Safely transporting 2,500 students in 45 minutes

World Scholars Cup 2019

Key facts

Event: World Scholars Cup 2019

Dates: 15-20 August 2019

Venue: ICC Sydney to various Sydney schools and universities

Attendees: 2,500

Background:

The World Scholars Cup global round took place at the International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney), involving 2,500 students between the ages of 7 and 17. On day three the students took part in an inter-school debate which was hosted by four Sydney schools and universities.

Challenges:

Coordinating the safe transfer of 2,500 students to five different locations across Sydney – with varying geographical distances from 1.5 kilometres up to 25 kilometres – while adhering to schedule was important to keep the program on time. Additionally, due to safety reasons each school group had to remain together with their guardian and so large groups could not be divided between two or more buses. This called for meticulous planning in order to minimise the number of buses required.

Solutions:

Once student numbers and debate locations were confirmed one week out from the debate day, Arinex then commenced intensive planning with its transport partner Murrays Coaches. Murrays happily agreed to source 52 buses from across its operations in New South Wales in order to cater for the volume of students. Onsite, Arinex worked with ICC Sydney to use Hall 1 to organise students and then exhibition halls 2 and 3 to facilitate the bus loadings. Clear signage and staff separated the children into appropriate group sizes and more staff directed the staff and students to their allocated buses.

Outcomes:

All 2,500 students and teachers were safely transported from ICC Sydney to their destination, within a timeframe of just 45 minutes. Using halls 2 and 3 for the ‘bus stops’ and clear signage and staff supervision allowed the students to safely board and minimised confusion. An unexpected challenge was the unanticipated early conclusion of the debates, one hour ahead of schedule. The thorough planning ensured quick response by Arinex and Murrays and resulted in seamless early completion of the bus loading and thence transportation to their required destinations.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better transfers experience for World Scholars Cup. All 2,500 students were safely transported to their intended destinations across Sydney and within the program’s short time frame too. Transfers for a group of this size could have been an administrative nightmare but the team at Arinex made it look effortless and run like clockwork.”

Vishal Verma

Director of Global Round Planning