Another incident reported at bus exchange

ANOTHER incident has taken place at the Moorabool Street bus exchange, following the article “Another nail in the Geelong CBD coffin” in this publication on October 24.

The article’s author, Preston Rowe Paterson director Gareth Kent, was contacted by several members of the public, one of whom witnessed an attack on a 14-year-old boy sitting on a bench.

According to the witness, the boy was attacked without provocation by an adult man at the bus interchange on Moorabool Street on October 23. His phone was thrown across the road, and the boy was beaten to the ground.

Struggling away, the boy ran across the road to escape. This newspaper understands Triple Zero was called.

Mr Kent said a second reader – a well-known local businessman who has worked in Geelong CBD for many years – contacted him directly by phone after finding a person sleeping on the couch in his foyer, inside the building. Upon asking the person to leave, the businessman and his staff were accosted with violence and language.

The office is within meters of the bus exchange, and has now employed a security guard to stand in the foyer to protect customers and staff and to escort people past the bus stops.

Mr Kent was contacted by three separate businesses that operate near the Little Ryrie Carpark He said all were thriving until recently, when The Outpost moved to this location.

Other readers left comments on social media about the article, describing being on the public transport itself, the unruly behaviour, and how it made them feel unsafe.

There are continuing calls for the bus interchange to be moved away from Moorabool Street, including from City of Greater Geelong mayor Stretch Kontelj, who is advocating for the interchange to be established at Geelong railway station.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday last week, police arrested four people following a robbery in Geelong’s CBD.

Police allege two men entered the Cash Converters store on Ryrie Street at about 11.40am and smashed a glass display cabinet with an axe before stealing jewellery.
The pair reportedly fled on foot towards Gheringhap Street.

Police believe the group then got into a white wagon and drove towards Belmont, where police arrested four suspects on High Street.