St Virgils Catholic College students abandoned on busy road after being kicked off by driver

A driver has been suspended after students at a Southern Tasmanian school were ordered off a bus and told to walk. Here’s what the school said.

A Kinetic bus. Picture: Wayne Taylor

A bus driver has been stood down pending an investigation as to why students at a southern Tasmanian school were “placed in a potentially dangerous situation” when he stopped the bus and told them to get off.

Bus company Kinetic general manager for Tasmania Andrew Grzinic said another bus was deployed to collect the students who were travelling from Howrah to St Virgil’s, a Catholic boy’s college at Austins Ferry on Tuesday.

“The bus driver involved in the incident was stood down immediately while an investigation takes place into why the students were placed in a potentially dangerous situation,” he said.

“We take the safety of all passengers seriously, in particular students and young people.”

St Virgil’s Catholic College at Austins Ferry has described the situation as “unacceptable”.

An irate parent who contacted the Mercury said he believed the bus was full with about 60 students onboard and it was appalling the students had been abandoned with many walking 3km arriving at school at 9.20am.

St Virgils Catholic College email from principal.

St Virgils Catholic College email from principal.

“I can’t believe a bus company is able to hold tenders for school bus services when they clearly can’t provide them safely,” the parent, who did not want to be named said.

“I presume someone must have been misbehaving but that’s not really the way to handle it.”

St Virgil’s principal Jon Franzin said about 9am the college was made aware that “students on the outsourced Kinetic Bus run from Howrah, were made to walk the remaining distance to school from Claremont College”.

“The College views this course of action from Kinetic as unacceptable and is currently working with Kinetic senior management to ensure that this type of incident does not occur in the future,” he said.

St Virgils College blazer

“The service to Howrah will resume this afternoon after assurances were provided from Kinetic that no further disruptions will occur to this service.”

Parents were emailed about the incident and urged to contact the school if they had questions or concerns.

The parent said he believed it was not the usual bus driver on Tuesday’s run from Howrah.

“I guess the thing is that we put the care of our children in the hands of that bus driver, they would have a working with vulnerable people card to work with children.

“I would have preferred he pulled over and called the school or the bus company and said ‘I’m not moving this bus until someone comes or whatever else’,

“He could have even called the police if he was worried.

“There’s a danger to any of them possibly, like crossing the Austins Ferry Main Rd, it’s a pretty busy road.

“When we buy the bus ticket, I don’t think it says we can kick your son off at any time.”

Other parents, he said, were also disappointed and upset over the incident. The bus company contacted pareents to update them.

“The College views this course of action from Kinetic as unacceptable and is currently working with Kinetic senior management to ensure that this type of incident does not occur in the future,” Mr Franzin said.

“The service to Howrah will resume this afternoon after assurances were provided from Kinetic that no further disruptions will occur to this service.”

Parents were emailed about the incident and urged to contact the school if they had questions or concerns.

Originally published as St Virgils Catholic College students abandoned on busy road after being kicked off by driver