Students at risk as late and overcrowded Gold Coast school bus leaves kids stranded regularly

PARENTS of students at a Gold Coast school claim their children are regularly left stranded on the side of a busy road because buses arrive late and are too crowded to take them.

Skye O'Dwyer and daughter Amber Jones (16) (2nd from left in white) at Waverly Drive, Willowvale. School buses have been arriving late, overcrowded and leaving students behind on the side of the road on the way to Pimpama State Secondary School. Photo by Richard Gosling

PARENTS of students at Pimpama State Secondary College claim their children are regularly left stranded on the side of a busy road because buses arrive late and are too crowded to take them.

Skye O’Dwyer, mother of year 12 student Amber Jones, said she had complained 12 times to the school, Surfside buses and TransLink late last year about students being left waiting on Waverley Rd in Willowvale, even meeting with school officials to discuss her concerns.
“No one is doing anything about it,” she said.

“The school and the bus company were aware of the issue at the end of last year and no one is taking any responsibility even though they had plenty of time before the start of the new school year.

Amber Jones was left behind by an overcrowded bus. Photo by Richard Gosling

“To be constantly late is one thing, but to just leave children on the side of a busy road with no one coming back to get them is unacceptable, it’s not a safe road.

“I can’t help but think something bad has to happen to one of the kids before something is done.”

The concerned mum said she had to drop her daughter to school last week after a bus drove past full, only to return later to see children still waiting for another bus well after school had started.
“They are just sitting there waiting after the bus just drives past. Some have waited until after 10am for another bus and then they just have to walk home,” she said.

“I walked three children back home because it was clear another bus wasn’t coming. Luckily their grandmother was home, but so many parents work so they have no other option.”

Ms O’Dwyer said her daughter Amber had not been on time once this school term.

“It’s not fair on the kids,” she said.

Skye O'Dwyer and daughter Amber Jones (16) are fed up students are getting left behind by overcrowded buses. by Richard Gosling

“They get punished for being late because the school bus can’t get them there on time, if at all.”

Another parent, Delia Lowton, who has daughters at the school said her kids were “refused entry” on the afternoon bus home because it was full.

“The driver literally closed the door in their face,” she said.

“We’ve been driving them in the morning to avoid them being stranded but we can’t keep doing that, it’s affecting the rest of the family.”

Minister for Education Grace Grace said while the safety of the students was “paramount”, the onus was on individual schools to ensure bus services had sufficient capacity.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said he was concerned by complaints about the bus service.

“I totally expect TransLink and the bus companies will work with schools to rectify the situation quickly,” he said.

“I was concerned to see reports of overcrowding but the northern Gold Coast is experiencing large amounts of population growth at the moment and it is pretty normal for TransLink and the bus companies to track how they are going in those first weeks of school.

“It is an estimation of services in terms of proportions to kids who do and do not use buses and they will generally make adjustments to service levels based on the performance in that first week or two.”

Pimpama State Secondary College principal John Thornberry said the northern corridor had experienced significant population growth.

“This is an issue a lot of schools in growth areas are facing,” he said.

“TransLink are the body for adding additional services, and I have been in contact with Surfside. I have a meeting with Michael Crandon and Surfside on Friday to discuss additional overflow buses.”

A TransLink spokesman said the department and Surfside had been made aware of issues on some school bus routes.

“Surfside will investigate to identify which routes and stops are impacted and will work with TransLink to provide a solution,” the spokesman said.

“Services to start the school year are provided based on forecast demand. Minor changes to timetables are always made in the first few weeks of the school year as school enrolments and demand for services are finalised.

“Surfside has been in contact with schools impacted by overcrowding and advised additional buses will be dispatched to collect children.

“When a bus reaches its capacity, the driver calls for a back-up bus to be sent to ensure no children are at risk of not being picked up.

“Safety is our number one priority and every incident reported involving a child is treated seriously and investigated thoroughly.

“Almost 30 million school-aged trips are made across SEQ each year with about 600 operators work to ensure more than 2000 school buses services are in operation.”