Parents hopeful vital school bus run to Cairns will be replaced
SCHOOL TRANSPORT
A group of Douglas parents remain hopeful their children will be able to continue and, in some cases, finish off their high school education in Cairns next year, after a local bus company announced it would be cancelling a vital school service.
FNQ Bus Lines confirmed a week ago it would no longer be providing the school run from Mossman and Port Douglas to St Monica’s College, St Augustine’s College, Cairns High and TAS White Rock in the 2023 school year.
Citing the low number of students who use the service, the company’s operations manager Mark Johnson said in an email to parents: “We have considered alternatives however we cannot find a viable solution.”
But parents say FNQ Bus Lines left it too late to raise the viability issue with them.
One mother, Charlie Madgwick, told Newsport that parents should have been told much earlier by the company that the service was losing money.
“If the bus service isn’t viable, why didn’t they put it to us, why didn’t they put it to the school and say, we can’t afford to run the service?” Ms Madgwick asked.
“They should have looked at possibly increasing the fees before they looked at cancelling it. Cancelling it is just not an option,” she said.
FNQ Bus Lines has responded to the parents’ objections and concerns, saying it had been reviewing the service and its viability for the past six months.
“With less students enrolling each year, we waited to see if there were new 2023 enrolments but there were none,” Mr Johnson told Newsport.
“This service is currently losing over $400 per week and, with four fewer students travelling in 2023 it will lose even more. “
“We have given approximately 12 weeks’ notice to parents. We have left the decision as late as practicable to be certain of the numbers of students travelling in 2023.”
Translink schedule limits bus fare rates
The parents say they are willing to look at paying higher fees for the bus service to Cairns, if that’s what it means to keep the service running.
“What we really want to know, at what point is this service viable? What do we have to do? Do we need to fundraise, do we need a subsidy from the schools themselves?” Ms Madgwick said.
“You know parents would probably be happy to pay more money if that’s what it costs. That’s was never given to us as an option.”
But FNQ Bus Lines says because of state school transport fee regulations, its hands are tied.
“The cost per student would need to be much higher and, for parents to claim private school travel reimbursement, we cannot charge more than the scheduled Translink fare,” Mr Johnson said.
“Due to the low number of passengers, and the fact that less students travel each year as they graduate, there really is not a viable solution for us, or parents.
“There aren’t any other passengers or commuters that have expressed a wish to travel – we cannot rely on occasional ticket sales, there just aren’t enough to cover the expense of running the service.”
Service cancellation “unsettling” for students
The service cancellation has left the parents – and importantly the school kids – in the lurch, with important exams coming up.
“Most of those girls at St Monica’s are going into seniors exams actually, next week’s their last week of the year, and they don’t know if they’re going there next year. It’s really unsettling,” Ms Madgwick said.
Parents remain hopeful of a solution
The parents have approached the Catholic Education Service for help. But any students wanting to go to non-Catholic schools such as Cairns High and TAS White Rock, might not be able to get there.
“We’ve reached out to CES to discuss what their position would be and do they have an obligation to provide a service. I don’t think they have an obligation; I don’t know but surely they will want our children to continue their education. It’s not fair that they’re not able to.”
FNQ Bus Lines said there is some hope that the vital Cairns school run could be taken over by another operator.
“Several other bus companies who have other work in Cairns during the day, for example airport transfers, have expressed an interest in running this service,” Mr Johnson said.
“It is up to those companies to discuss this further with the relevant schools.”
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