Busways has come to the rescue recently, providing a bus for a unique few situations during emergency services training.
NSW operator Busways has come to the rescue in early May, helping the NSW State Emergency Service (SES) and Fire And Rescue (FRNSW) by providing a bus for its 2023 State Road Crash Rescue Symposium at Coffs International Stadium.
Busways says safety is one of its top priorities, leading to the operator loaning a bus to assist an emergency services team training in the Heavy Vehicle Stabilisation and Relocation segment of the symposium.
This section of the symposium saw rescue crews gain first-hand training on how to shut down a bus that had been involved in a bus incident.
James Boland from State Rescue Challenge highlighted the importance of an effective emergency response to a bus incident, as many vulnerable people catch buses, such as elderly citizens and school children.
“The complexity and difficulty of successfully navigating a bus emergency response is higher and can be more stressful than navigating an incident involving a car,” Boland says.
“The ability to use a Busways bus for a real-life demonstration gave our on-road rescuers exposure to situations they may face in real life. The rescuers got training to see all the functions of a bus, how it works, the substructure of the bus and the techniques they can employ. It gives our crews practical training which leads to better outcomes for the community.”
More than 150 people from the SES, FRNSW and the Volunteer Rescue Association NSW (VRA) participated at the Symposium.
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Busways Work Health and Safety Manager Joanne Edwards says safety training for both Busways’ own team and community response crews is a key component to improve safety for everyone.
“This is a really crucial topic and the symposium was quite timely as we are now in National Road Safety Week, which reminds all road users to act safely on our roads,” Edwards says.
“Busways keenly supports emergency response in our operating regions with planning, training, preparedness and participation.
“That includes training events like the symposium, as well as hosting fire crews training at our depots for safely handling electric fleet in Western Sydney and hybrid buses in Adelaide.”
Edwards says Busways has a seat at the table on local emergency service committees responding to floods and fires to help with these constantly evolving situations and support customer information and evacuation efforts where needed.
“We also support and would like to thank our great team of brave men and women who volunteer in emergency services units. Their selfless contributions are an important part of the fabric of our community,” Edwards says.
“For example, Port Macquarie Busways driver Sereena Ward gave up her time to train at the NSW State Road Crash Rescue Symposium – she’s been volunteering with the SES for 19 years!”