Mean streets for transport

By Casey Neill
INADEQUATE public transport services and safety fears are being blamed for anti-social behaviour on the streets.
Mount Evelyn Youth Enterprise Shed co-ordinator Sophie Elix-Haddy said the young people she encountered “definitely” struggled to access activities and services because of poor public transport.
“One of the main things is the lack of routes,” she said.
“Because they live really far out they have to walk half an hour, maybe 45 minutes often to get home. I think that’s one of the real issues.
“Also they’re late all the time. They often will miss buses or don’t know when the next one’s coming because they’re not on time.”
Ms Elix-Haddy said there weekend services were not adequate.
“It just means that mainly they walk to get around,” she said.
This limits what the youths can do.
“At night there’s not any public transport options, especially in Mount Evelyn,” she said.
“It means they’re on the streets a lot more. If there were night buses I think that could prevent some of the walking around and safety issues.”
Ms Elix-Haddy said anti-social behaviour resulted from the boredom of being unable to travel outside Mount Evelyn.
“I think that because they can’t leave unless they walk, there’s just a whole lot of kids hanging out on the street with nothing better to do,” she said.
She said employment and further education are also difficult to access.
“A lot of the kids around here don’t have parents who will drive them so it is a real issue,” she said.
Ms Elix-Haddy said safety on public transport was also a problem for young people, particularly on trains.
“From what I hear with the kids they are often afraid to get on trains and buses as well just because of the safety issues,” she said.
“A few of them have been threatened with weapons, like with knives, and not had anyone to go to – there’s not been enough security or anything on the trains to be able to protect them. I think that’s pretty bad, really.”
Ms Elix-Haddy said there was no easy solution to safety fears.
“You could say ‘put more police on the trains’ but kids aren’t exactly best friends with the police so it might not make a difference,” she said.
“I think awareness could be the first thing because more and more kids are carrying weapons to protect themselves because they’ve been threatened at train stations at night.”
Adding more routes and timetables would improve bus access, Ms Elix-Haddy said.
“I personally think there should be some kind of free bus service as well that loops around Mount Evelyn because another issue is the kids can’t afford it,” she said.
“If they can’t afford it they won’t be let on the bus and they’re back on the streets again.”