It’s a battle they had already been fighting before they lost their eldest daughter in the crash – but now it has been supercharged by their devastating loss.
Matt and Leanne Mullen say they hope to bring about changes to bus safety by sharing their heartbreak.
“We’ve been having long-term discussions with the local bus company about their safety standards over years, not months prior to the accident,” Matt said.
“They’re way behind systems that are in place to transport cattle, groceries.”
One call Matt made to a bus company and then to Transport for NSW took place just a week before the crash.
Leanne had multiple conversations with both parties in the months prior.
She raised concerns about a lack of seatbelts and services being cancelled, which left children without a seat, sitting or standing in the aisle during a 45-minute journey from school to home, and travelling up to 110km/h on the expressway.
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Asked if she felt like she’d been passed back and forth, Leanne responded: “Very much so, yes.”
The school bus services are run by Hunter Valley Buses, which is not the company responsible for the bus at the centre of the wedding tragedy.
A driver for Hunter Valley Buses told 9News that of the 29 services they run from the Singleton depot, only one is fitted with seatbelts, and that cancellations and overcrowding onboard are being caused by a driver shortage.
In a statement Transport for NSW confirmed it was aware of the complaints and said the case was being investigated.
The Mullenses are not prepared to put Rebecca’s sister Erin back on a bus until changes are made.
“Driver monitoring, GPS surveillance, seatbelts, an allowance for children to be standing on a bus travelling at 100km/h … [without new regulations], is a no for me,” Matt said.
“We know Bec would want Erin and her friends to be safe.”
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