WALLSEND MP Sonia Hornery is calling for changes to school bus routes in Fletcher after a student was hit by a car last month trying to catch a public bus in order to get dropped off closer to home.
Ms Hornery moved a Notice of Motion in State Parliament on Wednesday calling on Transport Minister Andrew Constance to overhaul the school bus system operating from Callaghan College Wallsend.
She says school bus routes have not kept up with housing developments that have opened up in Fletcher.
Ms Hornery said she had been working with Hunter Valley Buses over the past few years to provide additional services but Transport for NSW was yet to approve any changes. The Newcastle Herald reported on overcrowding issues on buses at the school back in 2015.
She said school buses in the afternoon had become so packed, that students had been walking a number of blocks away from the school to catch a public bus in order to try to guarantee a seat.
The Labor MP was backed by Fletcher's Rob Taylor, whose 13-year-old son Theo was hit by a car last month when he was running to a public bus stop for the journey home after school. The year 8 student had to have a month off school because of the injuries he sustained.
"There's a range of issues with the buses," he said. "You've got 1100 kids all at 3pm darting across roads, all the buses are full; it's an accident waiting to happen."
Mr Taylor said students of three new estates in Fletcher preferred catching a public bus as it went through the estates, where as the dedicated school bus stopped on the main road outside them.
He said both school and public buses in the afternoon were standing-room only.
Parts of the Wallsend electorate are growing, but infrastructure and services are not keeping pace.
Sonia Hornery
"Parents are frustrated that their children are unable to get a bus in some of the newer parts of Fletcher and are venting their frustration when their child misses a bus in the afternoons because they are full or overcrowded," Ms Hornery said.
There are also concerns about how long students have to wait for buses after school and a push for the 261 public bus to pick up kids from outside the school.
In March, the NSW government committed to introducing 14,000 additional services in Sydney and outer metropolitan areas over the next four years. However it is understood they are assessed against competing priorities across the network.
"Transport for NSW is discussing possible changes to route 261 with Hunter Valley Buses," a spokesperson said. "We will continue to monitor services in the Fletcher area and consider service improvements as required."
Ms Hornery said Callaghan College was already "at capacity" and hundreds of homes would be built in Fletcher over coming years but infrastructure and services were not keeping up.
"This is not good enough and I am asking the minister to look into this and work with local parents and the school to get a system that works and doesn't put students lives at risk," she said.
