PORT Macquarie-Hastings school buses are squeaky clean but come Monday, when students return to school fulltime after the health crisis lockdown restrictions ease further, it will be boarding as usual.
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A Transport for NSW spokesperson said there are no physical distancing restrictions on dedicated school bus services.
Busways, which services school routes on the Mid North Coast, provides transport for students to and from 46 schools between Port Macquarie, Laurieton, Wauchope and Kempsey.
The operation of school bus routes from next week (May 25) will be guided by recommendations by Transport for NSW and NSW Health.
"No school student will be turned away from public transport, even if this means physical distancing won't always be possible on non-dedicated school services," the spokesperson said.
On non-dedicated school services, school children and people who require assistance, such as those with disability, will be given priority access, even if this means a service goes over physical distancing capacity.
"Adults may have to wait for the next service or may choose to get off if not comfortable with how many customers are on a service," the spokesperson said.
"We want everyone to remember they have a role to play in making the public transport network as safe as possible."
The spokesperson said Transport for NSW is working closely with NSW Health and increased cleaning has been rolled out across the network, including on buses and bus depots, and will continue for the foreseeable future.
This includes a complete wipe down from the driver's cabin and controls, hand rails, stop buttons and card readers.
Hundreds of extra cleaners have been deployed across the network, with 132,000 extra cleaning hours carried out since the start of March, the spokesperson confirmed.
"Transport for NSW has been running and will continue to run full services throughout COVID-19 to help make physical distancing possible."
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