The long-awaited dedicated bus service for Jordan Springs Public School (JSPS) has been delivered and students got to test it out last week.
The new service will start picking up students from day one of Term 4 starting in two weeks’ time and to make sure it was up to scratch a select group of students got to take a test drive.
The students were joined by the Deputy Premier and Minister for Western Sydney Prue Car and Minister for Transport Jo Haylen who worked to get the service up and running.
Haylen said that delivering this new service is going to give the community a safe trip to school.
“Get your student Opal cards at the ready, a new bus service is coming! This will be a safe, convenient and accessible journey to and from school on public transport every day of the week,” Haylen said.
“When we came to Government, there were a number of schools across NSW where the demand for school buses was not being met.
“We’re taking a responsible, staged approach to delivering the transport service communities need.”
The new bus will serve students travelling to Jordan Springs Public School from Lakeside Parade opposite Landsborough Street and from Edge Pocket Park, Jordan Springs.
The bus will operate in the morning as Route 4166 which will depart from Edge Pocket Park at 8.25am and will arrive at JSPS at 8.41am and in the afternoons as Route 4666 departing from JSPS at 3.00pm and will arrive at Edge Pocket Park at 3.15pm.
School kids can use their student Opal cards for free travel.
Car said she heard the community’s call for the service and is proud to see it realised.
“The community was calling out for this bus and now it will be ready to roll next term,” Car said.
“I want to thank the parents, teachers and students of JSPS for their advocacy. It’s not lost on me how much this new service will mean.
“This crucial new bus will not only support students get safely to and from school every day but will also help alleviate pressure and congestion on local roads.”
President of the JSPS P&C Kylie Thomas, who has been a strong advocate for the dedicated service, said the service is welcomed by the community.
“It’s one of those situations where you fought for something, you knew that it needed to be there, so you championed for something and then to be actually able to see it come to fruition in the same year is exceptional,” Thomas said.
Thomas said she expects the service to be warmly welcomed by parents and students when next term rolls around.
“The feedback from the community has been extremely positive… The impact is a lot bigger than we first thought when the issue was raised,” she said.
“It makes me extremely proud of the fact that the P&C was able to do it as well and be part of that and it just shows the importance of what a P&C can actually have impact on.”
Emily Chate
Emily Chate joined The Western Weekender in 2024, and covers local news - primarily courts and politics. A graduate of the University of Wollongong, Emily has contributed to The Daily Telegraph and worked as a freelance journalist.