DUNSBOROUGH mother Rae Hathaway says a number of parents “do not feel safe” putting their children on school buses from Dunsborough due to overcrowding and lack of seatbelts.
Mrs Hathaway said some parents were driving their children to school from Dunsborough to Busselton over safety concerns.
She said Vasse MP Libby Mettam had been supportive and would continue to push for school specific orange buses, however was critical of changes addressed by Ms Mettam because they were “not what were asked for”, citing a petition with more than 200 signatures in response to school bus safety issues.
“This is probably just a small step because we have asked for seatbelts on all buses, even those that are Public Transport Authority buses,” Mrs Hathaway.
“My child only started this year and I had heard that the buses were an issue, but I didn’t believe it would be true.”
“I just don’t understand how a Transperth bus that is 100 per cent occupied by school students and used as a school bus isn’t equipped with seatbelts and the same safety standards,” she said.
However, Mackillop Catholic College principal Chris Wallace threw his support behind Ms Mettam’s push for “critical” changes to overcrowded school buses.
Mr Wallace said the school held major concerns about students being “crammed” on to crowded buses.
Along with Georgiana Molloy Anglican School principal Ted Kosicki, Mr Wallace had written to Ms Mettam to speak about the issue.
“I understand that legally it was the quantity that the bus could have, but when you’ve got kids coming from Dunsborough standing on the steps of the bus, or at the front section that concerns me,” Mr Wallace said.
In the letter to Ms Mettam, Mr Kosicki and Mr Wallace outlined issues including students being three abreast on seats normally for two passengers, students standing in doorways/exits and young students having to stand for long periods of time.
A petition of 207 signatures was presented to Ms Mettam from the concerned school community.
Transport Minister Dean Nalder, confirmed after discussions with Ms Mettam the PTA would change school routes operating to and from Dunsborough from April 28.
The review will result in changes to the school bus routes operating in Dunsborough in an attempt to spread loading evenly amongst each bus.