All aboard for teen jobs push

By Bridget Brady
At fast food outlets in Lyndhurst, managers say they have had to drive to pick up their young staff members because they have no other practical way to get to work.
Owners and managers at the Red Rooster, McDonalds and BP Service Station at Lyndhurst have called for the introduction or extension of a bus route near the corner of Thompsons Road and Dandenong Hastings Road to help the teenagers make it to their shifts, and therefore improve their businesses.
Casey Council will write to the Minister for Public Transport requesting consideration of better transport for the area.
The managers say they are keen to expand their businesses and offer more jobs to those under the age of 18, but find it hard to employ teenagers who can get to Lyndhurst.
The owner of Lyndhurst Red Rooster, Peter Ferguson, said about 40 per cent of his staff was under the age of 18, and he was keen to provide more youngsters with their first jobs.
“We’re trying to grow the business. It makes it hard. People just can’t get here,” he said.
Mr Ferguson said he would not let teenagers walk from Merinda Park Railway Station by themselves at night because it was too dangerous.
“I won’t let kids walk or ride up and down this road. Safety is first.”
Lyndhurst McDonalds store manager Brendan White said most of the 40 teenagers they employed started work between 4pm and 5pm, and in some cases their parents were still at work and unable to drive them.
He said the lack of buses hindered the store from being able to employ more young people.
“We need them here, and we can’t get them. If we could get more young people here we would put them on,” Mr White said.
Mayfield Ward councillor Amanda Stapledon raised the matter before the council recently, and said residents in the nearby Marriott Waters Estate also needed the bus services.
By the middle of the year it is expected there will be 400 homes in the estate, eventually catering for 2500 residents with about 1100 houses once complete.
“A bus service in the Lyndhurst and Marriott Waters area would enable business to offer up another 60 positions to local youth, and would enable residents in Marriott Waters Estate access to other communities,” Cr Stapledon said.