Mrs Wong's children and fellow students who live in Ararat and Beaufort were having to wait more than two hours at Ballarat Station for the train home.

Her change.org petition, started three months ago, has sparked a shift in the school service departure from 5.33pm to an earlier time of 4.04pm from July 11.

"It means that the kids can actually catch a transfer, to catch a train on time and they don't need to leave school early, because my kids were leaving school early ... to catch the early train," Mrs Wong said.

A Department of Transport spokesperson said this was an important change made as a result of listening to community feedback.

"We know how important this train service is for getting students from school in Ballarat, home to Ararat and Beaufort, and that's why we've made this important change," the spokesperson said.

"A key part of any timetable change is listening to and engaging with the community, both before and after the change."

Prior to the change.org petition, Mrs Wong put together flyers, cold called schools in the area, and liaised with other parents to contact Public Transport Victoria and parliament members directly.

"Quite a lot of us went through the feedback form to let PTV know what was going on, there were other mums and people who were actually contacting MPs and writing, explaining the situation and raising awareness," she said.

Mrs Wong also set up a Whatsapp group to organise with other parents in Ararat, but then Beaufort parents started to contact her too.

"How do I let them know that these people care? Because it's not enough for me to just say, 'there are more people who care'," Mrs Wong said.

"So, that's why I did the petition - so that I had some documentary evidence."

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Mrs Wong's son Joshua, a Ballarat Clarendon College year 10 student, said making positive change was typical of his mum, who also did charity work through their church in Ararat.

"It's very like my mum to be fair. She does that kind of thing a lot, she's generally quite good in the community," Joshua said.

Mrs Wong said a timetable that takes into account school finishing times in Ballarat keeps schooling options open to rural communities.

"The new service also means that regional places like Ararat and Beaufort actually have choices over schools, they can go to Ballarat now," she said.

Ballarat has six faith high schools, a special school and a technical school, offering specialist subjects and education options for different circumstances.

The mother of two said the change will also allow her children to get home early enough to take part in after school sports.

By the time PTV confirmed the timetable change, Mrs Wong's change.org petition had amassed over 100 signatures by concerned community members.

"The reason why, I suppose, [the petition] became so big is because over the years, the number of people who've gone to study in Ballarat have grown," she said.

PTV put in place a temporary coach service to plug the gap throughout the first half of the school year, but parents - like Mrs Wong - are glad for a permanent solution.

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