Parents have criticised a dangerous bus stop used by Doreen teenagers to get to St Helena Secondary College in Eltham North.
Parent Rebecca Sharkie said the bus did not go into Doreen, forcing parents to drive a few kilometres to the bus stop at the intersection of Yan Yean and Bridge Inn roads.
“The bus stop has no shelter, it’s muddy and it is on a very busy road with cars doing 80 km/h. And with the foggy mornings obscuring vision, it is an accident waiting to happen.”
She said her son was a former student of Acacia College, which closed last year, and like a number of former students had chosen St Helena.
Danielle Green, the member for Yan Yean, said Yan Yean and Bridge Inn roads had high volumes of traffic and no footpaths, bike paths or pedestrian crossing. “There is no safe area for parents to park and drop off their children in an 80 km/h zone.”
She said that by 2016 there would be almost 4000 teenagers in Doreen, which did not have a secondary school. Ms Green has organised a petition urging action on the buses.
Public Transport Victoria spokeswoman Helen Witton said the bus went further north to the Yan Yean Road bus stop this year to meet demand resulting from the Acacia closure.
“PTV is now working with the City of Whittlesea and school bus operators on plans to upgrade the stop at Yan Yean Road,” she said.
“PTV is conducting a review of the St Helena, Whittlesea and Diamond Valley school bus networks in 2013 to ensure the needs of eligible students are met.”
She said students could catch Doreen’s public bus to get to the school bus stop.
