On the buses: New school bus routes rolled out for Oberon High

THE relocated Oberon High School has opened its doors, and up to 500 students a day are already heading there by bus.

To coincide with last week’s official opening of Oberon, which moved from Belmont to Armstrong Creek, the Andrews Government announced it had invested $4.5 million to commission seven new school bus routes.

The services are now up and running, transporting students to and from Torquay, Barwon Heads, Waurn Ponds and Grovedale.

The Department of Transport worked closely with Oberon High School and McHarry’s Buslines to commission the dedicated school buses and determine the routes.

Three buses are transporting students from Belmont each morning and afternoon, two buses are taking students from Grovedale and Waurn Ponds, one bus is transporting Barwon Heads students and one bus is carrying Torquay students.

“By providing these public transport links to the relocated Oberon High School, we’re opening up this state-of-the-art school to students right across the Geelong region,” South Barwon Labor MP Darren Cheeseman said.

“Having dedicated buses to transport students to and from the new Armstrong Creek location will reduce demand on the local road network during school times, making it easier for everyone to get around.”

Minister for Roads and Road Safety Ben Carroll said the investment ensured Oberon High School students were able to get to and from school via public transport now and into the future.

“Having access to a dedicated school bus provides the opportunity for students to be independent and relieves the pressure on parents or guardians to drive them to school.”

Bus route 45 between Armstrong Creek and Waurn Ponds is also approaching 18 months in service, providing people in the Armstrong Creek growth area with transport links to Greater Geelong and Melbourne.

There has been a slight change to bus route 45 to better co-ordinate with bell times at Oberon High School. For more information, head to ptv.vic.gov.au/footer/about-ptv/improvements-and-projects/bus-and-coach.

School buses continue to operate as normal across Victoria to support children who need to get to school, although all schools moved to remote and flexible learning on Monday this week during the snap lockdown.

Everyone 12 years and older must carry and wear a face mask at all times when on public transport and school buses unless they have a lawful exemption.