Push for bus service pays off

By Alison Noonan
RESIDENTS of Casey’s south have won a long-running campaign to secure a community bus service.
The State Government last week announced that it would spend $100,000 on two new 21-seat buses.
The buses will be stationed at Pearcedale Primary School and the Blind Bight Community Centre.
Both will be available to community groups in Pearcedale, Blind Bight, Tooradin, Cannons Creek and Warneet.
Hastings MP Rosy Buchanan said the buses would be an important asset to connect residents to vital community services.
“This will help residents in Pearcedale and the coastal villages to access services currently difficult to get to without public transport, particularly those with hearing impairments attending Pearcedale Primary due to that school’s involvement in various programs,” Ms Buchanan said.
“Residents in this region have previously been overlooked when it comes to the allocation of community services and this grant marks a welcome change in the right direction.
“This will allow more people to get involved in activities and programs in and around these local communities.”
The manager of Blind Bight Community Centre, Sonja Bertram, said the buses were a “big step forward” for the centre, whose course enrolments had been hampered due to the lack of public transport in the area.
“We have some great courses, but many people are unable to get to the centre,” she said.
“This is a great win for us because there are no excuses for people not attending our classes now.
“The bus will be hired out to locals, including community groups, the elderly, mums wanting to go on day trips and picking up and dropping off visitors to the centre.
“We are still to [work] out a bus-hiring system, but we know the bus will be very heavily used.”
Balla Balla Ward councillor said the news coincided with the launch of a public bus service from Cranbourne to Pearcedale next week.
“This public bus service will start in the first week of February and operate as a nine-month trial.
“It will also provide a weekend service to transport residents from Cranbourne to Pearcedale and the coastal villages. We are still looking to council to fund a community bus but this is great news,” he said.