A NEW school bus service is set to benefit Swansea families in the morning and afternoon school run.
Residents in Catherine Hill Bay, Nords Wharf, Cams Wharf and Murrays Beach have been advocating for better school transport for four years at St Patrick’s Primary School.
Catherine Hill Bay parent Matt Nicoll had spent eight years committed to the school drop-off and pick-up.
“It was always driving in early for drop off and leaving work early for pick up, it was a bit of a nightmare,” he said.
Despite two of his kids having now finished their primary education, his son is in year 3 and will benefit from the new bus service.
“The logistics of it is going to make a massive difference not just for me, but several families in the area,” he said.
For dad Tristan Pasco, it’s eliminated needing to send his six-year-old daughter Isla to outside of school hours (OOSH) care.
“Previously we’d drop her to school in the morning and she’d catch the OOSH bus service to OOSH and we’d pick her up in the afternoon after work around 5 or 6pm,” he said.
He said Isla was excited to catch the bus after school and get home at 3.30pm.
“It’s definitely been a game-changer in the afternoon. She can catch the bus, and it’s a 700m walk home. It’s an earlier afternoon for her,” he said.
The Catholic Schools Maitland-Newcastle Diocese was given approval to run the service to and from its St Patrick’s Primary School, and Port Stephens Coaches was awarded the tender for the 57-seat belted school buses.
She said prior to the bus service, families often asked if there was one.
“Having to say well no there’s not isn’t ideal. We actually opened up the school half-an-hour earlier in the morning to help parents if they were travelling through. It was a band-aid solution,” she said.
But after advocating for assistance to the local government and the Diocese, the need for a service was highlighted.
“We didn’t want to turn families away. We all worked together and it was agreed it’s within our best interest to be able to provide that service for our families,” she said.
“Knowing we’ve eased that pressure for families is really rewarding.”
The service will undertake two loops, morning and afternoon, via a Caves Beach OOSH Loop and a southbound Students Loop.
The OOSH loop will allow the bus to pick up and drop off OOSH students, with the bus driver waiting for a St Patrick’s staff member to sign students in and out and return them to the school.
The southbound loop will operate for students from the suburbs of Catherine Hill Bay, Nords Wharf, Cams Wharf, and Murrays Beach.
The OOSH loop service delivery will differ based on morning (second loop) and afternoon (first loop).
Parents and students can use the TransportMe App for a real-time view of where the bus is and boarding information.
Sourced herald article here: Swansea benefits from new bus service to St Patrick’s Primary | Newcastle Herald | Newcastle, NSW
