State Member for Wallsend, Ms Sonia Hornery MP, has called for sanity to prevail after it was revealed that recent changes to the Newcastle Buses timetables and routes would lead to school children being unable to get to school.
Ms Hornery has written to the Minister for Transport asking for him to intervene after dozens of calls from irate and upset parents who are unable to find a way to safely get their children to school.
Buses that previously went past schools at convenient times for students have now been rerouted and rescheduled.
Quotes attributable to Member for Wallsend, Sonia Hornery
“This is just another example of a botched rollout of the new so called world class transport system.”
“Keolis Downer released the new school routes and timetables on Wednesday and my email, phone and social media has since been in meltdown with worried parents who are discovering that getting their children to school has become very difficult.”
“What Keolis Downer has forgotten is that not every child can get a school bus and many rely on catching a public bus route to get to school.”
“They removed so many bus routes that used to takes students past or near their school.”
“Students now face having to catch multiple buses or cross major roads unsupervised.”
“I am calling on the Minister for Transport to intervene and ensure sanity prevails here. Some of these services need to be reinstated so students are not left stranded and unsupervised trying to get to school.”