Article: Qld Govt bus cut a big blow to Gympie region

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From the Sunshine Coast Daily click here!

Qld Govt bus cut a big blow to Gympie region

Qld Govt bus cut a big blow to Gympie region

"MEET the new boss, same as the old boss... "

The song lyrics reflect the experience of expatriate Gympie bus operator Rebecca Nolan, now threatened with the loss of her two Gympie Region bus runs, under Newman government cost-cutting measures.

KYBONG and The Palms residents won't be the only ones facing an uncertain school transport future, when the government shuts down Rebecca Nolan's two bus runs.

Dagun school, which has students who bus from Gympie, will also lose the service that Ms Nolan ran off the back of the Kybong run.

Yesterday she said her seat-belt equipped buses, bought with State Government subsidies, would now leave the area.

Her two runs were always threatened under Labor, but they are now to be cancelled under the LNP.

She says her problems with Queensland Transport bosses are now being prosecuted even more damagingly by the same bureaucrats under the LNP.

"Two drivers will lose their jobs and 20 children on each run will not be getting the same standard of safety," she said yesterday from her new home in New South Wales.

"I've got two bus runs down here. It's an easier government to deal with," she said.

"They still have red tape and carry on but they're sort of not game to mistreat people. They have a different type of attitude."

Her Kybong and Dagun driver Geoff Johanson, of Dagun, said he would miss the work, which also provided a flexible service at Dagun, allowing the children to attend swimming at Kandanga.

Mary Valley identities yesterday said public transport was a vital part of Valley life.

"We just can't afford the little businesses to go. The Valley can't afford this," one resident said.