Peter Bartholomew

Peter Bartholomew celebrates his 100th bus ride.

14 July 2021

Bus rides are known for being an easy way to commute, but sometimes they can be a milestone.

That was the case for Tuggeranong resident Peter Bartholomew, who recently celebrated his 100th ride on the Ginninderry minibus.

The bus service, which was launched in March 2020, uses two small blue shuttle buses which run from the Kippax Bus Station to the new Ginninderry community.

The accessible Hino Poncho buses have an ultra-low floor design, kerb-kneeling function, a wheelchair ramp and a dedicated wheelchair space inside.

Peter, who has Down syndrome, is part-time office support at Ginninderry and catches the bus to and from work three times a week. He enjoyed the rides so much he began counting each trip.

“I like the social part of it and talking to the bus driver each day. The view is like the countryside with all the trees,” Peter said.

“When I was reaching my 100th ride, I started telling the staff at Ginninderry. I was getting really excited.”

When he arrived at work on the morning of his 100th bus ride, Peter was in for a surprise: the staff had helped him mark the occasion with a special chocolate cake in the shape of the bright blue Ginninderry minibus, complete with Oreo wheels.

“I didn’t know they were doing that at all, so it was a nice surprise and the cake was really good,” Peter said.

Before COVID-19, Peter would catch three buses to get to work, commuting from his home in Gilmore via the Tuggeranong, Belconnen and Kippax interchanges. (His manager says that he was never once late to work.)

“After COVID, they wanted to lessen the amount of buses I was catching so I just catch the Ginninderry minibus now from Kippax and get a lift from Anglicare for the rest of the way,” Peter said, adding that he hopes it won’t be too long before he is celebrating his 200th ride.

Belconnen

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