IT will soon be easier for people to get to and from Chifley Dam while the Bathurst Aqua Park is open for business.
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As of this weekend, a shuttle bus service will be in operation, departing from a central location twice daily.
The service is meant to help ease parking congestion at the dam, while also making it easier for young people in particular to get there.
Owner of Bathurst Aqua Park, Michael Hickey, said he was approached by Sinclair Bus Services recently to start the shuttle service.
“I think it is a great idea,” he said. “It gets people who can’t get out here to the park.”
The service will be “a combined effort” between the aqua park and the bus company, Mr Hickey said.
“At the moment it is going to operate weekends up until school holidays and then we’ll see what the demand is like,” he said.
The first shuttle will depart from Bathurst Court House at 10am, returning patrons back to Russell Street at 1.30pm.
A second shuttle will leave for the dam at 1pm, returning at 4.30pm.
The return trip will cost $10.
Last week, councillor Alex Christian said he had been making inquiries privately about getting some kind of shuttle service in operation.
He said the deal between the aqua park and Sinclair Bus Services had happened without his knowledge, but he was pleased to see that a shuttle bus had eventuated.
“I think it is a perfect opportunity for people to meet at a central location in town to be taken out there,” Cr Christian said.
With the school holidays approaching and more people looking for summer fun, he thought the service would end up being very well utilised.
“You’d be mad not to use it. A number of people will be on that bus and you can put the kids on there and know when they will be back,” he said.
Bathurst Aqua Park opened to the public on November 3 and has been seeing strong crowds across its days of operation.
Mr Hickey said people were coming from all over to use the park, not just those living in Bathurst.
“I had a family come out here from Parkes on the first weekend and they loved it so much they came back the next weekend,” he said.
The park is open from Thursday to Sunday each week, with operations set to expand to seven days a week during the school holiday periods that fall between now and the end of March.
