A school bus operator in the Gilgandra shire has been praised for going beyond their normal call of duty to help a local family in need.

Langley's Coaches, which transports students to and from the Gilgandra public, high and catholic schools have recently agreed to divert their route onto a private property located about 25 kilometres out of town.

The diversion was organised to help the Johnston family, who were facing difficulties with transporting their kindergarten-age daughter Grace to and from their local bus stop.

This was because, for each trip, mother Sarah also had to transport two other younger children, including their son Ted who has Angelman Syndrome and requires constant care and supervision.

Mrs Johnston said Ted's condition means he is non-verbal, has an intellectual disability and suffers from a number of health disorders, including mobility and co-ordination issues and life-threatening seizures.

“When my daughter Grace started school this year, I faced the added stress of having to get Ted all the way out to the shed and in and out of the car each day just to drive 300 metres to the bus stop at the front gate," Mrs Johnston said.

"It’s quite a task to handle at an early hour every day and again in the afternoon and adds a significant amount of time to the routine.

“Often I haven’t had much sleep and it is physically and mentally exhausting just to put Ted into the car and get him back out again. I try to avoid it if I can."

Wanting to ensure the best for all her children, Mrs Johnston contacted Transport for NSW in March this year to ask if they could help with a solution.

She was then contacted a few weeks later when she got a phone call from a department representative seeking more information.

"Apparently they do receive questions about changing bus routes quite regularly but they had never come across our unique situation," Mrs Johnston said.

Mrs Johnston was later contacted again by Transport for NSW to give her the good news that, from the start of Term 2, the bus would travel up their driveway so Grace could get on and off in front of her house.

"I think the fact that it wasn't necessarily for our disabled child but for his sibling, and with our driveway being reasonably short with no gates gave a good reason to go that extra 300 metres while saving me literally hours of labour," she said.

“Ted relies on me for everything so it’s not fair to him if I am exhausted. He deserves my energy to be better spent on helping him to play in the back yard. 

“I am beyond grateful that the bus will arrive at our front door. This sort of practical support is incredibly kind and won’t ever be forgotten.” 

Mrs Johnston is not the only one to praise Langley's Coaches for their willingness to make the adjustment to their bus schedule with NSW Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway also thanking them for their willingness to cooperate.

“While it is not common practice to divert a school bus onto private property, this was an exceptional circumstance that has ended in a positive result, making one family’s public transport experience much easier,” Mr Farraway said. 

Meanwhile, company spokesperson Sarah Hansen said they were pleased to make a very small concession which would make such a big difference for the family.

“We love to try and support families like the Johnstons with their transport needs where we can,” Ms Hansen said.

“The diversion will only take an extra few minutes, but will make a huge difference to this family, and we are more than happy that we are able to help.” 

The route adjustment along the driveway is not expected to impact the timetable of the school bus service.

More information about Ted's condition Angelman Syndrome can be found here.