Students in Melton, Point Cook, Mt Atkinson, Clyde and Miners Rest will be able to access school bus services more easily, with new or improved school bus services set to start in the new year.
Ballarat will also see a change, with school specials servicing Miners Rest and Macarthur Park now connecting to Mount Rowan Secondary College.
In the first two terms of 2025, 15 new school specials will also be added to these growth areas.
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“This builds on the $730 million we’ve invested since 2014 to deliver thousands of new and improved bus services across the state,” public and active transport minister Gabrielle Williams says.
With a focus on Melbourne’s growing west, amidst a call for improved services by community, January will see students in Mt Atkinson and Deanside benefit from six new school specials servicing Mt Atkinson Estate, Grandview Estate, Olivia Estate and Deanside.
These will support students attending Rockbank Primary, Brookside P-9, Yarrabing Secondary College, Lakeview Senior College, Deanside Primary School and Springside West Secondary College.
Six new school specials will benefit students in Melton attending Staughton College, with two school specials linking students in Weir Views with the College being introduced from Term 1, and another four services connecting students in Brookfield, Cobblebank and Stathtulloh with Staughton College being rolled out in Term 2.
“Local parents and students across Melton and surrounding areas are set to benefit from better bus connections to schools,” member for Melton Steve McGhie says.
Also in the west, Point Cook students will get a new school special in Term 2 giving Sanctuary Lakes students more public transport options to Homestead Senior Secondary College, Alamanda K-9 College and Saltwater P-9 College.
“We’re giving Victorians parents and students what they need with better public transport including more buses to schools in Melbourne’s growing west,” member for Point Cook Mathew Hilakari says.
In Melbourne’s south-east, the start of the 2025 school year will see a new school special service introduced connecting students in Smiths Lane Estate in Clyde North to the new Wulerrp Secondary College.
Another new school special will be added in Term 2, connecting students in Smiths Lane and St Germain Estates to Kambrya Secondary College. Route changes are also being made to the existing school special services in the area to provide additional capacity for students attending Clyde Secondary College.
“We’re listening to local parents and students in Clyde North and giving them better school bus services to connect them to Kambrya, Wulerrp and Clyde Secondary Colleges,” member for Souther Eastern Metropolitan Region Michael Galea says.
In Ballarat, Term 1 will see school specials servicing Miners Rest and Macarthur Park now connecting to Mount Rowan Secondary College in response to local population growth and enrolment zone changes.
These latest improvements are part of a $25 million investment in the Victorian Budget 2022/23 to introduce, modify and extend school bus services across the state, initially focused on growth areas, which is already delivering better services for thousands of Victorian students.
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