Townsville Primary pupils get help taking public bus to school

Ambassadors lend a hand in trial, amid shortage of private school bus drivers

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ambassadors Townsville Primary School pupils will get help from bus to commute to and from school on service 261 under a trial scheme that kicked off on May 9 in Ang Mo Kio.

Ambassadors will accompany pupils on service 261 in the morning and afternoon to and from the school and Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange as part of the scheme, which is a collaboration between the school and public bus operator SBS Transit (SBST).

Primary 6 pupil Napassanun Rungvittayanun, who commutes daily to and from the school in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 on bus service 261, said some pupils fall asleep on the bus and miss their stop.

"With a bus ambassador, students can be reminded to leave the bus on time," the 12-year-old added.

Housewife Suma Vinakota, 42, whose child is a pupil at Townsville Primary, said the initiative would give parents more reassurance.

"They can be assured there is an ambassador on the bus and no child is left behind," she added. "I was just speaking to another mum whose younger daughter is in Primary 2 and is going to take the bus.