Calls for review of bus service

Overcrowding at heart of problem

MORE than two years since Translink rolled out its new bus timetable, hundreds of people in Crows Nest are still unhappy with the service.

About 600 people signed a petition to review the bus services from Crows Nest and Highfields to Toowoomba, which will be tabled in State Parliament on March 26.

Crows Nest mum Joanne Brackenbury said issues with the timetable and overcrowding were causing safety issues for school children.

“Our school bus ends up extremely over crowded by the time it reaches Cabarlah, you have anywhere between 12-17 kids standing on the bus along a 100km/h stretch of highway,” she said.

She said the changes to the services in June 2017 meant kids could be spending up to three and a half hours per day travelling to and from school.

Up until two years ago, Mrs Brackenbury said there were two bus services that left Crows Nest around 7.10am.

“To us parents it’s a simple fix - bring back the 7.10am 301 public bus that can drop kids into Toowoomba which will then allow the 302 School Bus to depart Crows Nest half an hour or more later, for all the kids that go to schools in the Highfields area, or give us a second school bus.”

Mrs Brackenbury also said there were two days where the school bus simply did not turn up at all, and students had to catch the public bus home.

A Translink spokesman said Bus Queensland had advised TransLink of recent improvements implemented to better manage capacity on school services from Crows Nest.

“TransLink is aware of two Route 302 buses that ran late due to operational issues on March 1 and 4, 2019 and has discussed these issues with Bus Queensland,” he said.

“TransLink will continue to monitor and review the efficiency of services implemented on 19 June 2017.”