BYFORD SECONDARY COLLEGE JARRAHDALE SCHOOL BUS SERVICE
237. Mr P.J. RUNDLE to the Minister for Transport:
I have a supplementary question. The
government is sitting on a $5 billion surplus. Why has the minister not
considered providing an additional service or at least maintaining those
current services, as opposed to cancelling the existing services and hoping
that Transperth can actually ensure that all students get to school safely?
Ms R.
SAFFIOTI replied:
There will be an expansion of the
Transperth bus services to ensure that the schools are covered. But we
understand that community does not like
change and we understand that with the traditional bus services versus new bus
services there is always going to be resistance or a concern about
change. Many schoolchildren across Western Australia use Transperth bus
services to get to school and I think they do so in a safe manner, as well.
There are many thousands of children across the suburbs who use Transperth bus
services. The idea that they are somehow unsafe is not an idea that I want to
endorse or enforce in any way, shape or form. Of course, as ministers we
understand that when there is change, in
particular when it relates to bus services, whether it is a bus route or a bus
stop, or the change from a more rural-type bus service to a Transperth
bus service, there is always concern and hesitation. We understand there needs
to be a transition in that, and that is the live discussion that I am having
with the member for Darling Range.