Residents within Spring Farm and Whitewater Park Estates are voicing their concerns at the lack of school bus services in the local region.
Councillor David Bain has been receiving numerous enquiries from residents who say they were advised by the Department of State Growth that a Metro or school bus service would not be considered yet as the 'area is far from fully developed'.
Cr Bain conducted a tally in December 2022 across both Spring Farm and Whitewater Park Estates and counted 542 homes built and builds underway, with the number of vacant blocks at 84 - several with development applications advertised.
"This equates to approximately 87 per cent of both Estates being fully developed," said Cr Bain.
Cr Bain also conducted a poll on the Spring Farm and Whitewater Park Estates Facebook Group.
"61 responses were returned noting that 101 children would utilise a school bus service if it were available in the area," Cr Bain said.
Councillor Bain said he contacted Wisby's Bus Services who hold the State Government contract for school bus services throughout Kingborough.
"Wisby's informed me that they also have received a lot of enquires from families within Spring Farm and Whitewater Park Estates," said Cr Bain.
"Wisby's advised that they could accommodate the service within existing routes, however are only able to service additional areas if directed by the Department of State Growth."
Instead, the nearest bus stop for Wisby's is located along Channel Highway near Mertonvale Circuit.
"Given the clear demand for the service, the bus contractors' ability to service the run and the current focus on encouraging people to consider other modes of transport, I'm struggling to find an answer as to why this service isn't being put in place," Cr Bain said.
This is an issue that has also been raised by Council multiple times, although Cr Bain has conducted this further research by himself.
"Council is disappointed for the residents in Spring Farm and Whitewater Park Estates at the ongoing failure of the State Government to address the lack of bus services," said Kingborough Mayor Paula Wriedt.
"We know that there is an increasing need for commuter and school bus services and believe there is support for services from community members and school bus providers.
"We recently received correspondence which indicates that the State Government is aware of the growing needs of the area but has no immediate plans to address public transport needs."
When contacted for comment, the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Michael Ferguson stated "I have recently written to the Mayor with news that the Rockliff Liberal Government is considering how to best service growing communities, including Spring Farm and Whitewater Park Estates, as part of future network planning for Greater Hobart bus services".
"The Department of State Growth is planning on installing new bus stops on the Channel Highway near Spring Farm Road which will increase access for Spring Farm and Whitewater Park Estate residents," said Minister Ferguson.
Councillor Bain said this response from State Government is disappointing.
"It goes without saying that I'm disappointed in the Minister's response as it still fails to address the question of why they won't implement school bus services when the existing contractor says they can accommodate the route and the demand for the service is clearly there," said Cr Bain.
Locals like Erin say that the lack of services to the area contribute to her being late for work most days of the week.
"Our family moved into the estate two years ago and we have a daughter who attends St Aloysius," said Erin.
"I have to specifically drop my child into school, and it can sometimes take nearly an hour to get through the traffic of two schools, find a park and take my child to her classroom and get back home again.
"I am late every morning to work.
"If a bus service was available, I could get more hours of work in the day.
"It is very wasteful that a new estate with so many young families does not have any bus services.
"In the times when we are trying to do more for the environment it seems the government doesn't want to support this through lack of appropriate bus services."
Other locals like John and Anna La Roux say the inconvenience of not having a bus service in Whitewater Estate puts additional pressure on them as working parents.
"Due to the absence of a bus service, we are forced to make special arrangements with our employer for our child's school drop-off and pickup," said John and Anna.
"On top of this, when we have meetings or other important engagements during pickup time, it creates even more issues for us.
"We believe that every child deserves access to safe and reliable transportation to and from school, and it's unacceptable that families in both Whitewater Estate and Spring Farm Estate have to go to such lengths to ensure this for their children.
"We call on the local government to address this issue and provide the necessary transportation options for families in both areas."