Fares ‘unfair’

By Tania Martin
CATCHING the bus to school will be out of reach for some students next year as price rises leave parents reeling.
Emerald parents will be slugged with a $1968 bus price rise next year to send their children to Beaconhills College in Berwick.
US Bus Lines is increasing its current costs of $245 per student per term to $737 – an extra $1968 per student per year.
Wendy of Emerald said she will have to consider pulling her two children out of Beaconhills College because she can’t afford both the school and bus fees.
“My children will be absolutely shattered if we are forced to pull them out of Beaconhills because of this sudden price increase,” she said.
“We expected maybe a slight increase due to fuel costs but not an increase of this proportion.”
Wendy said the new cost of the bus is almost what it cost for a term of school fees.
“It seems average parents like myself who have chosen to make the financial sacrifice and send their children to a private school are being targeted to cover the losses caused by obvious mismanagement,” she said.
But a US Bus Lines spokeswoman said this rise comes after a review of the pricing structure and the businesses operational costs was carried out.
The spokeswoman said at the 2006 bus fare prices US Bus Lines was operating at a substantial loss and was unable to continue to operate on the service at the current price.
She said all price changes have been reviewed in depth and US Bus Lines believes the new prices are comparable to those of other services within the industry.
Wendy said she was totally speechless when she was told about the price increase.
“I thought someone must have been mistaken,” she said.
Wendy said when her family first looked at moving to Emerald from Berwick the first thing she checked was transport to the school and its affordability.
“It was within our means so we made the move six months ago and never regretted it for a moment,” she said.
Wendy said this is her children’s fourth year at Beaconhills College and pulling them out of the school could have an adverse impact on their education.
She said she won’t be able to afford both the school fees and the bus.
She said if her children where to stay at Beaconhills College they would have to find another way to get to school.