Mrs Powell’s children Cody, 13, and Charlotte, 10, attend Goulburn Valley Grammar School, and catch a Shepparton town bus to and from school each day.
Getting to school is fine, as they catch a bus directly from close to their home in Kialla to school, but in the afternoon they have to change buses at the Shepparton bus exchange in Skene St, Shepparton.
Mrs Powell said the introduction this year of free public transport for children under 18 in Victoria had meant there were more children now travelling on buses, and she had been told by a bus co-ordinator that if the bus was full her child “will have to find an alternate way”.
Previously parents had to register their children to travel on buses, so it was known how many buses would be needed, but now they only need a youth myki card, and the number of students catching buses is no longer really known.
“So I have a 10-year-old who could have to just stand on the side of the road in Shepparton (if they can’t get a seat on a bus),” Mrs Powell said.
“I get to 4pm and I’m like a barrel of nerves waiting for a phone call.”
Thankfully, so far she has not needed to leave work in Shepparton East to go to collect either of her children, but that doesn’t stop her daily worry.
“My kids are 10 and 13. To be stranded, they would panic,” she said.
Mrs Powell is among a number of Greater Shepparton residents calling for the Victorian Government to do a school bus centre review for Shepparton to ensure there are enough bus services for the needs of the town.
State Member for Shepparton Kim O’Keeffe has raised the matter in parliament and called on the government and Public and Active Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams for a review for her electorate — something she said had not been done for 16 years.
“My office has been contacted by concerned families and schools across the Shepparton district electorate regarding the lack of capacity on existing school routes and the increased capacity following the government’s introduction of free public transport for children under 18,” she said.
“Whilst free public transport for children under 18 is welcomed, we need to ensure that there is a process of how this will be managed and to ensure that students will be able to get a seat on a bus.”
Ms O’Keeffe said last year the government listed Shepparton as a potential school bus centre for review as part of the School Bus Centre Review Program.
She said this review should be a priority following the government’s announcement of free public transport for children under 18.
“Parents are contacting my office deeply concerned that their children are at risk of being left behind at bus stops once a bus is at full capacity,” Ms O’Keeffe said.
“For working families and students travelling from surrounding towns and isolated areas, there are often no alternative transport options.
“It has been well over 15 years since we last had a bus service review, and since this time our region has experienced significant growth.”
