Under the new ownership of ComfortDelgro Australia (CDC), Buslink NT has launched a school education program aimed at teaching children about the importance of mutual respect and behaviour on public transport.
Buslink NT Community Engagement Officer Alfie May with Ludmilla Primary School Principle Carol Putica
Buslink NT CEO Tony Hopkins said the program, Educating Tomorrow’s Passengers Today, takes a long term and subtle approach to changing behaviour by using dreamtime stories to both entertain and educate.
The program marks a new era in Buslink’s approach to improving the public experience on Territory buses.
Buslink is committed to working with the community to educate and train both our own employees and the public, particularly youth, on socially acceptable behaviour and mutual respect.
Buslink CEO Tony Hopkins said this kind of change doesn’t just happen by accident or overnight; Buslink believes that starting this education from a young age can affect social and behavioural change over time.
The program is based on showing people the human side to bus drivers and passengers, so as these kids grow they’ll have a stronger appreciation of how their behaviour impacts others.
CDC prides itself on creating strong partnerships, delivering best-in-class service to our customers and is committed to improving public bus transport in every way possible for the benefit of local communities.
Community engagement is a pillar that CDC invests in to benefit the local communities with the eventual long term goal of restoring respect to bus drivers.
In line with this commitment, Buslink NT was fortunate to recruit Darwin local and active Larrakia man Alfie May to deliver the programs in schools across the wider Darwin area as a full time Community Engagement Officer.
Alfie is passionate about using stories from the dreamtime to create an entertaining method for communicating with our youth.
It is his hope that by helping kids understand the importance of mutual respect, over time we’ll be able to reduce the incidence of anti-social behaviours towards our bus drivers and commuters.
‘Alfie was also humbled to be able to return to his old primary school, which he attended when it first opened, to launch the program.
To date four schools have signed up for the program, which sees Alfie deliver an interactive presentation at school assemblies using props, wildlife and a passion for cultural history.
The program will be running concurrently with the jointly funded NTG and Buslink NT Respect Your Driver campaign.
