When Marg Canny can’t visit Seymour’s supermarket without being recognised as ‘the buggy lady’, you know she’s making an impact. As Travellers Aid’s site supervisor at Seymour Station, Marg has become the friendly face helping regional travellers navigate their journeys with confidence for 11 years.
Seymour Station serves as a vital interchange where people arrive by coach, train and local transport before connecting to journeys across Victoria and interstate. What started as a community need has evolved into an essential service enabling independence for travellers of all abilities.
The service began during 2008-2011 track work, when the Australian Rail Track Corporation funded buggy assistance. When funding ended, the need remained. In 2014, Travellers Aid partnered with V/Line and Community Accessibility to reinstate the service, with Marg playing a key role in its establishment. Travellers Aid began direct delivery of the service from 2016.
Today, the service operates 2 shifts daily, providing buggy assistance and personal guidance between regional coaches, trains, buses, taxis and personal vehicles. But what Marg and her volunteer team provide goes deeper than transport assistance.
We help people traverse the station, provide information and most importantly, give them the confidence to travel independently.The beauty of this role is that no two days are the same,’ Marg says.
Success lies in strong partnerships with V/Line and the local community, including Seymour Lions Club volunteers who’ve served since the beginning. Marg recalls helping a Shepparton woman visiting her sister in Melbourne, coordinating with the Southern Cross team for SkyBus assistance. The woman later wrote saying she now felt confident travelling, knowing support was available.
Find out how you can start making a difference as a Travellers Aid volunteer
