supply another bus to Gong Shuttle operator Premier Illawarra for the route.
‘‘The rostering of drivers is a matter for bus companies,’’ the spokesman said.
‘‘Transport for NSW expects all operators to provide safe working conditions for all their staff.
The spokesman also said Transport for NSW monitors the performance of all bus services to make sure they’re meeting customer needs.
‘‘The free Gong shuttle runs to a 10-minute frequency but at times it may not meet this frequency due to road works or traffic congestion,’’ the spokesman said.
