Rouse Hill Anglican students hope their days of bus delays and no shows will be a thing of the past

FRUSTRATED parents of students who are getting consistently late T75 buses from Rouse Hill Anglican College say it will get worse if the problem is not sorted out now.

Matt Caesar, Jarrod Parker, Varun Rathakrishnan, Ben Caesar, Daniel Caesar from Rouse Hill Anglican College at the bus stand in Glenwood. Pictures: Phil Rogers

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FRUSTRATED parents of students who are getting consistently late T75 buses from Rouse Hill Anglican College say it will get worse if the problem is not sorted out now.

Angela Parker’s son Jarrod has come home late several times this year and his mother said on at least four occasions, the T75 bus did not even turn up in the afternoon.

However, following our inquiries with Transport NSW and Busways, a positive solution could soon be on its way to resolve the problem.

Transport for NSW said they are aware of the problem and working with Busways on “possible solutions” as soon as possible.

Rouse Hill Anglican College principal Peter Fowler said Busways had also changed the timetable without prior notice, causing more problems.

“The college has had an ongoing issue with the afternoon T75 Blacktown Service for quite some time with the frequent late arrival of the service to collect students in the afternoon and, on a number of occasions, the bus not arriving at all,” Mr Fowler said.

Ms Parker said the bus delays have been happening for the past two years.

“It’s getting worse with all the construction going around the new railway line,” she said.

“We have been speaking to Busways since it started and they always tell us that they passed it on the rescheduling department, without any result for us.

“We have had enough as the school has also spoken to Busways about the problem.

“However, Busways has just informed us that they have a new timetable but we will wait and see.”

Jarrod finishes school at 3.30pm and has to wait nearly 40 minutes for the T75 to picks him and other students for the trip home.

“Several times the bus only arrives after 4.30pm or 4.45pm and being only 11 years old, it is not easy on him as he comes home late and goes straight to his home work,” Ms Parker said.

A Transport for NSW spokesman admitted the T75 service “unfortunately been impacted at different times by delays” at the level crossing in Riverstone and construction around Schofields and Rouse Hill.

“We understand that this has been frustrating for parents and students,” the spokesman said.

“We are working with Busways on possible solutions, which include making adjustments to existing services departing Rouse Hill Anglican College to provide students with alternative options.

“We plan to implement changes as soon as possible and will communicate with the school before they are introduced.”

Rouse Hill Anglican College principal Peter Fowler said they understand that managing bus timetables is a very complicated process and this also requires co-ordination with state government authorities.

“But we would be grateful for a positive outcome to this ongoing problem for a good number of our families,” Mr Fowler said.

“The college frequently calls Busways to inquire about the late arrival of the service, and have been told that roadworks associated with significant developments along the bus route are the cause of the late arrival of the bus.

“Without prior notice or discussion with the college, earlier this year Busways issued a new timetable which scheduled this particular service ten minutes later that it had previously been scheduled.

“Despite this, the service still runs chronically late, which means that students are unnecessarily delayed in their trip home. Particularly during the winter months, this means that students are arriving home when it is dark.