By Ethan Benedicto
Settling into newer estates is bound to come with its own set of challenges, and for the residents of St Germain in Clyde North the lack of public transport options is a concerning factor.
For Lauren Ryan and her family, the biggest challenge has been getting her two children to school at Kambrya College on time.
While the traffic throughout Thompsons Roundabout and Soldiers Road already serves as a tough hurdle to jump, the infrequency of buses and the lack of a more direct route only add to the burden.
“So in the mornings, they would have to get a 7:58 am bus from here and take it down Thompsons Road, get off at Clyde Road – which I’m not the biggest fan of because of the traffic.
“The next bus at Clyde Road is supposed to come at 8:15 am, which if it came on time it would fine but the traffic in this area is an absolute nightmare.
“Most likely the bus comes after 8:30 every day and they need to be at school by 8:40, so they’re late every single day,” she said.
The 881 bus route just across St Germain Boulevard Park runs every 40 minutes, making travel times either too early or much too late for the family.
By the same token, the 888 bus on Berwick-Cranbourne Road runs every hour, with the next option after the 8:15 am service due at 9:11 am.
What is normally a 10-minute drive off-peak and a 20-minute journey during peak morning hours, is more than doubled when Ms Ryan’s children opt for public transport.
“They’re missing the start of classes and everything, so they get detentions if they’re late so you know, it puts stress on the girls,” Ms Ryan said.
Berwick MP Brad Battin, who had been in touch with the Ryan family and the Quint family whose children also attend Kambrya College, was unable to get any clarity on the issue from the Minister of Education late in March.
While there have been no updates on the efforts to get in touch with the Minister for Public and Active Transport, Mr Battin said that “a lack of bus service to get kids to school on time is just one of the many problems that people in the area are having to put up with”.
“For the Department and the Minister to think it is ok for a school child to spend 2 hours getting to school and 2 hours getting home, that just shows the lack of desire they have to fix the problem,” he said.
John Quint, whose daughter also attends Kambrya College said that while he is able to drop her off on certain days, it is “very problematic and unfortunately, there is no realistic way for her to get home”.
“Using the public transport planner app, you can see that to get from Kambrya College to our address is a journey of over 2 hours, split between three different buses with walks in-between bus stops and a total of 67 stops on the commute, it’s just crazy,” he said.
Ms Ryan is in a similar situation, with concerns of after-school travel times, and the winter weather in the coming months.
“We’re going into winter now, with rain, it’s cold, it’s windy and the bus comes late as well, I just don’t want them sitting around after school, “ she said.
While there are times Ms Ryan can drop her children off, it’s not effective since she’s “ had to actually change my whole work structure, I work at home for an hour and a half in the morning and then drive them sot school”.
“On the way home they just have to deal with it, if there were better bus services it might take people off the road,” she said.
For Mr Battin, more action from the state government is needed on public transport services in the Clyde North area.
“The demand is there, so it just needs some proper planning and the Allan Labor Government to stop talking and actually do something,” he said.
