St Patrick’s Swansea Bus Service

In exciting news for our families, Catholic Schools and the Diocese have given approval for a new bus service operating from the Catherine Hill Bay, Nords Wharf, Cams Wharf and Murrays Beach areas to St Patrick’s Primary School, Swansea.

The service will also loop in the morning (second loop) and afternoon (first loop) and provide St Patrick’s students who use the OOSH services at the nearby Caves Beach Early Learning Centre (ELC) each day.

The bus service will commence on the first school day of Term 3, Tuesday 22 July 2025.  Details including proposed route map and scheduling is in the attached FAQs.

A procurement process was conducted to secure these services and Port Stephens Coaches was awarded the tender. A summary of the service inclusions, safety and technology is as follows:

• 57-seat belted school buses
  • Note: Students must wear seat belts at all times as it’s a legal requirement.
• Air-conditioned buses
• Fully trained accredited drivers with Working with Children checks
• Weekly brake and mechanical checks
• GPS Tracking and onboard CCTV
• TransportMe App (Passenger tracking system for on and off-boarding information)
• History of clean and well-maintained fleet
• Locally based drivers with direct contact to Port Stephens Coaches to resolve any issues

All students accessing the service are expected to behave in accordance with our Student Code of Conduct and in a way that ensure the safety and comfort of all passengers and drivers. 

FAQs for parents and carers re St Patrick’s Swansea Bus Service

When do these bus service commence?

Tuesday 22 July 2025: This is the first day of classes for Term 3 2025. Please note Monday 21 July is a Pupil Free-Day at St Patrick’s, Swansea.

Does my child need to pay?

No.  This service is provided free of charge for students at St Patrick’s.

What is the route, including the two (2) loops?

The service will undertake two loops, morning and afternoon, via a "Caves Beach OOSH Loop" and a "South Bound Students Loop".

The OOSH loop will pick-up and drop-off OOSH students, with the bus driver waiting for a St Patrick’s staff member to sign students in / out and return the students and staff member to the school, and the South Bound loop operates for students from the suburbs of Catherine Hill Bay, Nords Wharf, Cams Wharf, and Murrays Beach.

The OOSH loop service delivery will differ based on morning (second loop) and afternoon (first loop).

Chartered Bus Timetable - Morning Service

The afternoon service will be similar to the above, but in reverse, arriving at 3.00pm (post bell at 2.50pm) and completing the service within approx. 50 minutes.

 Caves Beach OOSH Loop

A St Patrick’s Primary School staff member will ride the “Caves Beach OOSH Loop” in the morning and afternoon to sign the children out (morning) and in (afternoon) of the Caves Beach OOSH centre.

In the morning, the staff member will alight on to the bus to travel to the OOSH centre, where they will sign the St Patrick’s OOSH students out and escort them to the bus. Once the bus has arrived at St Patrick’s, the school staff member will escort the students to the designated supervisory area of the school playground.

In the afternoon, the chartered service will pick up the staff member and OOSH students from St Patrick’s first before transporting them to the Caves Beach OOSH. The staff member will then escort the students single file to the OOSH centre to sign the OOSH students in, while the charter bus waits, before the bus and staff member loop back to St Patrick’s Swansea and the staff member disembarks.

South Bound Students Loop

Students from the Catherine Hill Bay and Murrays Beach region will then board the bus for the “South Bound Loop”, following the above route and timetable.

How do I link my current Student Opal card?

School travel passes are available for students who reside more than 2km in a straight-line distance from St Patrick’s Primary School, Swansea or the walking distance from home to school is 2.9km or further.

More information on the process for linking student Opal cards will be provided as soon as we have to hand.   

No students will be turned away from getting on or off either bus in the first two weeks of service (Tues 22 July – Fri 1 Aug) whilst any issues with the bus passes are worked through.

Can I see where the bus is in real time? 

Yes.  The free TransportMe app is a passenger tracking system that allows the school, students, parents and carers to track the buses in real time to within 10 seconds of its location.