Inquiry into the use of school buses in rural and regional Victoria

On 2 September 2020 the Legislative Council agreed to the following motion:

That this house requires the Economy and Infrastructure Committee to inquire into, consider and report, by no later than November 2021, on extending school buses for use by the wider public to enhance the mobility of regional and rural Victorians, including, but not limited to:

(1) an independent analysis of the transport disadvantages experienced by regional and rural Victorians, specifically youth, the elderly and low-income households;

(2) investigating the potential social and community impacts of improving mobility options by widening the mainstream school bus system and an analysis of the examples and trials from other jurisdictions both locally and overseas;

(3) investigating technology and systems that would be effective in ensuring child safety on mainstream school buses;

(4) identifying any existing or potential barriers to allowing public access to the mainstream school bus network;

(5) identifying the spare capacity of existing assets in the school bus program and how that might be used to enhance public transport options in regional and rural Victoria; and

(6) investigating the costs of extending mainstream school buses to the general public and how a fare system would function.