Fight to end over 1.5 hour waits for over-crowded school buses in Ripley Valley
Local MPs and the Ripley Valley community are calling for immediate improvements to public school bus services in response to growing concerns about overcrowding, safety risks, and its impact on student learning.
The combined enrolment of over 2,000 students across Ripley Valley State Primary and Secondary Schools is placing increasing pressure on the current bus services, which are no longer sufficient to meet the needs of the local student population.
It is becoming common to see significant overcrowding on buses leaving the schools with students standing right up to the doors and in many instances, students left behind. This is exacerbating the already colossal, up to 90-minute wait times that are regularly experienced by the students.
The hard-working teachers and support staff do a fantastic job educating our children, but the additional supervision required because of the lack of buses is well beyond what is expected and is burdening our frontline educators.
Bundamba MP, Lance McCallum and Ipswich MP, Jennifer Howard have spoken with Ripley Valley State Secondary College P&C President and the wider school communities and share their disappointment with the current situation with public transport around the schools.
Mr McCallum and Ms Howard have started a petition as part of the community campaign to improve public service to the Ripley Valley schools so local students won’t get left behind.
You can find their petition here.
Quotes attributable to the Labor Member for Bundamba Lance McCallum:
“Current school bus services in Ripley Valley are not acceptable for students, parents staff or the community.
“When students living less than 5 kilometres from their school are taking over two hours to get home, something is very wrong.
“This just isn’t on. We urgently need more buses.
“Calls for these desperately needed extra services have so far fallen on deaf ears, so we are taking the fight from the bus company all the way to the Transport Minister.
“People can sign our petition so we can get this fixed.”
Quotes attributable to the Labor Member for Ipswich Jennifer Howard:
“Currently buses are consistently overcrowded, which creates a serious safety hazard for our students with significant risks to their safety and wellbeing.
“After a full day in the classroom, our teachers are volunteering an extra hour and a half supervising students who are waiting for buses that should be there when school finishes.
“Ipswich deserves better. Ripley Valley is one of the fastest growing communities in the state, and we need local bus services to grow in line with our student population.”
Quotes attributable to Ripley Valley State Secondary College P&C President Sarah Yarham:
“We’ve been advocating for improvements, but nothing has been done yet.”
“It’s being compounded by the new estates on the other side of the school, we have houses going up everywhere all within our catchment area which adds too the number of students at our school.”
“Not having the buses servicing our local area is quite detrimental to our students safety.”
