The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has joined New South Wales with the launch of its inaugural Bus Safety Week.
ACT transport minister Chris Steel and education and youth affairs minister Yvette Berry officially launched Canberra’s Bus Safety Week last week at Lyneham High School where students filmed a bus safety commercial 35 years ago.
“Bus Safety Week is an opportunity to remind Canberrans, particularly students, to stay safe on and around buses,” Steel says.
“Every week Canberra’s bus fleet travels more than 555,000 kilometres, with our bus drivers doing all they can to keep our community safe.
“However, they also rely on people doing the right thing. The safety messages of today are no different to those from the Bus Safety commercial filmed with Lyneham High students in 1989.”
“This means waiting until the bus has left before crossing the road, never crossing in front of buses where other road users can’t see you and avoiding distractions when moving around bus interchanges and crossing roads.”
Berry says last year saw more than three million trips for school students across Canberra’s bus network.
“It’s really important that students can get to school and get around our city safely,” Berry says.
“Bus Safety Week is a great chance to have a discussion at home and at school about travelling safely.”
During the week, the ACT government re-released the Lyneham High School commercial while it also launched a bus with safety messaging.
Canberra’s Bus Safety Week forms part of the ACT government’s 2024 Road Safety Program. The ACT government says the programs seeks to remind people that road safety is everyone’s responsibility.