State Member for Wallsend, Ms Sonia Hornery MP, has called on the NSW Transport Minister to explain why local students from Cardiff and Glendale have had their school bus taken away, but students from a private school in Sydney have had their ferry reinstated.
Students who attend Hunter Sports High School will now be forced to take 2 buses and an additional 30 minutes to travel to school after Transport for NSW refused to fund a local school bus.
From February 8, the school bus run by Hunter Valley Buses will cease and students will be forced to take 2 buses, which will add around 30 minutes to their travel time.
Ms Hornery has written to the Minister to ask him why local public school students have lost this necessary service when students at a private school in Sydney had their ferry service saved so that they didn’t have an additional 20 minute bus ride to get to school.
“The Minister needs to come clean on this one and explain why there is one rule for private school students and another for public school students,” Ms Hornery said.
“Cutting this service will now see students take twice as long to get to school or parents forced to drive their children to school on already congested local roads.
“Last week the Minister saved a ferry service in Sydney so that private school children wouldn’t have to take a bus and an extra 20 minutes to get to school.
“What is the difference here Minister? Why save a service for private school children but not for public school children?
“With limited public transport options right around the Wallsend electorate, we need to ensure our children are getting to school as quickly and safely as possible.
“I will be making this a priority when Parliament resumes next week and the Minister will be hearing from me again on this issue,” said Ms Hornery.