The daily bus service to Dubbo will be officially launched in Wellington 12pm today at the Swift Street Plaza and there may be another major boost for the town because of the need for more than 150 jobs at Fletcher International Exports.
In a move suggested by council candidate Rod Buhr to use the bus strategically, he suggested to employment agencies, Fletchers and Ogden’s bus
services the possibility of the Ogden buses being used to transport new Wellington employees who could start on the morning shift.
“I contacted one of our local employment agencies and was told they had at least eight people on their books that they could recommend for employment at Fletchers but transport was an issue,” Mr Buhr said.
“Given we have three employment agencies in town that could equate to at least 24 people we could get jobs for.
“I knew about the bus service now running between Wellington and Dubbo but there was an issue with shift start times.”
Mr Buhr said he had spoken to the human resources manager at Fletchers and found the bus from Wellington would not be leaving early enough for the day shift 6am start.
“After some more calls it seemed possible to bring the
first bus back to a 5am start,” he said.
“This will be great news for those in Wellington who could find work at Fletchers.
“A tried and proven way of solving some of our social issues is getting people into work.”
Roger Fletcher of Fletcher International Meats said it was a fantastic idea and was looking forward to hearing more.
“I like the idea and we’ll investigate the possibility of putting on an earlier bus to help them,” Ogden’s Wellington branch manager Mandy Ogden said.
Ms Ogden, along with the NSW Department of Transport, will officially launch the service to Dubbo and return this afternoon and also informally explain from 10am to 4pm how best the bus service can be used.
Cr David Grant agrees it’s a good solution for the bus.
“It’s one of the reasons for this bus so it’s a good idea,” Cr Grant said.
“I will be watching closely if this has any impact on our business community.”
The idea sits well with State Member Andrew Gee’s thoughts on the daily bus.
He has previously said it will help create new job growth and help with spending and economic growth in Wellington.
