School bus 'victory' for The Bower, Medowie residents as government backflips on decision

The parents and carers of at least 10 primary school aged children - some as young as five - who travel to school each day by bus from Medowie to Raymond Terrace say they are relieved that common sense has prevailed.

After having met with some of the families last week, the Examiner contacted Transport for NSW in relation to the omission and received a response on Monday - the first day back to school.

"TfNSW is finalising a review of routes with the local bus operator CDC Hunter Valley Buses following community requests to extend St Brigid's Raymond Terrace bus services to support the new Bower estate community in Medowie," the spokesperson said.

"The extended service starts [Tuesday], with the updated timetables to be published as soon as possible."

Prior to this decision, school children living in The Bower estate and attending St Brigid's catholic primary school were being forced to walk 4.6km per day to catch the closest bus service to and from school.

"Thanks so much to the residents who have been so important in getting our voice heard and finally securing a bus to come into the estate for children who attend St Brigid's at Raymond Terrace," said Cath Magin, a mother of two children aged six and seven who attend St Brigid's.

"I absolutely love the support that this community provides and I am proud to be called a Bower resident. Well done to all for taking up the fight and winning."

The residents said they were grateful for the support and lobbying provided by their Port Stephens State Member of Parliament, Kate Washington.

"I was happy to fight on behalf of these families. It made no sense that other students living at The Bower estate could catch a bus out the front of their homes, but St Brigid's students could not," Ms Washington said.

"The government has finally listened to local families, and these children won't have to walk nearly 5km a day to catch the bus.

"The chaotic and messy school bus arrangements in Medowie are a symptom of a much larger problem - we have no local public high school. The sheer logistics of moving hundreds of students in every direction to get to school is a nightmare which affects all families.

"To fix the mess, the NSW Government needs to keep its promise and build a public high school in Medowie."

Some of the concerned Bower families included Cath Magin and her children Fraser, seven, and Chester six; Tuppence Lewins and her two children Pippah, aged 10, and seven-year-old Stella; Rhianna Gannon and her 10-year-old son Lucas; and Robert and Calla Petrellis, who also have two children attending St Brigid's Jaxson, 10, and Mia, seven.

On Friday they told the Examiner that they felt they had been ignored by the NSW government who regulate school bus services throughout the state.

"It seems the department thinks it acceptable for a five-year-old, carrying a school bag or backpack, to walk up to 4.6km (2.3km each way) to the closest bus stop," Ms Magin had said.

"Other school bus routes for children attending Medowie Christian and Irrawang High schools come in though this estate, but not St Brigid's. This is a major safety issue.

"There are a number of local families affected, at least six families with 10 children living in The Bower that I know of. We have contacted Hunter Valley Buses, Transport for NSW, and our State MP Kate Washington wrote to the Minister for Transport on our behalf."

Ms Magin said that many Medowie families were sending their children to Raymond Terrace because St Brigid's feeds its students into the newly opened Catherine McAuley Catholic College.

"It is a 2.3km walk each way to the nearest bus stop in Kirrang Drive, which for an adult is around a 25 minute walk, equating to over half an hour each way for a primary school aged child.

"The morning bus then takes more than an hour - leaving at 7.44am and arriving at the school at 8.47 - added to the 30 minute walk becomes a 90 minute trip each way."

Parents also raised concerns about the safety aspect with children walking alone across the Medowie footpath surrounded by bushland.

"We regularly go bike riding along there but there's no way I would be asking my children to walk the path alone," Ms Magin added.

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