Children still being left alone at bus stops despite Daniel Morcombe murder

LESS than six months after the killer of Sunshine Coast schoolboy Daniel Morcombe was sentenced, a worrying trend is still putting children at risk.

09/12/2003 PIRATE: 09/12/2003 PIRATE: D/I School photograph of Qld missing person child youth Daniel Morcombe (l) with twin brother Bradley and Dean 09 Dec 2003. brothers Pic. Parkes Graeme Pic. Graeme Parkes Picture: Supplied

COMPLAINTS about children left at bus stops are escalating a decade after Daniel Morcombe’s abduction and murder forced a policy overhaul.

Despite a “No Child Left Behind’’ mandate, almost 2000 complaints have been received across southeast Queensland since 2012 about failure to pick up the most vulnerable passengers.

CATCHING THE DEVIL: Morcombe interactive special

MORCOMBES: Lessons still not learnt

In a spike Daniel’s father Bruce described as “staggering’’, 538 grievances were lodged in the first six months of 2014.

The statistics, obtained from TransLink by The Courier-Mail, almost matched annual figures from 2010 and 2011.

The Greater Brisbane zone attracted the greatest number of complaints.

Mr Morcombe, whose son was taken and killed by Brett Peter Cowan after a bus running late failed to stop for him at Woombye in December 2003, said there was no excuse for leaving a child behind.

He said the Daniel Morcombe Foundation office had also received reports of a number of incidents.

“This is staggering (the increase in complaints),” he said.

“It’s not an inadvertent error, it’s a systemic problem that needs to be corrected.’’

Safety App for kids

Bruce and Denise Morcombe launch an App called Help Me, which can track the location of a child in distress, send emergency texts and detail descriptions of suspicious cars or people.

Transport Workers Union assistant secretary Scott Connolly defended bus drivers, saying they did everything possible to get young people to school, or home, safely.

Mr Connolly blamed increased pressure linked to timetable and route changes that were designed to “save costs rather than properly service passengers’’.

“Timetables are tight, putting drivers under pressure,” he said. “The TWU continually raises this concern on behalf of our members.’’

Brisbane City Council declined to respond when asked how many drivers had been warned, counselled or dismissed for not following the child policy. Council also did not offer any reasons why the figures had climbed.

Gold Coast firm Surfside Buslines revealed there had been nine serious cases verified.

They included two where drivers failed to allow a child on board due to invalid tickets or insufficient fare.

A spokesman said about seven million children were carried safely on the service every year by the company’s professional drivers, but one child not picked up was one too many.

Complaints made to TransLink about failure to pick up/set down children from 2012 to June 30, 2014:

Greater Brisbane: 888 (221 in first six months of 2014)

Gold Coast: 481 (176 this year)

Northern (Moreton Bay): 172 (34 this year)

Southern (Logan): 125 (26 this year)

Sunshine Coast: 109 (32 this year)

Western (Ipswich): 102 (22 this year)

Eastern (Redland Bay): 90 (27 this year)

Total: 1967 (538 in first six months of 2014)

Source: TransLink

THE POLICY: No Child Left Behind. Bus drivers must stop for children, regardless of whether or not they have the money to pay their fare. Drivers’ obligations relating to children form a key part of their induction training and are included in refresher courses. Drivers are fully aware that failure to pick up a child may result in suspension or termination