Board to monitor school bus safety

PROBLEMS with safety and access on school bus services could become a thing of the past thanks to a new independent body set up by the Government.

The Department of Education has established the School Transport Appeals Board to deal with complaints from users of the school transport system. The service is used by around 133,000 primary and second-level pupils on more than 2,300 buses every day.

Minister of State Síle de Valera said a number of users appealed to the department every year for changes in the delivery of the service to meet their particular needs.

Among the most common complainants are families who have to pay hundreds of euro a year for private transport because of outdated catchment boundaries for some rural schools.

The issues of overcrowding and safety on older buses has also been a source of concern to parents.

The board will consider all appeals on such matters and the Department of Education will be bound to act upon their recommendations.

“The board will be acting completely independent of the department and any decision it makes is final,” said a Department of Education spokesperson.

National Parents Council (Post Primary) president Michael O’Regan said he hoped the issue of school cathcment areas could be addressed.

“The boundaries have not been changed since the service was introduced in 1967 but areas which had 10 people living in then are now small towns with new schools much nearer to them,” said Mr O’Regan.

“It would be helpful if the appeals board suggests changes, particularly in areas where children can avail of the school bus to their nearest school, rather than one which is 10 miles further away,” he said.

The school transport service costs around euro 50 million a year, and is administered by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education.