The principles of access to school buses that are provided by government pose systemic barriers in remote areas as there is a requirement for minimum numbers of students in order to ‘justify’ or ‘qualify’ for provision of a bus service. This number being six. On our bus run we have five pupils at the current time. In the absence of this bus provision, school children will then dependent on parents to drive them to school and this is extremely problematic for the families on our run. In rural areas where numbers are significantly scarcer than our city counterparts, the Department of Transport and Main Roads are placing an unrealistic expectation on the minimum number of pupils on the run. Rural communities are statistically smaller and reducing in size and policies should be reflective on that to best support and continue to support our children.

The families on the “Gibber Gunyah” bus run have offered to pay for a mythical sixth child to help in assisting you to justify our bus run. This offer has been denied, as it is “policy”.

We depend on the great service that we have to get our children to and from school on time and safely. Do not disadvantage our children by taking away this service at the end of term 1, 2016!