Mother campaigning to have bus provided to local school

Rathcoole resident, Roberta Neely, is calling for a dedicated bus service to be introduced for Hazelwood Integrated pupils who live in the estate.

After her son started the school in September, Roberta realised there was no direct bus service provided for children travelling from areas including Rathcoole and Monkstown.

She said: “Pupils have to use a service bus to get to school. They’re being dropped off a fair distance from the school building and have to cross roads during rush hour to get to school. This is a safety issue and needs to be tackled before someone is knocked down. The children are my foremost concern and I’ll be fighting tooth and nail to ensure a dedicated bus service is provided. It costs pupils from Rathcoole £28 per month to get to and from Hazelwood. Pupils who live in other areas are being provided with free transport to the school. It feels as though Rathcoole has been forgotten about.”

Commenting on the issue, a Translink spokesperson said: “We are discussing options with school management around the provision of a dedicated bus service to Hazelwood Integrated College. Metro 2 services currently call close to the college.”

Roberta has started a petition to highlight the campaign. This can be found at www.thepetitionsite.com/en-gb/420/714/381/rathcoole-bus-direct-to-hazelwood-integrated-college/