The battle to get a school bus pass proved so stressful for one mother that her nine-year-old had to switch schools so she would qualify.
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Rebecca Townsend said the Labor pledge to offer free school travel to all students would stop other parents from facing the same fight.
Ms Townsend’s daughter Sienna Schubert was refused a school Opal card because their home was just 100 metres within the Transport for NSW exclusion zone.
Transport for NSW rules for free travel stated students must live at least 2.3 kilometres walking distance from school.
Sienna’s home is 2.2 kilometres away – so no pass.
That led to months of financial stress as the family struggled to find the money to pay for her fare each day.
“We had to get an Opal card and put money on it weekly,” Ms Townsend said.
“Some days we didn’t have the money to put on the Opal card so she didn’t go to school. We struggled financially – we’re on a pretty set budget.”
Ms Townsend said Sienna would worry about things like what would happen if she had enough money on the card to get to school but not back home again.
Later she found Sienna had gone to the extreme of not tapping on some afternoons so she could be sure she’d have money on the card to get to school the following morning.
The stress and problems from missing school days forced Ms Townsend to take Sienna out of Mt Brown and into Hayes Park Public School.
They live more than five kilometres away so easily qualified for free travel, but Ms Townsend said Sienna was worried about not being approved – until the day the Opal card arrived in the letterbox.
“She was screaming at the letterbox,” Ms Townsend said.
Some days we didn’t have the money to put on the Opal card.
- Rebecca Townsend
“She was literally screaming with it in her hand going ‘oh my God! I got my Opal card!’.”
On Monday Labor announced an election promise to scrap the distance requirements and give all students free travel – any day of the week.
Ms Townsend liked the idea but didn't think it needed to extend to free travel seven days a week.
“I think it could just be for school, just to get them to and from school safely, that’s all I think it needs to be," she said.
“I think it’s important for kids to be able to get to and from school safely.”