SUBMISSION BY THE NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA – VICTORIA

TO THE REVIEW OF SCHOOL BUS SERVICES - 2000.

The National Party welcomes the opportunity to express its views on school bus services in Victoria. The majority of the 73,000 students accessing school buses reside in rural and regional Victoria. For many country students, school buses provide the only practical means of physically accessing educational facilities. An efficient and comprehensive school bus system is vital in enabling country students achieve their maximum educational potential.

The National Party believes that all students, whether they attend Government or non-Government schools should be given equal access to school bus services. We believe this should remain a free service. We recognise that in instances where a bus cannot pick-up students at a reasonable distance from their homes, a conveyance allowance should be paid. This allowance needs to more accurately reflect the real cost of transporting such students by private means.

The National Party believes there is further scope to improve safety issues associated with the operation of school buses. Further we believe the work performed by school bus network co-ordinators is undervalued.

These and other issues are discussed in more detail below.

The National Party is steadfast in its view that access to school bus services for eligible students should be at no cost to those students. (see below for a definition of eligible students). Victoria has always claimed to have a free public education system and part of that system involves travelling to and from school.

While it is sometimes claimed that students living in the metropolitan area need to purchase a public transport student pass to use public transport to travel to and from school, it needs to be noted that this pass provides unlimited free travel outside of school hours. In addition many holders of these passes do not satisfy the current eligibility criteria for a free service in that the vast majority live within 4.8km of their nearest appropriate school. It should also be noted that many students living in regional towns do not meet the existing eligibility criteria (4.8km rule) and pay to travel to and from school on a public route service.

The benefits of extended public transport services do not exist in rural and regional Victoria. There is no valid comparative argument to suggest that country students should pay to access school bus services.

2.  Eligible Students

The National Party believes free school bus services to the nearest appropriate school should be provided for all eligible students. To be deemed eligible a student must satisfy the following criteria: live 4.8km or more from the nearest appropriate school and attend a registered Government or non-Government school. OR be given authority by the Regional Manager to use the free bus service

The current bus regulations actively discriminate against families who choose to send one or more of their children to a non-Government school.

The National Party believes that it is time to end this discrimination and deem both Government and non-Government students attending their nearest appropriate school as eligible students for the purpose of accessing school bus services.

Criteria (ii) is necessary to enable non-school-age students, particularlypre-school, TAFE and University students, to access school bus services.

The National Party believes that educational opportunities for non-school-age Victorians should not be denied by limiting their access to publicly funded transport services. Where non-school-age students can demonstrate the need to be a regular user of a school bus service, the Regional Manager should have the flexibility to deem them eligible.

 

3. Nearest Appropriate School

The nearest appropriate school is a registered school and,:- is the nearest Government school providing primary or secondary education OR is the nearest non-Government school with a religious or cultural ethos OR is the nearest school of special education setting e.g. special school, alternative school OR is the nearest school providing a specialist facility e.g. facility for students with impairments such as deafness, schools providing accelerated learning programs OR is the nearest school as deemed appropriate by the Regional Manager

Some flexibility is required by the Regional Manager to determine individual considerations of appropriateness. This particularly applies to appropriateness on the grounds of curriculum provision. It also needs to accommodate common sense access to existing bus routes. For example where a bus passes a student’s home and leads to a school other than that student’s nearest, the student should not necessarily be disallowed access to that bus.

 

4. Student numbers for new and extended school bus services

The National Party generally supports the current guidelines that require the consideration of a new bus service when 15 eligible students require a service and the extension of a bus service when 5 eligible students require an extension.

However we believe that in the more remote areas of the State, provision of mini-bus services be considered. Such services could economically transport less than 15 students and be more flexible in extensions of the service.

We also believe that where eligible numbers fall below the minimum 15 and 5 for the last route stop, the service be maintained until the end of that current school year to avoid mid-year disruption, and enable consideration of student numbers for the following year before a final determination on the future of the service.

 

5. Route Services and Contract Services

There are many anomalies within the current school bus network. In some instances for historical reasons dedicated buses conveying non-Government school students are contracted services while other non-Government school students receive only a conveyance allowance. Some Government school students travel on public route services and pay fares. Some students travel to a school other than their nearest due to family reasons while others are refused access to route services which pass their front door because the destination is other than their nearest school.

The deeming of both Government and non-Government school students as eligible students provides an ideal opportunity to address many of these anomalies. The consideration of a single (Government and non-Government) school bus system potentially offers significant efficiency savings. It also provides the opportunity to provide greater parent choice of schools where families live equally distant from more than one Government school.

The National Party urges the review to deem both Government and non-Government students eligible for free school bus transport and use the opportunity to improve efficiencies and address anomalies in the existing system.

 

6. Conveyance Allowances

The deeming of non-Government school students as eligible students and the use of mini-bus services in remote areas will significantly reduce the number of conveyance allowances. However the National Party accepts there will also be situations where small student numbers will mean the provision of bus services is not possible and a greater number of instances where students live more than 4.8 km from the nearest bus route.

The National Party believes that for reasons of equity, conveyance allowances should be set at a variable rate. A scale of allowances could be set for students residing to the closest scale of distances from their nearest appropriate school at intervals of 4.8km, 10km, 15km, 20km, 25km etc …. .

We suggest an allowance that better reflects the true cost of parents transporting students by private vehicles to be:-

4.8 kms 10.0 kms 15.0 kms 20.0 kms 25.0 kms

$ 612 $1224 $1836 $2448 $3060

The rate is determined by the following:-

The basis for the calculation of these conveyance allowance rates is the National Party’s agreement with the Human Rights Commissioner’s inquiry into Rural and Remote Education, where Recommendation 7.8 in part said: "The allowance to be paid annually should be calculated at a rate of 15.3 cents per kilometre for two round trips daily".

The National Party believes these fairer conveyance allowance rates be paid per family rather than per student.

Further the National Party believed these rates should be adjusted annually to accommodate changes in the CPI.

The National Party urges the review to set conveyance allowances at a variable rate that better reflect the true cost of conveyance undertaken by parents.

 

The National Party supports the introduction of flashing lights on buses and bus stop upgrades.

The panel should also consider recommending changes to road rules that would require all vehicles to stop at bus stops when a school bus is stationary and the flashing lights are operating.

The National Party also believes that no children should be required to stand on a school bus on roads that have an 80 km or greater speed limit.

 

The National Party believe schools need to be better resourced to enable the school bus network co-ordinator to carry out the extensive duties associated with this position. These duties include the compilation and maintenance of bus rolls for both Government and non-Government school travellers, liaison with bus drivers and bus companies on a whole range of matters pertaining to the operation of bus routes. The network co-ordinator must also liaise with other schools being serviced by the network, with DEET, Department of Transport, VicRoads and Local Government on road conditions and safety matters. The co-ordinator also organises safety programs for bus travellers and is the first point of contact between parents and the school, and deals with student behaviour matters on buses.

The network bus co-ordinator’s job is not one a School Service Officer can undertake as it has a major emphasis on daily student management. The National Party submits that co-ordinating schools should be resourced according to the size and complexity of the network to give the bus co-ordinator position sufficient time to enable the task to be undertaken with the importance it deserves. We also feel it is not inappropriate to expect other schools forming part of the network to contribute to the administration of the network.

School bus network co-ordinating positions need to be better funded to reflect the complexity and responsibility of these positions.

 

Prepared and written by

PETER HALL M.L.C.
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EDUCATION,
TERTIARY EDUCATION, RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT
& MEMBER FOR GIPPSLAND PROVINCE
For and on behalf of the National Party of Australia –Victoria.