A LOCAL mother has said that the State Government needs to speed up the process at which rural contract school buses are being replaced.
Nyah resident Cheryl Rogers said it was worrying that some school buses around the area that take children to school still don’t have seatbelts.
The Victorian Government agreed in 2013 that all new contract school buses — those that pick children up for free — must be fitted with lap sash seat belts and fulfil a number of other safety requirements.
The Government said at the time they would be funding up to 100 buses a year to be replaced state-wide, but cautioned it would take many years to replace the entire fleet of about 1600 dedicated free school buses in Victoria.
Ms Rodgers said more needs to be done after estimates suggested that it could take up to 10 years for all our buses to be replaced and brought up to safety standards.
“I definitely think they need to do more,” she said.
For more on this story, pick up a copy of Wednesday’s Guardian (February 25).
