Fewer and fewer people have been tapping on and off school buses. Whether this is because they don’t own a school Opal card or if they are just not bothered to tap, it is a big problem in our community. A relevant survey shows that only 23/70 students tap on and off on school buses.
Not tapping on and off school buses can have consequences for you and your community. These can range from cancelled bus services, overcrowded buses, and fines. Even though school buses are free, tapping on and off provides necessary information. Without this information, the NSW government would not be able to track how many people catch the bus to and from school.
Not tapping on and off on school buses causes a higher chance of bus service being cancelled. This not only causes problems for you but also for your family. If your route gets taken away, there are some consequences, such as not being able to catch the school bus to and from school and having to find another way. This could mean your parents or older sibling has to drive you to and from school. This could be time-consuming and affect the rest of their day, but it also means there would be an increase in traffic as there would be more cars on the road.
Another problem would be overcrowded buses. On some occasions, students have said that school buses have gone past stops without picking up passengers because they were full. This has led to several students not making it to school on time, furthermore, affecting their learning. Overcrowded buses can also affect bus drivers, as they could lose their commercial driver’s license for not adhering to capacity limits. It can also cause more distractions on buses, pulling the driver’s attention away from the road. Having more people on the bus, especially kids, can cause bus drivers an unnecessary amount of stress.
So, what can we do as a college community to solve this problem? The first step would be to remember to tap on and off. Next time you’re waiting at a bus bay, remember to take your opal card out, so it is ready. An easy way to remember it is to keep your card near your phone, so when you go to grab your phone, your Opal card is right next to it. The second step would be to remind the people around you. This is as easy as just reminding them to take out their opal card at the bus bay to have it ready to tap on.
If we all remember to tap on and off, this problem would just disappear. So, remember it’s never “uncool” to tap on and off, and you’re not “slowing” anyone down by doing so. So, make sure you tap on or Bus off.
