by Tanya Steele
A new temporary school bus service has been established following several students being left stranded due to an overflow of passengers.
On Wednesday February 1, a group of around 15 students were left at the Yarra Glen bus shelter due to too many passengers on the Z24 service.
Dixon’s Creek parent Megan’s two children were not able to get on the bus, one of whom was starting year seven that day.
“My daughter had been excited to catch the bus to school for years and then it rocked up and the driver said ‘No, you can’t get on’,” she said.
The students left at the bus stop had to call parents to make other arrangements to get to school as the service was unable to cater for them.
Megan attempted to call both her school and the bus company but they were unable to offer assistance. She then notified her State Liberal Member for Eildon, Cindy McLeish, and started an online petition.
Ms McLeish took the matter to the State Government and by February 3 the temporary overflow service was provided.
“This is a small win for the Yarra Ranges community however, we are still in need of a permanent solution to ensure students can get to school safely, without any issues,” she said.
When the issue arose, the bus company notified the Department of Planning and Transport (DTP) and a spokesperson said they were concerned to hear of the incident.
“We were extremely concerned to hear reports from the bus company on route Z24 that some children were unable to be picked up due to a lack of space on one of the school bus services,” the spokesperson said.
The McKenzie’s Z24 is a backup service that has been in place since 2012 and funded by the Department of Planning and Transport. It runs from Healesville to Lilydale via Yarra Glen.
The service has an uncertain future despite regular services being unable to meet the requirements of the local community.
“Young year seven students on their first day of secondary school, kids with special needs and VCE students were all understandably upset and distressed at being left. They didn’t know what to do,” Ms McLeish said.
Secondary students from Dixons Creek, Yarra Glen and Coldstream commute to attend school and teachers at the schools have dealt with the issue for a number of years.
Mount Lilydale Mercy College Deputy Principal John Rodgers said it’s a recurring issue.
“It’s been an issue for a number of years, but especially at the start of the school term,” he said.
The overflow bus is often crowded or unable to meet requirements, especially at the beginning of the year when year seven students are beginning high school.
After being alerted to the issue the DTP has begun reviewing the current school-hour services in the area and added the extra bus whilst a longer term answer is looked into.
“An extra bus was put on to deal with the current capacity issue on the route and the Department is looking into the best longer term solution to prevent a similar situation arising in the future,” DPT spokesperson said.
“We addressed this as a matter of priority and apologise to the parents and children of those affected,” said the DTP spokesperson.
The temporary service has taken some of the pressure off for now and the DTP is organising an internal review.
