AN elderly Bundoora woman and her disabled adult daughter claim they have been left virtually housebound because of bus cutbacks.
They live together on Mill Park Drive where a bus used to stop three doors from their home, but since the bus service was axed they have had to rely on taxis.
Ann Feltis and her daughter, Annette, 58, who relies on a walking frame or wheelchair for longer distances, claim they are being discriminated against because the nearest bus service is too far away for Annette to get to. “I am 78 and Annette is mentally and physically handicapped,” Mrs Feltis said. “My daughter has medical and dental appointments and we now have to catch cabs.”
Mrs Feltis said there was a pathway that ran between houses from Mill Park Drive to McKimmies Road where there was a bus, but the path was too rough for Annette’s walking frame.
“Then in McKimmies Road there’s no pedestrian crossing nearby and we have to try and cross a very busy road and Annette is very slow.”
The women support the Bring Back the Buses Action Group, which last week staged a protest outside Parliament House.
Helen Said, the group’s spokeswoman, said the elderly, disabled, people without cars and parents with toddlers and school children had been disadvantaged by bus cuts.
“They now have to walk further, change buses more often and cross busier roads. Many elderly people have become housebound because they cannot walk the extra distance to catch a different bus,” she said.
Ms Said put Liberal members, Planning Minister and Northern Metropolitan MLC Matthew Guy, and Northern Metropolitan MLC Craig Ondarchie on notice.
“If they don’t assist us, then they may become targets for protests,” she said.
The group wants the state government to reinstate buses, including the 563 and 571 services in Epping, Mill Park and Bundoora, and the 561 bus stops in East Reservoir and Westfield Plenty Valley services.
