Shelters OK, says PTA

Quinns Rocks resident Kylie Oliver told the Times there was a ‘major problem’ with the roof coverage at the bus stops and she had complained to PTA last year.

‘When you are waiting for a bus, you get drowned if it is raining,’ she said.

‘There’s a lack of roof coverage; they have designed it completely wrong.’

PTA spokeswoman Claire Krol said the department had ‘a long history of planning and constructing functional infrastructure’ including bus shelters.

‘Every aspect of the new station at Butler ” including its bus shelters ” was carefully planned to make it user friendly, aesthetically pleasing and most importantly, functional,’ she said.

‘We cannot control the weather, and it is not practical, affordable or even possible for us to construct a bus shelter structure that can provide protection from all weather conditions. A completely enclosed structure would be impractical during the hot summer months.

‘Significant effort was made to ensure the shelters at Butler Station’s bus interchange provide adequate protection from the elements.

‘We believe they fit this brief and do not need to be altered.’

Miss Oliver said she had not been able to escape the rain inside the station, as it came in through high openings that Ms Krol said were for ventilation.

Miss Oliver said the dividers did nothing to protect people, and suggested a big glass wall similar to the one at Clarkson Station would help.

‘I will not be using that station when it rains, I will be using Clarkson,’ she said.

According to Miss Oliver, the shelter roofs were also too low for buses, which could not park close enough to the kerb.

Ms Krol said PTA had investigated allegations that buses could not stop close to the verge,

‘After reviewing CCTV, it is clear that buses have no issues pulling up within centimetres of the kerb,’ she said.

‘These bus embayments were specifically designed to comply with Disability Discrimination Act guidelines in particular, so our low-floor buses can deploy their ramps.

‘We have had no reports or complaints from bus drivers, passengers or station staff.’