School bus drivers will consider strike action

BUS drivers warned yesterday they may consider industrial action if the Government does not urgently invest in improving the country’s school bus fleet.

National Bus and Rail Workers Union (NBRU) assistant general secretary Michael Faherty yesterday called on Transport Minister Martin Cullen to prioritise proposed investment.

He claimed many buses assigned to school runs are those no longer suitable for regular routes.

His concerns followed two fatal accidents that cost six young lives and left many others injured. A separate non-injury incident was reported yesterday involving a schoolbus in Co Westmeath.

Mr Faherty said: “I wrote to the minister two weeks ago, asking when funds would be designated for renewal of the Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus fleets.

“His only response has been to speak in general terms of his commitment to upgrade in both companies without making any specific commitment to time scale or funding.”

Mr Faherty said it was incredible that, a year after a fatal accident in Meath and over six months after the launch of the €34.4 billion ‘Transport 21’ programme, the NBRU could not get information on “when and how many new school buses will be provided”.

He claimed: “The vast majority of the current fleet has been cascaded down from regular services, having clocked up hundreds of thousands of miles.

“It is inevitable that there will be incidents from time to time with a fleet as old as this, and that is why urgent action is needed.”

Mr Faherty was speaking ahead of the opening of the NBRU conference in Donegal town last night. “Our members will debate the shortage of buses in the fleet and the lack of funding from Government to upgrade services to the travelling public. In addition we will be discussing industrial action to heighten public awareness of the conditions under which our members have to work and provide services. These too have implications for safety standards,” he said.

Minister of State Síle de Valera, who has responsibility for school transport, told the Dáil yesterday that she believes all school buses must carry a fire extinguisher. However, she declined to answer questions about whether the school bus which caught fire with more than 30 children on board in Co Westmeath last week had a fire extinguisher, as investigations into the incident are continuing.

She was responding to questions about the school bus fleet and Mr Cullen’s announcement last week of a review of safety checking procedures on Bus Éireann vehicles.

Fine Gael TD Damien English, who represents the Meath constituency affected by the Kentstown bus tragedy one year ago, asked Ms de Valera to impress upon Mr Cullen that parents want the highest standard of buses carrying their children.

The minister said her department also wishes to see the highest possible standards, which is why it is working to ensure each of the 130,000 children who travel on school buses has a seat with a seat belt by the end of this year. She said this goes beyond the demands of an EU directive which requires that belts be worn on those buses fitted with them.